[NIPG] Safe Energy Conference in Chicago FYI: Dr. Helen Caldicott is the Founding President of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). PSR was the co-winner of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize, and Dr. Linus Pauling individually nominated Dr. Caldicott for the Prize. Dr. Caldicott also founded Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament (WAND), and is the author of numerous books exploring nuclear and environmental issues, the most recent of which is entitled The New Nuclear Danger: George W. Bush's Military-Industrial Complex. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------
Dear Safe Energy Supporter, On December 3, 1942, Chicago was witness to the Dawn of the Nuclear Age, when Enrico Fermi and his research team initiated the world's first sustained, controlled chain reaction in a secret lab under the squash courts at University of Chicago. On October 15th, 2004, Chicago will be witness to what many of us hope will be the Beginning of the End of the Nuclear Age, as hundreds gather from Illinois and beyond for a national conference dedicated to ending nuclear perils of all kinds. This major national Conference titled, "Nuclear Power and Children's Health," will be a two-day symposium on current issues and findings about the hazards of nuclear power and low-level radiation exposure. On behalf of the planning committee for this event, I would like to extend a formal invitation for you, your friends and members of your family to attend this important Conference. This Conference (available online at www.nuclearpolicy.org ) is being conducted by internationally renown pediatrician and peace activist Dr. Helen Caldicott, founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Nuclear Policy Research Institute (NSPI) of Washington, D.C. in cooperation with the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) of Washington, D.C.; and locally by the Chicago Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR-Chicago), North Suburban Peace Initiative (NSPI), and NEIS. It will be held at St. Scholastica Academy in West Rogers Park, Chicago, on Friday and Saturday, October 15-16; and is expected to draw over 400 participants from Illinois communities and other states. We offer participation in this Conference as a means of becoming educated and updated on new developments and findings on nuclear concerns. What better place to plan the end of the Nuclear Age than in the "belly of the beast" - Illinois, the most nuclear-reliant state in the U.S.; the one responsible for producing more high-level radioactive wastes than any other state; the place where it all began! This Conference comes at a time when: á The major utilities, heavily nuclear-reliant Exelon among them, still balk and actively work against the adoption of state or federal renewable energy legislation ; á Exelon announces plans to seek extended operation permission from federal regulators for its four aging Dresden and Quad Cities reactors, among the oldest, most decrepit and heavily fined reactors in the U.S.; and seeks permission for an "early site permit" for the possible construction of new nuclear reactors in Illinois, sometime before 2010; á A cancer cluster is reported to exist in the area around the Dresden reactor, yet is dismissed by public health officials and Exelon (a trained health care worker and mother of one child victim of this cancer cluster will report her experience at the Conference); á New medical and scientific evidence indicates that low-doses of radiation exposure may have powerfully greater negative effects than previously thought or believed, strongly suggesting the need for a planned decrease, not increase, in nuclear power and other radiation-related industries (findings to be presented by several researchers and MD's); á A former Exelon senior engineer turned safety advocate/whistle-blower reports gross violation of NRC standards regarding safety certification and quality assurance issues, yet has his concerns dismissed as inconsequential by the regulators at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (he will present his revelations and conclusions at the Conference); á Federal regulators at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have thoroughly abdicated their regulatory responsibility to protect the public and the environment, and routinely cave-in to every demand from the nuclear industry (you will hear details of this at the Conference from experienced nuclear engineer David Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists). á Uranium left over from the manufacture of reactor fuel is now being manufactured into radioactive weapons like "depleted uranium" -DU - the manufacture and use of which continues to expose millions of civilians and hundreds of thousands of military personnel and workers worldwide to potentially hazardous doses of ionizing radiation. These issues and concerns have enormous significance and implications for the economic and environmental future of Illinois, with its 14 reactors (11 operating), spent reactor fuel pools, and likelihood of becoming a high-volume nuclear waste traffic corridor to the proposed, ill-advised Yucca Mt., Nevada radwaste site. And in case you never had the opportunity to read NEIS' October, 2001 report, "Here Today, THERE Tomorrow: Nuclear Power Plants as Potential Terrorist Targets," (available online at http://www.neis.org ) all Illinois reactors are between 10-28 minutes normal flight time and routing from the world's busiest airport at O'Hare Field, a fact of incalculable importance in the post-9/11 world. As Albert Einstein once noted, "The release of atom power has changed everything - except our way of thinking....The solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind." It's time to move away from outdated and destructive "nuclear" thinking, towards "new-clear" thinking about the hazards of nuclear power; and about how we will consciously replace the Nuclear Age with a sustainable energy future. We ask you to "find it in your heart" and make time in your schedule to participate in this Conference. Bring your family members, friends and co-workers. We also invite you to help out in small but vital ways in advance of the Conference. Stay well, gratefully, David A. Kraft, Director Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS) Conference Co-Planner (847)8697650; -7658 fax [EMAIL PROTECTED] P.S. -- Feel free to duplicate and distribute this letter and the attachments. TO REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE: either print out and complete the attached .pdf file and registration form; or download/register online at: http://www.nuclearpolicy.org 0oo00oo00oo00o0oo0o0o0o0o0oo00o0oo0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0 The difficult situation that the US is in can not be solved by waging more wars. The violence done in our name generates more violence and hatred against us. The solution arises from changing our attitudes about other people. We need to stop the theft of their resources and labor and begin to treat them with respect and dignity. RossCannon The difficult situation that the US is in can not be solved by waging more wars. The violence done in our name generates more violence and hatred against us. The solution arises from changing our attitudes about other people. We need to stop the theft of their resources and labor and begin to treat them with respect and dignity. RossCannon ________________________________________________________________ Get your name as your email address. Includes spam protection, 1GB storage, no ads and more Only $1.99/ month - visit http://www.mysite.com/name today! _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/biofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/
