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Task Force: Don't Bomb Iran As each day passes we brace ourselves for the future regarding our relationship to Iran and the region. Though it poses no threat to the United States, our President continues to use bellicose rhetoric against Iran and practice gunboat diplomacy. Given the potential for catastrophic back lash, this threat constitutes a matter of utmost concern to our membership. Since last fall, Iowa PSR has been a member of a coalition of organizations including the AFSC, Women for Peace, WILPF, STAR PAC, and others engaged in dialog with the candidates and elected officials including Leonard Boswell, Senators Harkin and Grassley, Dave Loebsack and others to keep them appraised of our concerns and fears regarding Iran. We are asking each member of Congress to exert their legal power under the Constitution to prevent a U.S. bombing of Iran. Among other things, we are asking them to become cosponsors of the New Diplomatic Offensive for Iraq Act (H.R. 3797) introduced by Representative David Price (NC), the Webb bill (S. Res. 759) prohibiting the use of U.S. funds to attack Iran, S. Res. 356 (Congress must approve force against Iran), and S. Res. 3120 (diplomatic offensive with all of Iraq's neighbors.) It is time for a new U.S. policy on the region that promotes peace, building on the Iraq Study Group's December 2006 report calling for a "diplomatic surge" in the region. As organizations in Iowa that represent thousands, we are frightened about another "Gulf of Tonkin" taking place in the Straits of Hormuz or the Gulf region. If this administration decides it wants to bomb Iran, we fear it will find a way, even if it has to concoct or provoke an incident to deliver its end game. The time for diplomacy with Iran is now: demand comprehensive, immediate, unconditional talks with Iran! As a member or friend of the Iowa PSR, we ask you to speak publicly against bombing Iran. In the meanwhile we'll also continue to broadcast information about what we might do to help prevent our country from engaging in another illegal war and ending ongoing tensions. Please let us know if you want more information about or to participate in future meetings of this task force. (back to top) by Maureen McCue PhD MD, Coordinator Iowa PSR The Council has begun to consider Nuclear Energy (see BREAKING NEWS) as an important means to solve the problem of supplying needed energy while reducing dependency on green house gas emitting fossil fuels. Public support for a nuclear renaissance seems to be increasing based on the belief that nuclear power can save the earth from severe climate disruption caused by greenhouse gases. If the life cycle record of nuclear power to date is examined, much of this can be seen as a dangerous fantasy. When viewed from the “life-cycle perspective, the many under appreciated costs and risks become more apparent. Before a nuclear power plant ever goes online, an enormous amount of fossil fuel and money must be expended to build it. Nuclear power plants take far too long to build and generate far too much green house gas in the process to be considered readily available or supportable. Overall, it’s not safe, and it’s not environmentally sound. Finally, without massive subsidies from tax payers, Nuclear Power is not even economically viable. While overlooking the combined environmental and health threats associated with nuclear power constitutes a dangerous case of out of sight, out of mind, other less costly, safer, and healthier alternatives exist. However, if scarce resources are expended on ill fated nuclear power, these alternatives will remain under developed. Regarding economic costs, it’s been known since 1948 that the cost of a nuclear-fuel power plant is substantially greater than that of a coal burning plant of similar capacity–this has not changed during the many intervening years. Regarding the environment, the existing enrichment sites for nuclear power plant fuel (or bomb) production remain some of the most contaminated sites in the country, as do the many other sites around the world, particularly those on Indigenous lands, for the mining, milling, and fabrication of nuclear fuel. These challenges have yet to be met effectively. The fuel starts as an ore in the ground. It takes massive amounts of fossil-fuel-intensive carbon-emitting vehicles -- usually big dirty diesel-consuming ones, to dig it up and transport it. The Navajo and other indigenous peoples are fighting to prevent uranium mining or nuclear waste dumping from resuming or continuing on their land, which was and continues to be severely contaminated by the post cold war uranium booms. (See Indigenous World Uranium Summit) The miners have high rates of lung cancer. The children in the area experience high rates of birth defects; there is a 1,500 percent increase in ovarian and testicular cancer in the area. And the slag heaps and contaminated pools that were left behind will be radioactive for millennia. To make nuclear fuel, the ore must be "enriched," which is itself an energy-intensive process that increases the 0.72 percent of highly fissionable, highly radioactive U-235 in the ore up to the necessary 3 to 5 percent. As the sources of high grade ore are increasingly used up – much like the peak oil scenario – the energy required to make the necessary fuel will itself increase. As we know, but tend to overlook, dirty-coal-fired plants are used to operate uranium enrichment plants. Then, what's left over is a huge quantity of U-238, known as depleted uranium, classified as low-level nuclear waste, which despite this benign designation is itself a bit of a lie. DU, used to make armoring and projectiles, is the source of so much contamination in Iraq from our wars there. As people in the Western U.S. are increasingly well aware, the costs of uranium fuel development are insurmountable—especially in the Colorado Plateau and other locales dotted with hundreds of million tons of radioactive mill tailings and uranium mine waste. These wastes have injured health, polluted water supplies, and resulted in billions of dollars in clean-up costs. The liabilities will extend into the future for tens of thousands of years. Reprocessing spent fuel, touted as the cure for diminishing primary material has not succeeded in avoiding serious contamination. Despite the lack of serious media attention the years have started to bring multiple reports of and concerns regarding the impacts on children’s and the public’s health from Sellafield in Britain, and more recently from France—for which we can only say that lack of proof of harm to date is not the same as lack of harm. Another critical consideration is the vast amount of water required to cool reactors. As the weather changes bringing more droughts and heat waves, water is becoming increasingly scarce. Just this January, reports were surfacing warning of potential shut downs in the U.S. Southwest because of increasingly severe droughts are drying up the rivers and lakes that supply power plants with the awesome amounts of cooling water they need to operate. One million gallons of water per minute are required to cool a large nuclear plant. This water, contaminated with radioactive elements, may then be discharged into water ways where radiation is re-concentrated at each step of the aquatic food chain. Thus, availability of water and the need to protect our public waterways will increasingly become a limiting factor for uninterrupted power plant function. It's also important to remember, nuclear power production releases CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons). These are well known man made chemicals that deplete the ozone in the earth's stratosphere, and are themselves powerful greenhouse gases. Finally, there remain two other very pesky and unresolved problems: waste disposal and proliferation and risk of terrorism. These latter risks are growing because of the content of spent fuel from existing sites, the spread of nuclear “know-how,” and our increasingly dangerous and unstable global political reality. The potential for nuclear power to provide infrastructure for nuclear weapons production has long been known and must not be forgotten. Already, with a few hundred thousand tons of high-level waste in the form of spent fuel and much more low-level waste in the U.S. alone, risks of some form of nuclear weapons use continues to mount. In the end, we need to realize that nuclear power is not safe for all the people it affects far away from Iowa, or over time. As an Iowan I cannot accept that my comfort may depend on another's suffering. At the same time we need to recall that farms in this country had windmills long before Marie Curie figured out anything about radiation or Lise Meitner surmised that atoms could be split. Wind power is not experimental. Neither is solar, which is already widely used. Many other inexpensive and sustainable technologies are on the horizon. Nuclear power needs to be retired so Iowa and the rest of the global community can focus its efforts on developing these other more rapid, effective, health supporting and sustainable options for addressing our energy needs. (back to top) Featured Member: David Drake -- Citizen Diplomat Iowa PSR member from Des Moines, Dr. David Drake, has been busy trying to bring peace to the world utilizing People to People diplomacy. As you may recall, David joined the Fellowship of Reconciliation in 2005 on a mission to Israel and Palestine to meet with peace activists from both countries. This winter he joined FOR for a visit to Iran. His recollections and insights from this visit are covered nicely in a feature he wrote for the Des Moines Register. Read the full article Dr. Drake has also been busy speaking to various groups about his experiences and perspectives. We're excited to report that he will be coming to Iowa City April 22 to participate in a War or Health panel on Citizen Diplomacy. We plan to take David, his Des Moines colleagues and fellow peace makers Charles Day and Kathleen McQuillen to dinner following the class panel. Anyone wishing to join us for dinner (and/or the class) let us know and we'll save you a place at the table. (back to top) Combating Coal Over little more than 48 hours, Maureen McCue of Iowa PSR and Kristen Welker Hood, Director National PSR's Environment & Health Program stopped in Waterloo, Marshalltown, Des Moines, and Iowa City to attend various meetings and hearings on the viability of two new coal plants proposed for Iowa. This whirlwind trip occurred during the coldest winter weather and was punctuated by a blizzard. While, the story is not yet concluded, a blow was dealt to those promoting coal in Iowa. A side effect of the trip included the strengthening and expansion of coalitions with individuals and organizations from all across the state concerned about Iowa's environmental health. Maureen and Kristen met with locals in Waterloo who are fighting the proposed new coal fired plant there and spoke at the Blackhawk County Board of Health meeting. The meeting addressed the proposed new source of greenhouse gases and toxics emission that is intended to provide electricity primarily to the Chicago area while increasing pollution to Iowa's air and water resources. About 50 people attended the meeting after which the board passed an historic set of resolutions calling for a moratorium on coal because of compelling health questions (see the report commissioned by the Blackhawk County Health Board. In Des Moines, Kristen spoke with six other panelists at an evening meeting for Iowa State Legislators in a venue that was also open to the public. In Marshalltown where the Iowa Utility Board had been conducting hearings all week on a (yet, another) contested new coal plant proposed for Waterloo, Kristen provided testimony. These were formal adversarial hearings before the Utility Board with cross examination by attorneys from the opposing sides. Finally, there was a wonderful event in Iowa City organized by Plains Justice where four of the panelists spoke and took questions from an audience of about 100 people attending at a time when many events and meetings had been canceled because of the snow and bitter weather—this is a "hot" topic. In addition, Maureen and Kristen attended several dinner and breakfast meetings with local groups during their travels. There is no doubt that this two-day tour was a great success. It advanced discussion of the issue in Iowa, and moved our Chapter up a big step on the learning curve. Kristen's visit helped open the door to new citizen constituencies for us in Iowa. The experience underscored the power of the "health" argument regarding coal and climate change. We think Kristen's visit was a good use of PSR resources, and the Iowa Chapter worked hard to capitalize on the energy generated by Kristen's visit. We also note and appreciate the work her assistant Casey put into preparations for this visit. For more information on the health implications of, and the PSR struggle against coal, visit the national website and learn about the Code Black campaign. (back to top) 2007: Iowa PSR's Year in Review OVERVIEW The year 2007 was exceptionally charged, full of challenges and opportunities for Iowa PSR. Our priority for action continues to be to use the moral authority of health care providers to help eliminate the major threats to human health and survival:
The many presidential candidates and associated constant media attention gave Iowa PSR members access to a multitude of forums. The charged atmosphere allowed PSR to more effectively give voice to concerns about the dangers of nuclear proliferation, at home and abroad, and about the rapidly changing climate. Members spoke to survey callers, to candidates and staffers, to elected leaders, and to local political operatives almost daily. In panels, classrooms, and forums held all across the state, members spoke, walked, talked, and wrote to audiences large and small, to the press, and to our elected officials about PSR's lead issues. One of our members, Dr. David Drake of Des Moines, even traveled all the way to Iran as part of a Fellowship of Reconciliation on a people-to-people tour to help stave off a potential attack on Iran by the U.S. (see Citizen Diplomat) Iowa PSR's major efforts for the year included:
For each of these events, Iowa PSR is especially grateful to the many students and volunteers who gave so generously of their time, creativity, and energy. Without their help all this activity would not have been possible. (For a more complete listing of the various events Iowa PSR members contributed to or participated in see detailed narrative below) Last but not at all least, it's important to acknowledge that Iowa PSR's voice reached a much larger number through our membership in Iowa Shares. Iowa Shares is a statewide federation of 19 social action and environmental nonprofit organizations raising funds through workplace giving. While Iowa PSR a small volunteer organization that can only manage to be physically present in a limited number of places, membership in Iowa Shares means our name and mission appear within each event sponsored by Iowa Shares, itself, or by other Iowa Shares members all across the state. We continue to find that Iowa Shares membership is fruitful and productive for Iowa PSR. 2007 IOWA PSR EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES IN DETAIL Health Consequences of Global Warming This conference was our biggest event of the year. See full conference details HERE. This three-day conference in September was organized to be the central focus along with several associated events in various formats (Iowa HEALS, co-sponsored with several University groups, the Hot Humor for a Hot Planet night at Hancher, and an Art Show).. This series of events were successful well beyond our hopes to bring human rights and environmental health and global warming problems and solutions to the attention of over a thousand Iowans and many beyond Iowa. The events together were enjoyed by a much larger and more diverse audience than we could have contacted by any one route alone. The Conference featured presentations by 32 experts from around Iowa, the nation, and the UN. For more details about all these presentations check out their Power Point slide sets. The conference audience consisted of about 200 interested, concerned Iowans and others from all around the country from very diverse backgrounds. MDs/DOs, other doctoral level (Psychology, Dr.PH, PhD) and allied health professionals (Nurses, MPH, Members Boards of Health), as well as professionals who work in Environment & Human Rights fields shared the space with much younger middle school students and their families. We also enjoyed the company and wisdom of various local and national academic, community, religious and business leaders, students in Medicine, Public Health, Nursing, Global Health Studies, and other Professional schools, and interesting and outspoken members of the General Public. Clearly this was an issue that resonated broadly. For all these wonderful successes we have many people to thank, but most especially Liz Crooks, Amy Weisman and Heidi Vekemans of the UI Center for Human Rights; Pam Trimpe of the McBride Natural History Museum; Patrick Keyes theater department of Kirkwood, who contributed his creative energy, time, and sweat equity in producing the Hot Humor Night at the Hancher; K. Lee Peterson for her contributions of time, materials, and expertise to the Art Show; and our energized Human Rights Interns Jenna Armstrong, Elisa Rojas, and Elizabeth Peterson who jumped in and helped out whenever and where ever needed to help any of these events run more smoothly and effectively. Teaching Peace and Sustainable Living Throughout the academic year two courses were taught at the University based in large part on PSR issues and concerns and using materials developed by colleagues in PSR or IPPNW. Spring 2007 was War or Health taught by Drs. Rajeev Vibhakar and Maureen McCue and the Fall Semester featured two versions of Health Consequences of Climate Change (for either 1 or 3 credits) that encouraged students to get out in the community to engage others in addressing these vitally important challenges to global health. The spring course enrolled 25 students, both graduates and under graduates; the fall courses combined had about 30 students. Students in this latter class then went out and taught climate change concepts to younger students at area and regional elementary, middle and high schools. Thus together, efforts related to this class likely reached well over 500 younger students. Billboard Campaign "WAR: Who Dies?, Who Pays?, Who Profits?. Who Decides?" Six billboards, were up for 4-8 weeks around Eastern Iowa and were timed to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq. These billboards were designed to get passers by to think beyond the prevailing security rhetoric of "support our troops". The billboards included the Iowa PSR website and when the inquisitive were referred to resources about the billboard. Coalition Activities in 2007 Events Iowa PSR supported either financially, by helping to bring attention or publicity to the event, and/or in sweat equity, but did not take a leadership organizing role include but are not limited to the following events and activities. NOTE: This list cannot do justice to all the associated activities and organizations that members belong to and interact with to provide cross fertilization to and from PSR related concerns.
BREAKING NEWS! — IOWA LAWMAKERS ARE TRYING TO EXPAND NUCLEAR POWER IN IOWA |
| Iowa PSR |
20 East Market St, Iowa City, IA 52245 |
www.iowa-psr.org |