On February 8, 2012, Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) took to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to introduce the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures Act (H.R. 3974). This SANE Act would cut $100 billion from the U.S. nuclear weapons budget over the next ten years by reducing the current fleet of U.S. nuclear submarines, delaying the purchase of new nuclear submarines, reducing the number of ICBMs, delaying a new bomber program, and ending the nuclear mission of air bombers. Read more »
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The reality is that one nuclear weapon can destroy the core of a city from blast, heat and radiation and kill hundreds of thousands of individuals. Such a detonation would create a dead zone of radiation making the area uninhabitable for decades or longer. Many more people would die in panic fleeing or from lack of any medical support. Read more »

As a Nigerian doctor active with IPPNW, I am pleased to participate for a second time in twelve months in the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) Preparatory Committee talks at the United Nations in New York. Read more »

New to the world of Washington, DC, I can see that much of the action is outside the Beltway even with the budget debate coming up in the Halls of Congress. That means YOU are the most important people. Read more »
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In their article, "Perceptions of Climate Change: The New Climate Dice," Hansen and his coauthors ask an important question: If we want to identify changes in the world’s climate, what do we compare current temperatures against? Read more »

These days, global warming makes spring come earlier and fall later and the period in between to be hotter; summer-like conditions are protracted. For this reason, in his recent article, "Perceptions of Climate Change: The New Climate Dice," global warming expert James Hansen focuses on changes in summer temperatures. Read more »

National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s James Hansen is one of the world’s leading experts on climate change. In 1988 he spoke before Congress and, as one of the first scientists ever to do so, brought the issue of climate change to the attention of a broad audience. Read more »

Last night President Obama’s State of the Union called for us to “double-down on a clean energy industry.” Amid several not-so-great comments about fracking and offshore oil, it was notable that President Obama failed to mention nuclear at all. Read more »

Many years from now when the history of our time is written, some may reflect that a small but meaningful step that preserved our world was taken this week. In the US, the event passed with little notice. Read more »
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Last week I wrote about the legislative hearing in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee of the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011. At the hearing, Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) said that he would be calling for a committee vote in the near future. Read more »
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We are really making progress on toxics policy. This week, the Senate Environment and Public Works committee held a legislative hearing on the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 (S. 847), introduced last spring by Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ). Read more »
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The PSR community has lost a pioneer, a champion, and an outstanding colleague in the field of climate change and public health. Paul Epstein, MD MPH, co-founder and co-director of Harvard’s Center for Health and the Global Environment, died early this week. Read more »
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Apologies to all readers for the longish hiatus of this blog. Many things have occurred since we last posted: Read more »
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One last thought on last Sunday’s White House demonstration against the Keystone XL pipeline. It has to do with the missing generation. Read more »

Yesterday I wrote about the speakers who addressed the Keystone protesters at the White House. Today I’d like to talk about the protesters – specifically, the young people and the growing “Occupy Wall Street” movement. Read more »
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As I wrote yesterday, Sunday’s rally to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline was a powerful experience. Part of the impact came from the array of speakers. Read more »
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A multi-state delegation of PSR representatives joined 12,000 other like-minded people on Sunday to link arms around the White House and send President Obama an urgent message: Don’t build the Keystone XL pipeline. Read more »
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A nuclear disaster in a plant near Chicago would force the evacuation of 7 million people and could deliver fatal doses of radiation to 20,000 people, said a speaker at an APHA session on "In the Wake of Fukushima: Is Nuclear Energy Healthy for Communities?" this afternoon. Read more »

Yesterday was my first day at the 2011 American Public Health Association (APHA) Conference. This conference hosts over 12,000 public health professionals and is always a bit overwhelming at first. Read more »
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Before the end of the year the Super Committee will be required to submit plans to cut at least $1.5 trillion in deficit-reduction measures over the next 10 years. What we decide to cut will speak to our priorities as a country. Read more »
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