Join us in building a healthy environment and promoting sensible security policies. Make a donation to PSR Oregon today
Today, PSR is joining with dozens of organizations, representing millions of Americans, calling on the U.S. Senate to pass clean energy and climate legislation. Please tell your Senators that we can no longer delay action if we are to protect our health and the health of future generations from catastrophic climate change.
Mission
Guided by the values and expertise of medicine and public health, Physicians for Social Responsibility works to protect human life from the gravest threats to health and survival. PSR is the medical and public health voice working to prevent the use or spread of nuclear weapons and to slow, stop and reverse global warming and toxic degradation of the environment.
Understanding that nuclear war continues to be the most acute threat to human life and the global biosphere, PSR reaffirms its commitment of nearly forty years to the elimination of nuclear weapons and the reversal of the arms race and the national budgetary priorities which fuel that race, sacrificing our nation's health, social and economic needs.
Recognizing that neglect of social problems and emphasis on militarism has resulted in a crisis of societal violence, PSR also seeks to reverse our domestic arms race and to encourage ways of finding peaceful solutions to interpersonal and local disputes, as well as international conflicts. Please view Oregon PSR's philosophy on issuing position statements that pertain to our broad mission here,
Oregon PSR also addresses environmental threats to human survival, such as global warming, toxins that prevent healthy development, and chemicals in our foods. For a list of our current programs, see below.
Follow this link to see a slide presentation on PSR's work.
For a shorter overview, click here.
History
PSR was founded in 1961 when a group of Boston physicians analyzed the medical consequences of nuclear bombs. The New England Journal of Medicine devoted an entire issue to a series of articles describing the research. These articles influenced President Kennedy to initiate the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963, ending atmospheric nuclear testing by the U.S., USSR, and Great Britain. PSR’s work grew into a global organization called International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which in 1985 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. PSR has broadened its scope to include other global environmental threats, and was key to the signing of the Persistent Organic Pollutant Treaty in 2001.
The Oregon Chapter was founded in 1980 by a group of local physicians and scientists who were galvanized to help advocate against nuclear weapons and for the cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. They also helped evaluate the health of those downwind and downstream from radioactive iodine releases from Hanford.
In early 2000, the board of directors led the organization to also focus on these specific areas of concentration:
In all our work, we value science and education as a basis to empower the community and the individuals' voice for change. We are working for a world where every child can grow up free of violence and environmental damage which affects their well-being.
Oregon PSR values the energy and skills of any community member. While we try to maximize the power of all our wonderful physicians, we also are acutely aware that everyone has a voice and ability to make our world better. Please feel free to come join us regardless of your occupation and training.
RSS Feed Privacy Policy Contact Us Credits
All content © Copyright 2009 All rights reserved.
