Make a difference in the challenge to confront global warming and prevent nuclear war and the development and use of nuclear weapons.
Tell President Obama to abolish the Nuclear Loan Guarantee Program.
Reviewed by Mike McCally, former PSR Executive Director
Dr. Redlener’s topic is “mega-disasters”: a flood like Katrina, a major earthquake in Seattle or San Francisco, a toxic chemical release during a tornado, or an attack by a nuclear terrorist. His question is whether we are prepared for such a disaster and his answer is “No.” Redlener’s text is based on four mega-disaster scenarios in narrative form. They read like the script for a TV thriller yet they are entirely plausible and chilling. He analyzes the responses to these scenarios and produces a critique of current government policy and programs. National policy, as executed by the Department of Homeland Security and its agencies, has produced, in Redlener’s words, “random acts of preparedness.” For example, a resident of the state of Wyoming gets more per capita funding for preparedness than a resident of New York City. Local community preparedness is limited not by knowledge of what needs to be done but by failures of funding, planning, communication and interagency cooperation.
Dr. Redlener’s consideration of nuclear terrorism is more fully developed by PSR in its report, “The U.S. and Nuclear Terrorism: Still Dangerously Unprepared,” which examines three nuclear scenarios in detail and comes to very similar conclusions as Dr. Redlener.
Dr. Redlener was a PSR board member and leader in the early 1980s. He is presently the Director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.
Purchase this book from Amazon.com
Thank President Obama for his courageous and health-protecting decision not to permit construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
We need you to write to President Obama now and ask him to bring us back from the brink of a conflict that neither country can afford. We ask President Obama to establish direct diplomatic engagement with Iran.
Sustancias quimicas peligrosas en el sector de la salud
The Spanish-language version of the PSR report, "Hazardous Chemicals In Health Care," written with the American Nurses Association and Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), details the first investigation of environmental chemicals found in the bodies of health care professionals. Read more »
Hazardous Chemicals In Health Care
Read PSR’s October, 2009, report: "Hazardous Chemicals In Health Care." Of 20 health care professionals tested for the presence of industrial chemicals in their bodies, all 20 had at least 24 individual chemicals present, many of which are associated with chronic illness and physical disorders. Read more »
Toxics tools and resources
Happy holidays from the Environmental Health Policy Institute! This holiday season we highlight some of our favorite tools and resources for health professionals and others concerned about the health effects of industrial chemicals. Read more »
RSS Feed Privacy Policy Contact Us
All content © Copyright 2009 All rights reserved.
