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From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima

Every anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two schools of thought square off. One says, the bombings were not necessary to end the war; the Japanese were close to surrender...

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The Clean Power Plan is a step in the right direction

With the publication of the final Clean Power Plan, the United States can finally claim some leadership in curbing CO2 emissions at the federal level. The final rule is, on balance, technically,...

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“Deep science and deep secrecy”: An interview with a Nagasaki veteran about...

Walter Hooke, Nagasaki veteran, civil rights, democracy, and labor activist 29 June 2001 Makhijani: I am writing a book that will inquire about democracy and openness and science in the nuclear weapons...

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The Paris Agreement on climate — a good start, but…

A 31-page accord on climate, the Paris Agreement, was adopted on 12 December 2015, and endorsed by acclamation by 195 countries, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change...

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Choosing the first atomic target – May 5, 1943

May 5, 1943 is one of the most important dates, and possibly the least known, in the history of the nuclear age. It was the date when the first atomic bomb targeting decision was made — a full two...

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Democracy in the nuclear age – remembering Bill Mitchell

My dear friend Bill Mitchell died on 25th May: a grievous loss for his family and friends as well as for all those who care about the Earth and about democracy. The story of Bill’s profound impact on...

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The Atom Bomb visits Bikini — 1946

The tests at Bikini in July 1946 were the coming out party for the atom bomb. Operation Crossroads began just two weeks after the United States presented the so-called Baruch plan to control the Bomb:...

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Dear Arjun: Can we generate electricity from nuclear waste?

My friend Hank is involved with a summer science program that he attended and loved many years (decades) ago. He apparently posted something on the group’s FB page recently suggesting there is no...

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Oil, Pearl Harbor and the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 was mainly about oil — Indonesian oil. And oil is still in the center of global insecurity with climate disruption as an added danger; in fact,...

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The Nagasaki Cross and Walter Hooke, World War II veteran

I interviewed World War II veteran Walter Hooke at his home in New York State in 2002. I got to know him when he wrote to me supporting my idea of establishing a Truth Commission on the health and...

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Protected: Undoing human-caused harm: From Anthropocene to Gaia – Introduction

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below: Password: The post Protected: Undoing human-caused harm: From Anthropocene to Gaia – Introduction appeared first on...

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Remembering Dave Freeman – green cowboy, pioneer of U.S. energy policy

It was 1970. Dave Freeman had transitioned from being an energy advisor in Johnson’s White House to Nixon’s. At one of our lunches since he had moved to Washington, D.C. after retiring as the Chairman...

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When was the decision to use the atom bomb made?

When was the decision made to use atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Was it one decision — or several that made their use inexorable and inevitable? What were the forums in which those decisions...

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The Nagasaki atomic bombing – why the rush?

Nagasaki was destroyed by a plutonium atomic bomb seventy five years ago, on August 9, 1945. Called “Fat Man,” it was the same design that had been tested in the New Mexico desert less than a month...

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On January 22, 2021, nuclear weapons will be illegal under international law

In 2017, the United Nations General Assembly convened a conference to consider a treaty on a complete ban on nuclear weapons — including their manufacture, possession, use, transfer, and testing. On...

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Public Transit – an element of economic and environmental justice

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2017, about 50 million U.S. households were under such economic stress that they could not cover an unexpected $400 expense, like the breakdown of a car or a...

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Nuclear weapons ban treaty is now international law

Today, January 22, 2021, is a historic day. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force, three months after the 50th country, Honduras, ratified it. Nuclear weapons are now...

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Getting to a 100% renewable electricity sector

There is not much argument now about whether the United States can get to a 100% carbon-free electricity sector in the next 15 years or so. But many still believe that nuclear energy will be needed for...

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From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima

For decades, there has been an argument in the United States every August 6 and 9, the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One side says the Japanese militarists were brutal...

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The electric grid in a time of climate disasters: communities show the way

Three major electricity grid disasters in just over a year are exemplary of the havoc that climate extremes are causing and what needs to be done about it: (i) the howling winds of the 2020 derecho,...

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