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WHAT'S NEW IN INES? |
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No.13/2001 |
Dateline: March 30, 2001 |
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This is the weekly electronic information service of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility
Editor: Tobias Damjanov, e-mail:
INES homepage: http://inesglobal.org
INES International Office
INES Chair: Prof. Armin Tenner
CONTENTS of WNII No. 13/2001
New INESAP Coordinator
The International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation (INESAP) has appointed Regina Hagen (Darmstadt, Germany) as its new coordinator. Born in 1957, Regina is a free-lance translator (English, Russian) by profession, who joined the German peace movement in the early 80s: She was active in its resistance against the deployment of the Pershing nuclear missiles, in the anti-racist movement, and later in peace politics in the context of the 1991 Gulf War. A few years back, she became involved in IANUS/INESAP activities, and subsequently, in national and international Abolition 2000 networking, as well as in the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, and other organizations. Since then, she started focussing on nuclear weapons, the militarization of space, and missile defense. Ever since, she also did lots of related translations and some editing work, e.g. of the book "Security & Survival" which includes the draft Nuclear Weapons Convention. As of 1 February this year, Regina Hagen started working as the INESAP Coordinator.
She can be reached at: < >
David Krieger: Top Ten Reasons to Support National Missile Defense (Dr David Krieger is president of the US-based INES member organisation "Nuclear Age Peace Foundation" (NAPF), and Vice-Chair of INES)
After reflection, here are my top ten reasons to support NMD.
1. Even bigger profits for defense contractors.
2. Helps solve the budget surplus problem.
3. Lets the North Koreans know were technologically tough.
4. Shows the world that treaties are made to be broken.
5. We havent had an arms race for a while.
6. Its easier than resorting to diplomacy.
7. Proves were not perfectionists.
8. Wont require President Bush to leave the country.
9. Nostalgia for Star Wars.
10. The sheer fun of hitting bullets with bullets.
To find out more about the folly of US missile defense plans, visit http://www.wagingpeace.org
Conference reports by INES member Prof. J.M. Valenti
Entitled "Report: Developing Sustainability Communication Insights from Two Euro Conferences," INES member Prof. JoAnn M. Valenti (USA) has covered both last Year's INES Conference in Stockholm and the conference "Eco-Efficiency 2000: Towards Sustainable Economic Growth," which took place in Malmö, Sweden, just after the INES Conference. The report is published in "Science Communication," Vol 22, No 2/December 2000.
If you wish to get a copy, contact Prof. Valenti's research assistant Pamela Brubaker: < >
UK: Climate Change is More Certain than George W. Bush's Election Result (SGR press release 29 March 01)
Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) [1] have condemned the decision by President George W. Bush not to implement the Kyoto Protocol [2]. In an open letter [3] to the US President, Dr Stuart Parkinson criticised Bush's assertion that the scientific evidence for Climate Change was too weak to justify the US taking action.
Dr Parkinson said: "the certainty of scientific evidence for Climate Change is considerably greater than the certainty of the 537 votes that put you in power. We have to accept you as President of the USA, you have to accept that Climate Change is serious and the USA must take its fair share of the action to reduce this problem."
Notes:
[1] Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) is an independent UK organisation of scientists committed to the ethical use of science and technology. For more information see our website < http://sgr.org.uk/ > [2] The Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change commits industrialised countries to reducing their combined emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% below 1990 levels by 2012. The USA has a target of a 7% cut, the EU has a target of an 8% cut. [3] Open letter to President George W. Bush from Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR), UK concerning the US decision not to implement the Kyoto Protocol:
Dear Mr President,
I am writing on behalf of Scientists for Global Responsibility to express grave concern at your decision not to implement the Kyoto Protocol. We believe this stand to be highly irresponsible given the robust scientific evidence on Climate Change gathered and recently published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
It is not an overstatement to say that your decision threatens the lives of millions of people in the future and hence we urge you to reconsider immediately.
You stated in your letter to Senators Hagel, Helms, Craig, and Roberts that you question the certainty of the scientific evidence for Climate Change. As scientists we understand not only the importance of scientific uncertainty, but also the importance of having to take action in the face of such uncertainty. Let me present you with an analogy. In November your country held a Presidential election. Following a series of problems with the ballot, particularly in Florida, there was considerable uncertainty over which candidate had received enough votes to be declared as President. In the end, a 'best guess' of the number of votes cast for each candidate had to be made and the winner, you, was declared on this basis. Likewise, in the issue of Climate Change, we have to act on the best evidence. In short, what I am saying is that the certainty of scientific evidence for Climate Change is considerably greater than the certainty of the 537 votes that put you in power. We have to accept you as President of the USA, you have to accept that Climate Change is serious, and the USA must take its fair share of the action to reduce this problem.
Sincerely Dr Stuart Parkinson, Co-ordinator, Climate Change and Energy Programme, Scientists for Global Responsibility < >
"IPB News" February 2001
The latest issue of "IPB News", the regular periodical of the International Peace Bureau, covers the following:
World Harmony Network (WHN) For Sustainable Development (From the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU))
Dear Friends and Colleagues, At long last, we will soon be in a position to kick off a new trade union electronic forum relating to a "World Harmony Network (WHN) For Sustainable Development".
This is to find out if you wish to be listed among the initial participants of the Forum.
The electronic forum will seek to support the following aims of the WHN:
1) Promote the uses of live music and performances for sustainable development;
2) Promote -through music and art forms- sustainable work and workplaces, as a means of achieving Agenda 21 for sustainable development;
3) Participate in 28 April, "International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers," as an ongoing activity;
4) Promote the ratification of international Instruments for the protection of performers;
5) Promote the protection of intellectual property rights of artists and musicians;
The basic purpose of this Forum is to promote discussion and exchange of information. You will be encouraged to contribute ideas and information to the Forum: copies of news releases, music, poetry, scripts, and information about your projects, or information about activities of other groups that you think is relevant; anything that you think might contribute to our effectiveness in promoting the WHN aims.
This Forum will be coordinated by an international Trade Union Working Party on Occupational Health, Safety and Environment (OHSE), which is jointly supported by the ICFTU (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions), TUAC (Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD) and ITS (which are the International Trade Secretariats, bringing together trade unions on a sector basis).
The WHN Forum will be open to anyone, who is part of a group, which agrees to the aims stated above and is willing to join efforts in promoting them. It is intended for individuals who are part of some group or involved in some process with us and less for individual artists or performers, at this stage. We are currently working on the web-based facility, which would allow interested groups and individuals to eventually self register with the WHN and search other participants or groups, engaging in similar activities world-wide. The Forum will update you as this work progresses.
Lucien Royer, ICFTU/TUAC < >
United Nations study on disarmament and non-proliferation education (From: Felicity Hill, Director, United Nations Office, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; < > or: < >)
Note to interested university educators, disarmament and peace related institutes and NGOs by the Group of Governmental Experts to Prepare a United Nations Study on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education, 15 March 2001:
1. The General Assembly, acting on the advice of the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, adopted without a vote the resolution entitled "United Nations study on disarmament and non-proliferation education" (Resolution 55/33 E of 20 November 2000: available from the WNII editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment). In it, the Assembly requests the Secretary-General to prepare such a study, with the assistance of a group of qualified governmental experts, for consideration at its fifty-seventh session (in 2002).
2. The study will be carried out by a small group of ten governmental experts representing the geographical regions of the world and different approaches, philosophies and cultures with respect to education within regions (experts from Egypt, Hungary, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Senegal and Sweden). The group of governmental experts will hold two short sessions in 2001 and two in 2002 in New York: the first session is scheduled from Wednesday to Friday, 18-20 April 2001, and the second from Wednesday to Friday, 8-10 August 2001.
3. The resolution also requests the experts to "invite university educators, disarmament and peace-related institutes and non-governmental organizations that have special qualifications in education and training or in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation to make written and oral presentations to it."
WRITTEN PRESENTATIONS 4. Based on that request and with a view to preparing the first session, the Secretariat of the group is preparing background material for the group of experts. If your organization is interested, it is invited to submit a two-page paper to the Secretariat (address below) describing its work in disarmament and non-proliferation education and its views on the purpose and role of the study. It would be appreciated if papers were sent as far in advance of the first session as possible.
5. Additional material relating to your organization may also be presented to the group. However, quantities for circulation to all the participants in the meeting (a total of at least 31 copies, i.e., ten experts, ten UN agencies, six interpreters, five secretariat) would need to be supplied.
ORAL PRESENTATIONS 6. Given the restricted amount of time available at the first session, several academics and representatives from NGOs and research institutes known for their active work in the field under study will be requested to make oral presentations to the first session. Avenues are being explored to accommodate the input of as many different types of organizations as possible in future sessions or in intersessional gatherings. The latter will depend on the views of the governmental experts themselves and the availability of resources.
CONTACT ADDRESS 7. Preparations for the first session of the group are now actively under way. Written material may be sent to the following address at the United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs. Further information is also available at the same address:
Secretariat of the Group of Governmental Experts Monitoring, Database and Information Branch Department for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations Room 3151 A, New York, New York 10017, USA; Tel.: (1-212) 963 4620 or 7714, Fax: (1-212) 963 1121, e-mails: ,
New databases on foreign and security policy
The Germany-based Berlin Information Centre on Transatlantic Security (BITS) has recently added the following databases to its homepage http://www.bits.de
1. EURA - The EU-Russia Archive: contains a wealth of primary sources and information on EU-Russia relations from the foreign and security policy field.
2. The CESD-Policy Archive: is a large collection of primary sources and additional information describing the development, the history and the current debate on the Common European Security and Defense Policy / European Security and Defense Policy.
3. MAD - the Military Abbreviations Dictionary: is a searchable database of more than 37.000 abbreviations and acronyms from many different official sources and in a number of different languages. The one you don't know but need to know for understanding what you are reading - it might be there.
For the time being, the databases are in English only. A German version is to follow soon.
CONFERENCES, MEETINGS, SEMINARS
Conference on Sustainable Food Security For All by 2020: From Dialogue to Action http://www.ifpri.cgiar.org/2020conference/index.htm
For more details, contact Simone Hill-Lee, IFPRI: < >
International Conference on Globalization of Research and Development: Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Countries http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidbiotech/r&dconf/description.htm
For more, contact Derya Honca, Program Coordinator, Center for International Development, Harvard University: < >
International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture for Dry Areas for the Second Millennium
For more, visit: http://res2.agr.ca/lethbridge/hebei/confindex.htm
Aiming for Prevention: International Medical Conference on Small Arms, Gun Violence and Injury
The complete conference program, including registration and accommodation details, is available as a pdf file (2.7 MB): http://www.ippnw.org/HelsinkiConf.pdf
For additional registration and program information, contact Brian Rawson: < >
World Congress on Conservation Agriculture - a Worldwide Challenge http://www.ecaf.org/English/englis.htm
For more, contact Armando Martinez, Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, Córdoba, Spain: < >
18th World Energy Congress http://www.mbendi.co.za/wec/contact.htm
Sustainable Services & Systems - Transition towards Sustainability
For more, visit: http://www.cfsd.org.uk/events/tspd6/index.html
Fashioning the Future. Science, Technology and Visions of Progress
For more details, visit: http://web.mit.edu/sts/www/4s
International Conference on Freshwater http://www.water-2001.de
This conference will serve as preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio+10) in 2002, and will review Chapter 18 of Agenda 21 focusing on freshwater issues.
For more, contact: Angelika Wilcke, Conference Secretariat:
No new or changed addresses.
All INES e-mail addresses and homepages are available upon request from:
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