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    [Please note that the first "1" in q18 is the number one, while the last "l" is a "L"]

CONTENTS of WNII No. 15/2001

• Membership and Projects' News:
  • INES member Dr.Philip B.Smith: Is Nuclear Power Sustainable? Would it's use reduce CO-2 emissions?
• Nuclear Weapons:
  • START I Aggregate Numbers of Strategic Offensive Arms
  • Former US Senator Robert Kerrey in favour of "radical downsizing" the US nuclear arsenal
  • Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers' useful web references
  • Korean Committee Against NMD-TMD and for Peace launched
• Briefings:
  • More on biological weapons
  • UN Disarmament Commission in session
  • "Trust & Verify" No. 96/March-April 2001
• Conferences, Meetings, Seminars:
  • Sustainability and Solidarity Conference
  • CEPE 2001: Computer Ethics, Philosophical Enquiries
• INES Web- and Email Service

MEMBERSHIP AND PROJECTS' NEWS

INES member Dr.Philip B.Smith: Is Nuclear Power Sustainable? Would it's use reduce CO-2 emissions?

This is the title of the main document to be found on the following website: http://home.trouwweb.nl/stormsmith  The documents on the website were prepared by Philip Smith and Jan Willem Storm van Leeuwen. This website was set up because it appears that the nuclear power industry has launched a campaign to convince everyone that nuclear energy is a sustainable source of energy which produces no CO-2. The authors hope, through the website, to make clear to technical as well as non- technical people that nuclear energy certainly is not a sustainable source of energy. In fact, it could never contribute more than a negligible fraction of the energy which will be produced in the coming half-century. Furthermore, the myth that nuclear power does not lead to the production of any CO-2 is exploded. Although the nuclear reactor of a nuclear power station does not, in itself, produce any CO-2, the nuclear fuel chain does lead to the production of large amounts. The entire analysis is carried out in energy units. This analytical basis is sometimes called ECCO-analysis. This approach was chosen because the use of money units leaves the essential environmental questions unanswered. In particular, the use of discounting in economic analysis falsifies the fundamental question as to the physical feasibility of a given course. Besides this, money is an arbitrary unit which cannot used to compare processes at different times. This is particularly important in the analysis of nuclear power where energy "debts" are built up during the early stages of the nuclear fuel chain - debts which must be paid, in full, many generations later. A monetary basis would make these debts appear negligible. As long as the limited supply of rich uranium ores hold out, the nuclear energy fuel chain does indeed, after about seven years of operation, produce less CO-2 than, say, a gas-burning plant. But when the uranium content of ores gets below around 0.05% it becomes doubtful if nuclear power will lead to the production of any less CO-2 than just burning fossil fuel directly. The authors hope that this website will help in convincing the people and government of Finland that going to nuclear power would be a bad choice. Dr.Philip B.Smith, Steenhouwerskade 22, 9718 DB Groningen, The Netherlands Tel(home) ; Tel.(office) ; Fax Emeritus professor of experimental physics. Consulting scientist, IVEM Centre for Energy and Environmental Studies, University of Groningen, Netherlands. Email:

Additional note by the WNII editor: As an rtf-formatted email attachment (size: ~ 42 Kb), I can make available the article "Nuclear Energy Sustainable?" by Myrthe Verweij (WISE Amsterdam), which is to be published in the upcoming issue of "Third World Resurgence", Issue No. 127-128. Also included in this file are:

• Background (I): The UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)
• Background (II): Why Nuclear Power Is Not Sustainable
• To the Chair and Member States of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development: Petition Against The Support Of Nuclear Technologies

NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Abolition 2000 homepage: http://www.abolition2000.org

Grassroots News: http://www.napf.org/abolition2000/news/

START I - Aggregate Numbers of Strategic Offensive Arms

The US State Department's Bureau of Arms Control released a fact sheet listing the aggregate numbers of strategic (nuclear) offensive arms in existence within countries covered by the START I agreement. This data is as of January 31, 2001, and comes from Memorandum of Understandings exchanged by the US, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. http://www.state.gov/t/ac/rls/fs/index.cfm?docid=1716

Former US Senator Robert Kerrey in favour of "radical downsizing" the US nuclear arsenal

The April 2001 issue of "Arms Control Today" carries a very insightful article by former Nebraska Senator Robert Kerrey and by William D. Hartung on the subject of U.S. nuclear weapons policy. They argue for "a radical downsizing of the U.S. nuclear arsenal" and "a well-informed national debate about what purpose, if any, nuclear weapons should serve in a revised U.S. national security strategy." They also warn against "unilateralism" and an abandonment of arms control strategies and urge the Bush administration "... to think hard about the value of pursuing a complex, costly, and unproven missile program that could become an obstacle to U.S.-Russian nuclear arms reductions and a catalyst for a major buildup of Chinese nuclear forces."  For the article "Toward a New Nuclear Posture: Challenges for the Bush Administration" in full, visit: http://www.armscontrol.org/ACT/april01/kerrey.html

Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers' useful web references

The US-based "Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers", an alliance of 17 leading disarmament and non- proliferation NGOs working for a practical, step-by-step program to reduce nuclear dangers, is maintaining an on-line set of calendars for reference purposes. The calendars will be updated as events warrant.

• Listing of "Key National Missile Defense-Related Dates": http://www.clw.org/coalition/nmdcalendar.htm
• Listing of of upcoming events in the arms control community, see the "Coalition Calendar": http://www.clw.org/coalition/calendar0301.htm
• If you have any additions or suggestions for the calendars, contact: Stacie Robinson

Korean Committee Against NMD-TMD and for Peace launched (Source: "Korea Times," April 10, 2001)

On 9 April, more than 40 civic groups formed an alliance to oppose US missile defence programmes, claiming such moves will prevent peace from prevailing on the Korean peninsula. Major nongovernmental organizations, such as the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and the People's Action for Reform of the Unjust SOFA are taking part in the coalition. "The Theater Missile Defence (TMD) and National Missile Defence (NMD) projects being pushed by the United States will only spark an international arms race, with the Korean peninsula as the main victim, " said the Korean Committee Against NMD-TMD and for Peace at a press conference, adding that "The initiative of the U.S. government to deploy the NMD-TMD system is nothing more than a design to secure its hegemony."
"As the Bush government is intent on fabricating North Korea's military threat to justify its programme, it will ultimately damage the prospect of peace and unification between the two Koreas, which is starting to take root," it was also stated. The Korean Committee also wrote a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush and urged him to give up the missile plan: Saying they are "quite satisfied with one episode of 'Star Wars'," the activists demanded that President Bush abandon the ballistic missile defence system and stated that they will link arms with all the peace- loving people across the world to lay the mindless NMD-TMD plan to rest. The coalition also called on President Kim Dae-jung to "take a clear stand on the NMD-TMD issue," and give up all efforts to participate in the controversial missile defence programmes. The coalition will conduct various workshops, seminars and publicity campaigns on the NMD and TMD projects to enhance public awareness of the issue. Signature drives, street campaigns and protest rallies will also be staged against the U.S. Embassy and the Korean Defence Ministry to voice opposition to the missile plan.

BRIEFINGS

More on biological weapons

• Re: "Defining the Debate on Controlling Biological Weapons" (see WNII 14/2001) In response to this information bit, WNII reader Oliver Meier (VERTIC) pointed out that since more than five years, a Verification Protocol is being negotiated which should be finalized just before the forthcoming Fifth Review Conference on the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) in November this year. Reportedly, the next round of these negotiations starting on 23 April (see information below) is to consider a Draft of such a Protocol. The outcome of the corresponding debate is seen as decisive for the success of the November Review Conference; at the same, the position of the USA and some other countries could spoil these negotiations or could lead to unsatisfying results.
• BTWC Ad Hoc Group Session, Geneva, 23 April to 11 May this year; The Geneva-based NGO Committee for Disarmament and other NGOs will hold briefings on biological weapons on 23-25 April alongside the Session of the Ad Hoc Group:
  • April 23, 14:00 - 17:00: Briefing for NGOs The aim of this briefing is to update representatives of environmental, disarmament, peace, human rights and other NGOs on biological weapons, their history, current situations and policy questions. The following issues will be addressed:
    • History of biological weapons, including recent developments
    • The dual-use problem and bio-defense research
    • The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and the current negotiations for a Protocol to strengthen the Convention
    • Current developments threatening to undermine the scope of the Convention:
      • bioweapons in the drug war: current status, environmental and health issues
      • oil-eating microbia
      • Future developments, the impact of human genomics, the possibility of ethnic weapons
    • Political initiatives:
      • Closing loopholes in the Convention and banning bioweapons from use in law enforcement and drug eradication
      • International Criminal Law
  • April 24, 13:00-14.00: Luncheon briefing for delegates to the Protocol negotiations (also open to NGOs). Title: Closing loopholes in the Convention
    • Bioweapons in the drug war - report from Colombia
    • The use of biological agents to kill drug producing plants is not legitimate biocontrol - a scientist's view
    • The scope of the convention under threat - Sunshine Project
    • Note: On April 25 there will be a further lunchtime briefing on BW for NGOs and delegations, organised by the Swedish mission on behalf of the European Union.

Further details of all these events are available from the NGO Committee Secretariat c/o International Peace Bureau:  

UN Disarmament Commission in session http://www.wilpf.int.ch www.reachingcriticalwill.org   (from: Felicity Hill, Director, United Nations Office, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom)

On April 9, the UN Disarmament Commission (UNDC) opened, and will continue until April 27, in New York. This information update will be followed by weekly reports on the discussions, which will also alert to speeches and documents placed on the WILPF website at the Disarmament Commission button: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/dc/dcindex.html   The UN Department on Disarmament Affairs has also updated its site on the UNDC: http://www.un.org/Depts/dda/undiscom.htm  

• UNDC Bureau: For the first time in its 49 years, the UN Disarmament Commission will be chaired by a woman, Deputy Permanent Representative Dianne Quarless of Jamaica. Vice Chairs include Sr. Martha Betriz Lopes de Mitre of Bolivia, Ambassador Salander of Sweden, Mr. Niklas Lindqvist of Finland, Mr. Yurii V. Onishchenko of Ukraine, with the African Group still to nominate a Vice Chair.
• UNDC Agenda: The Agenda and the Plan of Work can be found at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/dc/workp.pdf   http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/dc/dcagenda.pdf   The two agenda items are in their 2nd of 3 years of discussion: 1. Ways and Means to achieve Nuclear Disarmament" 2. Practical Confidence Building Measures in the Field of Conventional Arms Last years reports on these subjects can be found at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dda/UNDC/a55_42.htm#item1a
• Background on the Disarmament Commission: The General Assembly, by its resolution 502 (VI) of January 1952, created the United Nations Disarmament Commission under the Security Council with a general mandate on disarmament questions. In June 1978, the first special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament established a successor Disarmament Commission (UNDC) as a subsidiary organ of the Assembly, composed of all Member States of the United Nations. It was created as a deliberative body, with the function of considering and making recommendations on various problems in the field of disarmament and of following up on the relevant decisions and recommendations of the special session. It reports annually to the General Assembly. In the light of its function, the UNDC focuses on a limited number of agenda items at each session. In 1989, to allow for in-depth consideration, it decided that its substantive agenda should be limited to a maximum of four items. From 1993, it has, in practice, dealt with two or three items, each of which has usually been considered for three consecutive years. In 1998, by its decision 52/492, the General Assembly decided that the UNDC's agenda, as of 2000, would normally comprise two substantive items. The UNDC, which meets for three weeks in the spring, operates in plenary meetings and working groups, the number of working groups depending on the number of substantive items on its agenda. The five geographical groups take turns assuming the chairmanship of the UNDC, while the chairmen of the working groups are selected in accordance with the principle of equitable geographical distribution.
• Communicating with your representatives Please remember that a full listing of your representatives and their contact details in New York can be found at the GOVT. DISARM CONTACTS button on the WILPF website. There is no excuse to not ask questions and provide information to the people representing you! http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/frames/Gov_Disarm_Contacts/Gov_Disarm_Dir_Frameset.html     Speeches of the governmental representatives at the Session can be found at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/cd/thisweek/thisweekindex.html
• Jenni Rissanen is the Acronym Institute's Analyst attending the UNDC. For her latest, in-depth assessment of developments see 'Geneva Update' in Disarmament Diplomacy No. 54: http://www.acronym.org.uk/54genev.htm

"Trust & Verify" No. 96/March-April 2001

The latest issue of "Trust & Verify", published by the London-based "Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC)", carries the following:

• Main articles:
  • Did Iraq conduct a clandestine nuclear weapon test
  • CWC verification in question
  • Preparing for Earth Summit 2002
• "Verification Watch":
  • Verifying climate change itself
  • CTBT news
  • INF inspections end, but Kalinigrad inspections sought
  • Uranium shipment from Russia to India
• "Peace Missions Monitor", covering Solomon Islands, Congo and Northern Ireland
• "Verification Quotes"
• "Science & Technology Scan":
  • Filling the verification voids?
  • Verification clothing
  • Robots turn on a dime, park on a nickel
  • Verifying the paper chain
  • Canadian portable radar
  • Getting under your skin, GPS implants
• "News & Events"

"Trust & Verify" can be ordered from:

CONFERENCES, MEETINGS, SEMINARS

Sustainability and Solidarity Conference

• Date: 12-14 June 2001
• Venue: Gothenburg, Sweden
• Organized by Friends of the Earth Europe, the Heinrich Böll Foundation (Germany) and Friends of the Earth Sweden in co-operation with different environmental, solidarity, peace, third world movements and trade unions

This conference is one part of the European Futures Congress, 12-17 June, which will be held in connection with the EU-Summit ending the Swedish EU-presidency period. Topics of this conference are:

• 12 June: How to get rid of the obstacles for a sustainable society?
• 13 June: Lectures and workshops on the following themes:
  • the Rio Conference and the expectations regarding the World Summit on Sustainable Development
  • the sustainable development strategy of the EU
  • the EU and Eastern Europe
  • the EU and the Third World
  • Local Mobilisation and Local Agenda 21
  • Current issues such as agriculture, nuclear power, etc.
• 14 June: Dialogue with politicians on the theme The Global Responsibility of the EU:
  • How to challenge the neo-liberal globalization?
  • Europe towards a sustainable development

For more details, contact Ulla Kloetzer, Alternative to EU Finland:   Lea Launokari, Women for Peace Finland:

CEPE 2001: Computer Ethics, Philosophical Enquiries

• Date: 14-16 December 2001
• Venue: Lancaster, UK
• Organized by the Centre for Study of Technology in Organizations, Institute for Environment, Philosophy and Public Policy

For more details, visit: http://www.lancs.ac.uk/depts/philosophy/conferences/

INES WEB AND E-MAIL SERVICE

No new or changed addresses.
All INES e-mail addresses and homepages are available upon request from:  

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