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. 39/2000

• Membership and Projects' News:
  • Goettingen Appeal for the Prevention of a New Arms Race on Earth and in Outer Space
  • New IPB publication: "Peace is Possible"
  • New Defense Policy Web Resources from the Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA)
• Nuclear Weapons
  • "Plutonium for everybody"
  • Appeal for Responsible Security
• Sustainable Development:
  • World Energy Assessment (WEA) completed
• Briefings:
  • NATO Science Programme: 2001 Calendar of Meetings
• INES Web- and Email Service

MEMBERSHIP AND PROJECTS' NEWS

Goettingen Appeal for the Prevention of a New Arms Race on Earth and in Outer Space

At an INES workshop held in Goettingen, Germany, on 4 November, the following Appeal to the United Nations General Assembly in 2001 was launched:

"The deployment of missile defence systems by the USA and the militarization of outer space present a threat to peace and international security and increase the danger of a new arms race on earth and in space.

"In order to prevent a new arms race and to open way for negotiations, we demand a test freeze for ballistic missiles, missile defence systems and space weapons.

"The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty of 1972 between the USA and Russia is fundamental to international stability. It must be preserved and extended to all nations. Ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons must be disarmed. The development, testing and deployment of weapons in space must be prohibited by a space convention.

"We call for a space free of any weapons and the abolition of nuclear arms."

Please send your signature to: < >

Additional information:

• Two out of three NMD (National Missile Defence) tests, conducted under ideal conditions, have failed. Up to four more tests are scheduled for 2001. This is also when President-elect Bush must decide whether or not to approve the next phase of Star Wars. If he does, there would be at least fifteen more tests, and the more than US$60 billion system could become operational as early as 2005.
• On 14 December, Greenpeace protested against the proposed U.S. national missile defence (NMD) system, dubbed "Star Wars" outside NATO Headquarters. Greenpeace disarmament campaigner William Peden said, "Disarmament talks and policies, like the ones being reviewed today, will be futile if the Bush administration goes ahead and deploys the Star Wars missile system. If it proceeds 'Star Wars' will throw all disarmament talks off track and prompt countries with nuclear weapons to expand their nuclear arsenals, launching another Cold War." 39 Greenpeace activists were arrested.
• Recent documents and communications from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission leave no doubt: in parallel to creating a European Security and Defense Program, Europe also prepares for an increased use of space for military purposes. Check the "European" section of the website operated by the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space: http://www.space4peace.org
• Additional documents:
  • Joint ESA/EC Document on a European Strategy for Space: http://ravel.esrin.esa.it/docs/wisemen_report.pdf
  • The European Space Sector in the World: http://ravel.esrin.esa.it/docs/annex1_wisemen.pdf
  • Towards a Space Agency for the European Union: http://ravel.esrin.esa.it/docs/annex2_wisemen.pdf
• For more details on the European militarization of space, contact Regina Hagen:
• Related sources/references:
  • The latest issue of Disarmament Forum, published by UNIDIR, focuses on national missile defense. Entitled NMD: Jumping the Gun? it includes a description of the Clinton proposal by John Pike, et al, and a forward-looking piece by Daryl Kimball and Stephen Young. It is available at: http://www.unog.ch/unidir/e-df1-1.htm
  • Newly available is a special issue of "Physics Today" that looks at physics and national security. It includes a piece by Lisbeth Gronlund, George N. Lewis, and David C. Wright entitled The Continuing Debate on National Missile Defenses, ("Physics Today", December 2000 Volume 53, Number 12) which is available at: http://www.physicstoday.org/pt/vol-53/iss-12/p36.html
  • The following recently published articles are available as an rtf-formatted compilation from the WNII editor:
    • Countdown To Collision (Washington Post Magazine, 10 Dec 2000)
    • Russia, Bush And The Arms Race (Washington Post, Op-Ed, 11 Dec 2000)
    • US seeks Moscow missile agreement (BBC News, 11 Dec 2000)
    • Minister attacks US missile project (The Guardian (UK), 12 Dec 2000)
    • Space Leaders Urge Next U.S. President and Congress to Make Space Policy a Priority (Space.com, 13 Dec 2000)
    • More Americans Prefer a Limited National Defense System (Reuters/Zogby, 13 Dec 2000)

New IPB publication: "Peace is Possible"

The newest IPB (International Peace Bureau) book, "Peace is Possible", seeks to break new ground and reach the general public through attractive stories of successful peacemaking empowerment through concrete examples showing it can be done, and how.

The editor, past IPB Vice President Fredrik S. Heffermehl (Norway), selected examples of victorious peace work in later years and asked key people to give frank, lively and readable personal account of their experience. A total of 32 authors contributed to his book "Peace is possible" - most of them with new articles, written for this pioneering work by men and women who were at the center of the action, Dalai Lama, Gorbachev, Jody Williams, Scilla Elworthy, Joseph Rotblat, Daniel Ellsberg, Howard Zinn, Nelson Mandela, Richard Falk, Mordechai Vanunu, Joanna Macy .... With an average article length of 4 pages it has been possible to give a very wide panorama of efforts that create hope for a safe and peaceful world order.

• Available in 4 languages: Bangla, English, Finnish, Norwegian. Forthcoming: Hindi and Marathi.
• Price: US$20 (US$15 for IPB members and low income, also bulk rates)

For more information or ordering, see: http://www.ipb.org  or: http://home.c2i.net/norpeace/peaceispossible.html  

"Peace is Possible" is published with the support of UNESCO.

New Defense Policy Web Resources from the Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA) http://www.comw.org/pda 

1. Bigger Budgets Will Not Cure the Pentagon's Ills by Carl Conetta and Charles Knight. Boston Globe op-ed. http://www.comw.org/pda/0011budget.html  

2. Toward a Smaller, More Efficient and More Relevant US Military by Carl Conetta. PDA Briefing Memo 17. http://www.comw.org/pda/0010bm17.html  

3. Wheels or Tracks? On the "lightness" of military expeditions by Lutz Unterseher. PDA Briefing Memo 16. http://www.comw.org/pda/0007wheels.html  

4. Protecting America: Build Your Own Defense Budget http://www.nyu.edu/globalbeat/defensebudget/  

5. The Macgregor Briefings. An Information Age Vision for the US Army by Col. Douglas Macgregor. http://www.comw.org/pda/macgregor/ 

6. US Military-Strategic Ambitions: Expanding to Fill the post-Soviet Vacuum Commentary by Charles Knight. http://www.comw.org/pda/0006vacuum.html  

Sincerely, Aaron Katz, Director of Communications, PDA < >

(PDA is a project of the Commonwealth Institute, a US-based INES member organisation)

NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Abolition 2000 homepage: http://www.abolition2000.org  Grassroots News: http://www.napf.org/abolition2000/news/   ==========================================================

"Plutonium for everybody"

This is the title of a booklet recently published by the Dutch section of IPPNW. Its table of contents reads:

• Short introduction
• Plutonium, deadly gold, artificial metal, it's radioactive
• Plutonium obtained from nuclear waste can be used
• A medical look at plutonium
• A look at the military aspects of plutonium
• A point of view, Future or Fantasy, THORP

The booklet is available at: http://www.antenna.nl/nvmp/pluto.htm  

Appeal for Responsible Security

The Appeal for Responsible Security is an initiative put forward by the US-based Project Abolition Coalition. It consists of a simple, two-paragraph statement calling for immediate deep reductions in U.S. nuclear weapons, leading to their complete elimination, launched in October with a full-page ad in the New York Times featuring high-profile signatories such as Maya Angelou, Harrison Ford, and Corretta Scott King.

To check the Appeal, visit: http://www.projectabolition.org/articles/appeal.html  

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

World Energy Assessment (WEA) completed

The World Energy Assessment: Energy and the Challenge of Sustainability, was produced jointly by the United Nations Development Programme, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the World Energy Council.

The Assessment includes sections on the linkages between energy and sustainable development, energy resources and technological options, possible energy futures and policy options. The World Energy Assessment report draws on the findings of nearly one hundred scientists, energy experts, social researchers and development practitioners. This 500-page report concludes that a prosperous, equitable and environmentally sustainable world is within our reach, but only if governments adopt new policies to encourage the delivery of energy services in cleaner and more efficient ways.

More information on the Assessment, including a .pdf version of the report is available on the World Energy Assessment web site: http://www.undp.org/seed/eap/activities/wea  

The key messages of the report (WEA excerpt) are available as an rtf-formatted email attachment from the WNII editor.

Further information on the WEA can be obtained by contacting the following colleagues in UNDP: Ms. Caitlin Allen:    or Ms. Natty Davis:  

BRIEFINGS

NATO Science Programme: 2001 Calendar of Meetings http://www.nato.int/science  

The NATO Science Programme has just published its Advanced Study Institutes and Advanced Research Workshops to be held in 2001. You can obtain this Calendar of Meetings as an rtf-formatted email attachment from the WNII editor.

For more information, contact Enid Austin, NATO Scientific and Environmental Affairs Division: < >

INES WEB AND E-MAIL SERVICE

No new or changed email or web addresses in  this issue.  All INES e-mail addresses and homepages are available upon request from:  

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