nuclear-news

Nova Scotia News – TheChronicleHerald.ca

Threat of nuclear annihilation still hangs over world
The Chronicle Herald By RUTH BISHOP and NANCY COVINGTONTue. Sep 23 – 5:59 AMTHIS WEEK, one of the world’s most famous anti-nuclear activists will address the people of Halifax. Dr. Helen Caldicott of Australia will deliver the same message she has given for over 30 years: Nuclear war is by far the greatest threat to the future of humankind

Today, there are almost 27,000 nuclear weapons left in the world. Over 4,000 of these are on trigger alert – ready to be computer-launched within minutes. The risk of accidental nuclear war is as great as it has ever been. Even a small accidental attack could devastate the entire planet; if dropped in tropical areas, a minuscule percentage of the world’s total nuclear explosive power would affect the climate so greatly that agriculture would collapse in major areas and billions would die from starvation.

Yet, the world faces an even greater nuclear threat. As more countries of the world gain access to nuclear power, more nuclear weapons will be in the hands of unstable regimes. The risk is such that Henry Kissinger and George Schultz warn that the world is now poised “on the precipice of a new and dangerous nuclear era.”

Here in Halifax, we already face a tremendous nuclear threat. At this time, any NATO vessel entering Halifax Harbour is permitted to carry nuclear weapons on board. Our government holds an official “neither confirm nor deny” policy on their existence. This means that our government essentially sanctions the presence of nuclear weapons right outside our front doors. Halifax consequently faces a small but very real risk of a catastrophe far greater than the explosion of 1917…………………………Canada should now play a significant role in leading an international anti-nuclear campaign. We have already taken several important steps, including ratifying the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970. But the Canadian public clearly wants the government to do far more: In a recent poll, 73 per cent of Canadians supported eliminating all nuclear weapons through an enforceable agreement.

Nova Scotia News – TheChronicleHerald.ca

Tags: Nuclear, antinuclear, uranium, radioactive

September 25, 2008 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized