A proclamation calling for reduced spending on nuclear weapons and redirection of those funds to meet the urgent needs of cities leads off a week of remembrance in Pittsburgh, PA, for the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The city council proclamation will recognize the Remembering Hiroshima/Imagining Peace local coalition of which WILPF is a part. An exhibit will be on display in the City-County building lobby August 3-14. The Alain Resnais film Hiroshima Mon Amour will be shown August 5.

A 12.5 mile ride to raise awareness and trace the blast radius of a small nuclear weapon – Bike Around the Bomb – is scheduled on August 8. For details, contact WILPF Pittsburgh coordinator Edith Bell edith.bell4@verizon.net or 413-661-7149 or view the announcement.

Immeasurable costs of nuclear weapons

Marylia Kelley will provide updates on the US nuclear weapons program and how it relates to work at the nearby Livermore CA lab when she speaks August 21 at San Jose Peace & Justice Center, sponsored by San Jose WILPF.

Kelley is executive director at Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment), a “watchdog” organization that monitors activities at the Livermore nuclear weapons lab. Tri-Valley CAREs strengthens global security by preventing the further development of nuclear weapons and working tirelessly for their elimination. 

She participated in the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference at the UN this spring, and will provide an update and some next steps. Additionally, she will report back from Washington, DC about the nuclear weapons budget and explain what’s going on at Livermore Lab. She will outline in layman’s terms the nuclear weapons programs currently under way, and the innumerable ways in which they impact us all.

The presentation will lead to a discussion about the costs of 70 years of nuclear development – to our health, environment, ethics, democracy, budget, peace and confidence in human survival. And, we will explore actions to create positive change. For details, see the flier or contact Joan Bazar joan@wilpfsanjose.org

Photo: Hiroshima-Nagasaki Legacy Exhibit consisting of photographs, graphics, poetry, and artwork will be on display August 3-14 in the Pittsburgh PA City-County Building. Pittsburgh WILPF coordinator Edith Bell is shown in the center of this photo taken in 2014.