Nuclear Free Future Month

By Carol Urner, DISARM/End Wars Issue Committee

August's Nuclear Free Future month opened with WILPF women across the country recommitting themselves to work for a Nuclear Free Future. Send your August NFF news to carol.disarm@gmail.com.

Ashland, OR and St. Louis, MO WILPF Branches were both chief sponsors of community remembrances of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ashland WILPF organized a four-day series of events ending with floating sunflowers. Pittsburgh also participated in a long series of events as did Washington D.C. WILPF, ending with a prayer vigil at the White House. Sacramento Valley WILPF was co-sponsor of their Hiroshima Day memorial as was Portland, OR Branch of their 50^th citywide community remembrance.

Boston and Cape Cod Branches sponsored community meetings with Cecile Pineda and Hattie Nestel, discussing Cecile’s powerful new book, Devil’s Tango: How I learned the Fukishima Step by StepDISARM is helping our members Hattie and Cecile do ten book signings in communities seeking to shut down nearby nuclear reactors in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.

The wide variety of grassroots and national  peace groups (including Peace Action, AFSC, Western States Legal Foundation and WILPF) that organize together within the UFPJ Nuclear Weapons and Human Security Working Group facilitated by Jackie Cabasso, regard August as Nuclear Free Future month. After Hiroshima and Nagasaki Day commemorations, and our renewed pledge to work for a Nuclear Free Future, our Congressional delegations will be home and campaigning. I-Can has just issued a new booklet on 'Catastrophic Humanitarian Harm' that examines the catastrophic effects of nuclear weapons and the whole nuclear chain on our health, societies and the environment. View and download the entire document. for meetings with your Senators and Representative, or print out individual half pages to share.

August is often a difficult month for organizing events but can be a good month for planning future ones. Refer to our DISARM Nuclear Free Future Resources in the July eNews for program and action project resources on Depleted Uranium, Mayors for Peace Cities, and phasing out nuclear power.

And watch for our updated web page later this month with a report on WILPF participation in Hiroshima-Nagasaki observances and a list of DVDs that could and should be shown in high school and college classrooms everywhere.