Anti-nuclear activist Dr. Helen Caldicott spoke about the environmental and military threats facing the planet at the First Congregational Church of Long Beach Sunday.
CSULB Campus Progressives were among the 22 organizations supporting the event, which promoted peace and nuclear disarmament.
Dr. Caldicott addressed the issues confronting the future of life on earth and began her lecture with the perils of global warming.
Deforestation contributes to climate change, she explained, because trees absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen back into the atmosphere.
The melting of the Arctic ice escalates the global warming effects because without the large masses of ice reflecting the sun’s rays back into the atmosphere and space, the ocean absorbs heat.
In addition, the melting of the Greenland ice caps poses an imminent threat for people’s fresh water resources.
As the ocean heats, the permafrost, soil at or below the freezing point of water, melts. The thawing of the permafrost causes trees to fall and previously trapped organic matter to decompose, which releases millions of tons of methane, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.
Humans live in a “chemical soup,” Caldicott said. Plastic bottles and tephlon-lined pans, wrappers and babies’ pacifiers contain chemical toxins with “hormone-mimickers” that stimulate cancer cells.
Dr. Caldicott, who trained in medicine, compared the health of the planet to the human body. The ozone layer, which acts as the “skin” of the planet, continues to disappear. The “prescription”, she said, is to use renewable fuels to power our electricity and transportation.
She called for people to “become totally aware of how you live.” She urged people to install solar panels on their homes, hang dry their laundry on a clothesline and find alternatives to using coal.
Dr. Caldicott emphasized the threat to humanity with the 30,000 nuclear weapons existing in the world today. Ships carrying nuclear weapons arrive in nearby ports, information of which she said, the “military has no right to keep you in ignorance.”
Nuclear power continues to emit radiation into the environment, causing acute radiation sickness, such as cancer and birth defects. Nuclear power induces global warming because the making and transporting of nuclear power depends on the use of fossil fuels.
Furthermore, the proposed radioactive waste storage site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada could potentially leak waste into the water.
Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain have only addressed the issue of nuclear power once or twice, said Dr. Caldicott.
She encouraged people to “turn the media around” and demand for the media coverage of the facts about global warming and nuclear power.
“It’s up to this country and its wisdom to save this planet,” she said.
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