Nuclear weapon | Be a Seed for Change

Happy New Year! We’re excited to be kicking off 2011 with the support of people like you.

You are the foundation of our organization. It’s because of your support that the Union of Concerned Scientists has been able to make great progress on some of the toughest environmental, health, and security issues of our time.

We’re very interested in what you, as a UCS supporter, think about what we’re doing. So please tell us what matters to you by taking our quick online survey.

As a science-based organization, it is anathema to us to make uninformed presumptions, so we rely on you to tell us what you think. We’ll use your answers to make better decisions about what to send you and how often to contact you. Please click here to give us your opinion today.

We also want to make sure you know about some exciting accomplishments that happened in just the last few weeks—each of which we worked hard to shape and deliver:

•Congress ratified the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the United States and Russia. This critical pact will reduce each country’s vast arsenals of nuclear weapons and is a critical first step in a renewed global effort to reduce the nuclear threat.

•The Obama administration released its long-awaited scientific integrity plan to improve transparency in policy making, ensure that well-qualified individuals are appointed to science positions, and protect those who expose abuse of science.

•An historic agreement was reached at December’s U.N. climate convention in Cancún, Mexico, that will reduce tropical deforestation and protect forest peoples and biodiversity (contrary to the perception some have that only modest progress was made there).

These long-fought achievements would not have been realized if it weren’t for your actions and support. Thank you, and congratulations.

We look forward to the new year ahead and to continuing to work together with you, side-by-side, to promote science-based solutions to cut global warming emissions, develop clean energy alternatives, reduce the threat of nuclear weapons, and much more!

Don’t forget to take our quick online survey to tell us how our online communications are serving you.

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch

President

Tell the Senate: Reduce spending for the nuclear weapons complex.

$55 billion.

That’s how much the U.S. spends each year maintaining its nuclear arsenal. That’s also what it would cost to provide 350 million people worldwide with clean drinking water. Or help 30 million children survive past their 5th birthday.

But instead of relieving the suffering of millions around the world, the U.S. continues to spend billions on nuclear weapons and systems. Even though the Cold War era is over, leaders in Washington keep asking for more funding for new nuclear weapons every year, and taxpayers foot the bill every time.

We need to reassess our priorities.

There is a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) that calls for the U.S. and Russia to agree upon reductions in the size of their respective nuclear arsenals. But before that happens, START must be ratified by 67 votes in the U.S. Senate.

Tell your Senators to phase out our nuclear arsenal and pass START now >

The issue isn’t just the exorbitant expense of nuclear weapons – it’s their inherent instability. With the U.S. and Russia maintaining thousands of nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert and nuclear-armed foes India and Pakistan, the elimination of nuclear weapons is more urgent than ever.

With the continued development of a nuclear arsenal, the U.S. is helping make sure nuclear weapons continue to threaten the people of the world with catastrophic possibilities. Building and maintaining nuclear weapons means there are production sites all over the world that are vulnerable to terrorist attack or to theft of weapons or weapons-grade materials.

Getting New START through the Senate is not going to be easy. Some senators still want to continue to invest billions of dollars in new nuclear weapons production facilities in exchange for a “Yes” vote on ratification.

Tell your Senators to ratify the new START agreement without preconditions or billions in new funding for the nuclear weapons complex >

If we don’t speak out and take action for a world free of nuclear weapons, who will?

Thank you for taking action,

The Change.org Team