Global Health Alert

Pearson CollegeFebruary 7, 2006

Presented byDr. Jay AikenHamish Millar Dan Ming

International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War

Why a Global Health Alert Now?

Threat

Opportunity

Threat

Mininukes and nuclear bunker buster bombs proposed for use against underground bunkers,

supposed to be “safe for civilians”.

Radioactive fallout from a 1.2 Mt bomb on

Isfahan, Iran

Why are nuclear weapons bad for your

health?• August 6, 1945

The US detonated a 15 kiloton bomb over Hiroshima, Japan.

• Deaths - 118,661.• Injuries - 78,000.

August 9, 1945

• US detonated a 21 kiloton bomb over Nagasaki, Japan.

• Deaths - 73,884.• Injuries - 74,909.• 6.7 million square

metres leveled.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• Ground temperatures reached about 7,000 degrees C.

• “Black rain” containing radioactive fallout poured down for hours after the explosions.

Victims

Indirect Effects of Nuclear Weapons

Nuclear weapons today• 30,000 nuclear warheads with the

equivalent explosive force of:– Over 200,000 Hiroshima-sized bombs.– 11 billion tons of TNT, 2 tons for every

human on the planet.

• 4,000 on hair-trigger alert, ready to be launched on a few minutes notice.

Nuclear Weapons States

USA ~10,600

Russia ~18,000

China ~400

France 348

Great Britain

200

Total 29,548

Other nuclear weapons states

Indiadeclared

~ 30-35

Pakistandeclared

~24-48

Israelundeclared

~100-200

North KoreaDeclared but not confirmed

?

In case of a nuclear war - don’t call your doctor.

Now the Good News!

Opportunity

Human Security Report, 2005:

Progress in the past 30 years:

• 60 dictators have been toppled• Armed conflicts are down 40%

since 1992• Wars (more than 1000 battle

deaths) down 80% since 1992• International crises down more

than 70% (1981-2001)

Why are we turning away from war?

• The United Nations

• International Law

• Civil Society

Civil society took nuclear weapons to

court

Activists deposited boxes of millions of declarations of conscience at the International Court of Justice. The Court gave its opinion in 1996.

Public Opinion

• Large majorities of citizens polled in nuclear weapons states as well as other countries want the abolition of nuclear weapons

December 1996 fifty generals signed a

petition stating that:• Nuclear weapons can never be

used to build security• Nuclear weapons are, from the

military point of view, useless.• Nuclear weapons are a threat

to human survival and must be abolished

We are winning!

What we can do now

• Inform ourselves and others• Speak out against nuclear

weapons – To governments– To media– To the public - especially young

people– Join the Global Health Alerts Project

andbecome a presenter!

Think creatively• In 1987 four Montreal students took a year out of high

school to travel across Canada and speak to schools about the nuclear threat. The film Mile Zero documents their journey. They spoke to over 125,000 students in one year.

Think Creatively• 1986 a grade 11 student taking flying lessons

took an aerial photo of her classmates. The Victoria Times Colonist featured the photo just before the annual Peace Walk.

Target Project

Nuclear Weapons Inheritance Project, Beijing

My dear friends and fellow peacekeepers.Don’t despair. Don’t be discouraged. And above all, don’t give up.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the Hague Appeal for Peace, 1999.