SUSI SNYDER: The final preparatory committee meeting of the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ended on May 15 with adoption of an agenda for the 2010 NPT Review Conference. This is a positive step towards nuclear weapons abolition. However, the road to a world free of nuclear weapons still has many bumps to overcome, including ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), successful conclusions of a Fissile Materials Treaty (FMT), bilateral negotiations between the U.S. and Russia on a follow-up to the START treaty, regional security arrangements that include nuclear weapons sharing agreements and more.
The News on Nukes
FRIDA BERRIGAN: It’s not on the front pages of what is left of U.S. newspapers. The headlines are dominated by violence in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, by Miss America’s semi-nude photo scandal, and by cyber war-games and coal-fires power plans in China. But just about everyone who is anyone is talking about nuclear weapons this week. (Written May 11, 2009.)
The New Nuclear Math
JOHN LORETZ: Pick a number. Any number. How about 1,500? That’s how many nuclear weapons General Nikolai Solovtsov wants to keep in the Russian arsenal at the conclusion of the next round of START negotiations with the U.S.
ElBaradei: Warning Words on Nuclear Proliferation, Oversight
Outgoing International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed ElBaradei said the current international nuclear regime risked falling apart because of the recent uptick in nuclear proliferation, with new nations developing or threatening to develop nuclear technology. Though
Garten Services Launches Zero Waste Events Project in Salem
Garten Services has begun a new project that will help all your gatherings and events be more sustainable. It’s called Garten’s Zero Waste Events. Formally launched on June 15th with seed grant funding from the Oregon DEQ, Garten’s Zero Waste Events can now help you put sustainability into action by assisting in the reduction of your event’s solid waste impacts to the greatest extent possible.
Taking on the System: Rules for Radical Change in a Digital Era
JAMES TRIMARCO: A new book by Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of Daily Kos, is essential reading for anyone who wants to use new media to organize political activism.