Nuclear Weapons Now: The Threat and Opportunity

On Sunday, I spoke at the Durham Community Church with Dr. Ira Helfand, one of the founding partners of the International Committee to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and Jeremy Love, National Field Director for Back from the Brink about the threat that nuclear weapons pose to humanity.

I brought some artifacts from my time in the Marshall Islands to illustrate the ways in which their history has been shaped by nuclear weapons and their destructive power.

Dr. Helfand spoke to the horror and devastation that a nuclear war would cause, the vast immediate destruction from the shock wave and intense heat, the ensuing famine, and the collapse of our basic infrastructure. I spoke about the horror and devastation that nuclear weapons have already caused in places like the Marshall Islands. The nuclear ash that fell on Rongelap like snow, the poisoned groundwater, the cancer, birth defects, and still births.

A few weeks ago, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists issued a dire warning. They moved the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds until midnight; closer than we have ever been to catastrophe. Our country and our planet have never faced a moment as dangerous as this one, and we all must wake up to the danger and act to prevent disaster.

Living and working in the Marshall Islands has taught me that these horribly destructive weapons have shaped our past and present, and if we don’t act now, they could end our future. Kommol tata to all of our cherished friends, mentors, and students in the RMI who shared these stories with me. I am honored to share them with our neighbors in the hopes that one day, we will all live in a world free from these horrible instruments of destruction.

We were fortunate to hear some original music from “The Last Optimist”

(I'll post video from the event as soon as it's ready)