Physicians for Social Responsibility - Maine Chapter (PSR Maine)

Breaking Op-Ed: Reduce nuclear risks; change sole presidential authority
"We urge Sen King and Sen Collins to immediately begin work together on a legal framework that would alter this dangerous policy and provide needed safeguards..."

Opinion: Reduce nuclear risks; change sole presidential authority Today’s nuclear weapons are vastly more destructive than those used against the Japanese almost 80 years ago this week, a fact not appreciated by many.

Opinion | The Last Survivors of an Atomic Bomb Have a Story to Tell (Gift Article) On the anniversaries of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we must listen to the few who can still speak to the horror nuclear weapons can inflict.

79 years ago, the people of Hiroshima suffered unspeakable, inhumane terror.

What happened to them should never happen again, to anyone, anywhere.

Today we remember the victims and raise our voices to demand a world free of nuclear weapons.

Did you know that public pension funds like MainePERS are one of the largest financiers of the fossil fuel industry? After a winter of devastating storms and Maine fishermen bringing in their smallest lobster catch since 2009, it is clear that Mainers can’t afford for MainePERS to continue to invest in climate chaos. Tell MainePERS to implement LD 99, the 2021 law directing them to divest from fossil fuels, and protect the future of Mainers here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd2WnGoGejxtWcPT4P9wLRfpgStKuiuopZsa7dWr54ckHXAhg/viewform. Learn more at divestmaine.org.

It's the First Day of Summer and is heating up - with more frequent & deadly climate pollution-fueled extreme weather events like wildfires and heat waves turning communities upside down, we must now!

You're Invited! Dr. Bernard Lown Portrait Unveiling

Americans Who Tell the Truth invites the community to the unveiling of artist Robert Shetterly’s portrait of Lewiston native and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Bernard Lown. The event will take place on June 7, 2024, 5:30-7:00 pm at the Bates Mill Atrium, 35 Canal St., Lewiston, Maine, 04240. Dr. Lown’s portrait will join the over 270 portraits that Robert Shetterly has painted as part of the American Who Tell the Truth series.

Peace Action Maine Peace Action Maine is a voice of education and a center for people committed to disarmament and crea

Take Action: Tell your member of Congress to support radiation victims and pass here: https://secure.everyaction.com/Wd9zdTHDOkmm0WOhk65PRA2?contactdata=KuxI%2fqkbWs2TuUcKVAf7r7e97wDmhHGQdBhvr5Eqnm+fHWRwa+LOAl5KAsWkC6j%2f0zLmjS+5lVtJ5%2fyRIBC+jO1utfVOtppkCVdQUcUk0fiLffGm15ScEsydMSlAj0sRFtv7X7yndxYFAhpU+WicFmySx3T+zcdOnyOLDo7evTNRiCcR2dIAMio0JJ1MkJpIS%2fvpi%2fFIrPX7Z4Al+2ozcoyTe2DvbjohHHxuKU3gX6BrTJb6nvQUugaOVWTgbltw2Y6yqP5fbaM5nO7ZKKoh%2fIvxOO3NuUj%2fASP+SqQAWhfDavyxRB+iJ21ybf1ovFalnBn+l%2fJJdxlqYo%2fDTJsIew%3d%3d&emci=117e7141-941f-ef11-86d2-6045bdd9e096&emdi=b20b44ac-df21-ef11-86d2-6045bdd9e096&ceid=32669

📢The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), passed by Congress in 1990, is set to expire on June 7, 2024. RECA provides essential compensation to individuals exposed to radiation from US nuclear weapons tests who suffer from related illnesses.

➡️However, RECA does not cover all the downwinders unknowingly exposed to radiation. While the Senate has passed a renewal with amendments to expand coverage, the House has yet to follow suit.

➡️If RECA is not renewed, compensation will be cut off. All survivors and those affected by nuclear weapons testing deserve full compensation and assistance. The expansion of RECA better reflects the reality of the harms caused by nuclear weapons testing, which crosses county and state borders and affects multiple generations.

➡️In addition to supporting survivors, the US must also focus on remediating contaminated environments to protect future generations. The costs of supporting survivors should not be an issue, especially considering the substantial expenditure on nuclear weapons.

Learn more below and join us in amplifying this!!💪

➡️https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2024-05/news/us-house-under-pressure-renew-aid-downwinders

📸: Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium

Undermining the ability of local governments to regulate pesticides puts citizens and kids at risk of health harms.
We urge the House Agriculture Committee to oppose pesticide provisions for chemical makers in the farm bill.

static.ewg.org

"For the past 20 years, the debate surrounding U.S. nuclear weapon policy has been stagnant, despite the fact that a nuclear exchange between the superpowers would leave a shattered world. Given recent reports from the U.S. Air Force regarding the staggering cost growth of the Sentinel program—a "mega-project" to replace the currently deployed 400 Minuteman III nuclear-armed ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)—we can no longer let momentum alone march us down a $150 billion path that makes our country, and the world, fundamentally less safe."
https://www.newsweek.com/congressman-us-land-based-nuclear-weapons-need-rethink-opinion-1901654

PSR Maine is pleased to invite you to a virtual event with Annie Jacobsen, investigative journalist and New York Times bestselling author of Nuclear War: A Scenario, on Wednesday, May 29 at 8 PM ET. PSR Maine is proudly cosponsoring this event, which is being organized and hosted by Back from the Brink: The Call to Prevent Nuclear War.

Register now: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VSNspz8jSsGBiA6f0gRu_w #/registration

Pollution from power plants causes significant health issues, especially in underserved communities. Today’s rules will reduce pollution from the power sector, protect public health, advance , and confront the climate crisis.

Solar Win for Maine on ! Gov Janet Mills Announces $62 Million Award to Maine Through Inflation Reduction Act to Deliver Affordable, Accessible Solar Energy to Maine People

Governor Mills Announces $62 Million Award to Maine Through Inflation Reduction Act to Deliver Affordable, Accessible Solar Energy to Maine People | Office of Governor Janet T. Mills Governor’s Energy Office to create statewide program to increase availability of clean, affordable solar energy to low-income households, reduce energy costs, and create good-paying jobs Governor Janet Mills today announced that Maine has received a $62 million award from the U.S. Environmental Pr...

ICYMI: Victory in New England!

New England to be Coal-Free by 2028. Last New Hampshire Coal Plants, Merrimack And Schiller, To Close After 25 Years Of Advocacy. Sierra Club

New England to be Coal-Free by 2028, Marking Significant Victory for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign BOW, NH. – Today, following negotiations with Sierra Club, The Conservation Law Foundation, and EPA, Granite Shore Power has committed to ending the era of coal in New England by retiring the coal-burning units at Merrimack and Schiller Stations in New Hampshire, by 2028 and 2025 respectively. In ...

Over 130 Orgs have spoken: This WE'RE ALL IN. Dozens of organizations joined WE ACT for Environmental Justice to make sure that there are no cut corners when it comes to investing in environmental protection budgets, especially U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and for 2025!

Astrid DuBois, Government Affairs Manager, WE ACT for Environmental Justice shares:

“All Americans, but distinctly vulnerable and overburdened frontline and fenceline communities, deserve a life of clean air, water, and land - we know this budget is what is a starting point to see that future come to fruition ”

READ MORE & SHARE: https://www.weact.org/2024/04/fiscal-year-2025-fy2025-funding-request-for-the-environmental-protection-agency-and-environmental-justice-initiatives/

NEW: 550+ groups from 40+ countries applaud the USA's recent pause on new LNG export authorizations + urge Biden to take more action to ! The fight to is key to combatting the climate crisis + achieving a just transition.

Over 550 U.S., International Groups Applaud Biden’s LNG Permitting Pause, Urge Further Action - Oil Change International A letter to Biden from 560+ groups around the world applauded the LNG export authorization pause and called on him to halt all LNG permitting.

Join us this in advocating for policies that protect Black communities from the disproportionate impacts of nuclear weapons and environmental injustice. Your voice matters! Visit http://psr.org to take action with us today!

Join the movement to expand RECA and protect those affected by nuclear weapons development and testing. Every signature counts! ✍️ Support here: https://www.expandreca.org/

Physicians for Social Responsibility

Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Unknowing, unwilling, and uncompensated victims of the Cold War    About RECA Tina Cordova and Laura Greenwood of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium RECA is a bipartisan program that provides partial restitution for the devastating health impacts of radiation exposure from U.S. nuclear weap...

Happy Valentine's Day from all of us at PSR Maine!
https://rmi.org/eight-benefits-of-building-electrification-for-households-communities-and-climate/

EXCITING NEWS!

A moment of historic danger: It is still 90 seconds to midnight.

The members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board have been deeply worried about the deteriorating state of the world. Last year, we expressed our heightened concern by moving the Clock to 90 seconds to midnight—the closest to global catastrophe it has ever been—in large part because of Russian threats to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine.

Today, we once again set the Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight because humanity continues to face an unprecedented level of danger. Our decision should not be taken as a sign that the international security situation has eased. Instead, leaders and citizens around the world should take this statement as a stark warning and respond urgently, as if today were the most dangerous moment in modern history. Because it may well be.

But the world can be made safer. The Clock can move away from midnight. As we wrote last year, “In this time of unprecedented global danger, concerted action is required, and every second counts.” That is just as true today.

Read the full statement from the Science and Security Board and learn more about the Doomsday Clock: https://bit.ly/3UagBDR

Staying Safe from Indoor Air Pollution This Winter Winter is upon us. The days are shorter and the nights are longer. As the temperatures drop and the snow falls, we seek the warmth of indoors.

Three years of commitment, three years of change! Happy entry into force anniversary to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This landmark treaty symbolizes our collective determination to build a world where nuclear weapons have no place. Join us and celebrate this milestone by sharing this post!

Building a world without nuclear weapons: An urgent imperative This month, as we celebrate the third anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and the second anniversary of the publication of Archbishop John…

“Building a World Without Nuclear Weapons: An Urgent Imperative” is the topic of an online forum on Saturday, January 27, 2­-4 pm ET. Its focus will be the increasing threat of nuclear war and what ordinary citizens can do to prevent it. The speakers are John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, NM, who in 2022 led the way in the U.S. Catholic Church with his groundbreaking pastoral letter on nuclear disarmament; Dr. Ira Helfand, co-founder and past president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War; and Marie Dennis, Catholic Nonviolence Initiative/Pax Christi International. Pax Christi Massachusetts is sponsoring this event in association with Pax Christi USA, with many co-sponsors from across North America. Register here or type http://tinyurl.com/ForumJan27 into your computer’s browser to register (including a recording).

From PSR Maine Board Member Dr. Peter Wilk:

Exciting to represent PSR Maine & Back from the Brink at the 2MSP at the UN with officials representing 68 TPNW ratifying nations. So inspiring to join hundreds of advocates, young & old from around the world, all calling for nuclear abolition!

Today is Giving Tuesday - a global celebration of generosity - and Physicians for Social Responsibility Maine is excited to be a part of it. Our goal: $10,000 to amplify our efforts in averting nuclear threats, addressing climate change, and standing steadfast alongside our partner organizations in the critical movement to prevent gun violence.
Donate here: https://ddock.co/299d413f