Left to right: Danny Hall of Soka Gokkai International, Paki Wieland of CodePink, Rep. Jim McGovern, Timmon Wallis, NuclearBan.US, Vicki Elson of NuclearBan.US, Rep. Barbara Lee, Anthony Donovan, Sister Carol Gilbert, Medea Benjamin of CodePink, Sister Ardeth Platte. Photo: Diala Jadalla
Warheads to Windmills: How to Pay for a Green New Deal was officially launched in Congress on June 20th, with the endorsement of the Sierra Club and support of Representatives Jim McGovern and Barbara Lee. Rep. Jim McGovern has been a staunch supporter of both the Green New Deal and the campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons. He suggested that a Congressional hearing could “make these connections, how we can transition from one industry to another.”
Rep. Barbara Lee said that she was looking forward to sharing Warheads to Windmills with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, leader of the effort for a Green New Deal in Congress. She said, “The key will be investment in retraining the workforce.”
Warheads to Windmills is a detailed analysis of what it will take to adequately address the climate crisis and where the needed funds, scientific and engineering expertise could come from: the nuclear weapons program. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that these weapons threaten our very existence as a species,” said Tim Wallis, principal author of the report. “And so does the climate crisis. But if we eliminate nuclear weapons, we can convert an industry of death to an industry of life. We can shift massive amounts of money and scientific talent to green technologies we need to survive – and we can create millions of jobs. And if we stop pointing missiles at each other, we can start to build the international cooperation we’ll need to work together to solve the climate crisis.”
Rep. Jim McGovern with “Warheads to Windmills” author Timmon Wallis Photo: Vicki Elson
Sister Ardeth Platte, a Dominican nun whose lifelong activism inspired the character of Sister Jane on “Orange is the New Black,” noted that the Treaty, the Green New Deal, and the Poor People’s Campaign “Moral Budget” all complement one another.
And long-time anti-nuclear activist and pediatrician Helen Caldicott sent this endorsement from Australia: “The report Warheads to Windmills has a special significance for the world at the moment. How to pay for the New Green Deal? Stop spending billions of dollars each year on death-dealing nuclear weapons…and transfer this obscene amount of money into life-giving windmills and renewable energy schemes which will definitely help to save life on the planet…It can be done, and it MUST be done.”
NuclearBan.US co-founder Vicki Elson said, “The US and other nuclear nations also happen to be the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. We all need to get with the rest of the world, join the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and work together – very fast – to cut our carbon emissions. This report shows how that can be done.”
NuclearBan.US volunteer Susan Lantz presents a “Certificate of Treaty Alignment” to Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz, as City Council President Bill Dwight looks on. PHOTO: Sarah Bloomgarden
Meanwhile, in NuclearBan.US’s hometown of Northampton, Massachusetts, the report was launched the same day with the help of the Mayor. Mayor David Narkewicz was presented with a copy of Warheads to Windmills, along with a “Certificate of Treaty Alignment” in recognition of measures the City has taken to boycott and divest from the nuclear weapons industry, in alignment with the treaty.
