The Colorado Coalition for the Prevention of Nuclear War encourages you to send a letter to the editor of your local paper this week expressing support for the Nuclear Ban Treaty which is on the table for ratification by individual nations. Should it be ratified by 50 nations then it becomes International Law.
September 21 is the International Day of Peace
September 26 is the UN Day for Nuclear Abolition
Why a UN Day for nuclear abolition? The UN General Assembly established this day in 2013 out of concern by the overwhelming majority of UN member countries at the risk of a nuclear war and the ongoing nuclear arms race. There are over 14,000 nuclear weapons in the world, many of them primed and ready for launch in minutes.
In addition, about $100 billion per year is being spent to design, develop and deploy nuclear weapons. This money should instead be spent on climate protection, sustainable development, public health and ‘building back better’ from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UN General Assembly established the day to promote the complete elimination of nuclear weapons through a nuclear weapons convention, an agreement involving nuclear armed, nuclear allied and non-nuclear countries.
Letter to the Editor Model (325 words as is) Use this letter and make adjustments as you like. The more unique your letter is the more likely it will be used.
In the midst of pandemic and election focus our attention has been withdraw from the two greatest threats to US national security: Climate change and nuclear holocaust. Both threats MUST be addressed Internationally.
Both of these are hardly mentioned even though US budget priorities and administration policy move in opposite directions from reasonable solutions.
Massive commitments have been made towards “modernizing” the nuclear weapons complex and creating new useable nukes. The latter has led to increased military posturing and another nuclear arms race .
The United States has withdrawn from treaties designed to reduce nuclear weapons including the IMF treaty, ABM Treaty, the 6 nation JCPOA agreement with Iran to halt Iranian nuclear weapons development , and the Paris Climate accords. The US has led efforts to prevent the Nuclear Ban Treaty from ratification at the United Nations. From afar the United States looks like a nation unwilling to work cooperatively to reduce the threat of accidental or intentional nuclear weapons use, as well as working with the rest of the world to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the damage being caused by Climate Warming.
It is important that we elect leaders who will change this dangerous unilateral path we are on. Money committed to nuclear weapons development and Space Warfare should be redirected to human need and to greening our aging infrastructure. We should ratify the Nuclear Ban Treaty and rejoin international Climate Change mitigation efforts. Just as “No one is free till everyone is free” so “No one is secure unless all are secure”. As one great religious leader said long ago, “He who would be greatest of all must be the servant of all” (rather than the dominator of all.) Mk 9:35
We pay for Climate Change intensified disasters through increased insurance costs, lost lives. Changes in climate threaten world food production via drought, increasing storms, and flooding, new diseases, economic collapse, refugees, unstable governments, and increased potential for nuclear weapons use.
Colorado Springs Gazette opinion@gazette.com (300 word limit)
Colorado Springs Independent https://www.coloradoindependent.com/contact/ or tips@coloradoindependent.com
Boulder Camera openforum@prairiemountainmedia.com (750 Word limit)
Denver Post openforum@DenverPost.com (200 word limit)
Fort Collins Coloradoan https://www.coloradoan.com/story/opinion/2019/09/26/how-share-your-opinion-fort-collins-coloradoan/2377206001/
