232486 Advocacy of Boulder, Colorado, for Abolishing Nuclear Weapons: Implications for Nuclear Power

Monday, November 8, 2010 : 1:42 PM - 2:00 PM

William M. Marine, MD, MPH , University of Colorado, School of Public Health, Boulder, CO
Len Ackland, Universtiy of Colorado Assoc Professor , School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Colorado, Boulder
     
The grassroots activism of the Boulder community dedicated to abolishing nuclear weapons will be described. Initially, with Rocky Flats in its backyard, citizens of Boulder, Colorado, played an active role advocating for its closure. The Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center was the lead NGO urging this action. A voter initiative, passed in 1985, resulted in the Boulder City Council passing an ordinance declaring Boulder a Nuclear Free Zone. In 2004, Boulder's mayor signed a resolution passed at the US Conference of Mayors endorsing Vision 2020 (the 75th Anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) as the date for reducing nuclear weapon stockpiles to zero worldwide. The Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation for many years has sponsored Mayors for Peace, a program to promote solidarity of cities towards the abolition of nuclear weapons. In December 2009, Boulder City Council voted unanimously to join Mayors for Peace, which includes over 3,000 cities worldwide, including 149 U.S. cities.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related education
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines

Learning Objectives:
Describe what the Boulder community has done in the campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. Describe what public health workers can do in their own communities.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I actively sought and obtained Boulder’s becoming a member of Mayors for Peace.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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