The Nuclear Disaster in the Soviet Union

Wouldn’t you think that these world leaders and big industrialists would catch on? Surely the nuclear reactor accident in the U.S.S.R. is enough, on top of all we already know (thanks to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Nevada tests, Marshall Islands tests, Three Mile Island and Windscale accidents, and so on). Enough to convince them that nuclear technologies, whether for weapons or for energy, are far from safe in any case.

We may not be able to put the genie back into the bottle, but for the sake of life on this planet and a safer future for our kids, let’s cut back on these rabid rivalries and compulsions for more and more, and begin to cooperate, applying the wonders of science to the preservation of life.

Let’s feed the hungry together, house the homeless, upgrade education worldwide, and replenish depleted resources. Through such cooperative projects would come understanding, trust, and less malicious attitudes toward each other and toward the Earth.

Cutting back on nuclear power plants would not only prevent future accidents (till the technology is perfected, if ever) but would also reduce the already horrendous problem of what to do with the wastes.

Cutting back on the weapons would not only reduce the danger of accidental or intentional war, but would also reduce proliferation of nuclear weapons to more unstable countries.

Cutting back on weapons testing would not only stop the wanton destruction of desert wilderness, but would also probably be the most practical and possible first step toward ending the arms race.

The U.S.S.R., before the recent accident, already voluntarily stopped nuclear testing, inviting us to do the same. Let’s meet them halfway now, stop our testing too, and help them recover from their current disaster. Together let’s turn over a new leaf toward sanity, reconciliation and survival. Peace and conservation are where it’s at.

JEAN S. GERARD

Temple City