TEP-tiedote 2/00
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INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF
ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS
FOR GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
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Newsletter no. 28 |
February 2000 |
Editor: Armin Tenner |
INES, P.B. 101707, 44017 Dortmund, Germany. Tel: +49 231 575202 / 05, Fax: +49 231 575210
E-mail: INES_NAT@t-online.de; INTERNET: http://www.inesglobal.org
Bank account: Postbank Hamburg, R. Braun, account no. 1672 50-209, bank code 20010020
SUMMARY
CONTENTS | |
Science and the future of the
biosphere
Peter Welsh | 1 |
INES regional contacts | 4 |
Nuclear physics and peace at the
threshold of the 21st century
Martin B. Kalinowski | 5 |
An open letter to the leaders of all
non-nuclear weapon states
David Krieger | 7 |
New INES members | 9 |
Have you ever been to Korea?
Sandra Striewski | 10 |
University crisis in Mexico
Alberto Salazar Martinez | 11 |
UNIVERSITY CRISIS
IN MEXICO
Alberto Salazar Martinez
Globalization is not the same everywhere
nor is it at the same level. We
are all facing this process but
certainly. we do not enter with empty
hands. On the national level, the
present scenario set by neoliberal
politics has now questioned the role
of public universities and scientific
research. The changing economic
framework has weakened the state
apparatus and therefore imposed
either a shortage in public funding
and/or requirements for alternate
financing sources. administrative,
structure and goal reforms, or
developed new evaluation criteria
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Science and the future
of the biosphere
Peter Welsh
A relatively young product of the
biological evolution is the human
race which developed culture and
began to dominate other forms of
life olny a few thousand years ago.
This naked ape, as it was called by
Desmond Morris, labelled his own
species Homo sapiens, the wise
being. The technological progress of
the past few centuries seemed to
support this designation, but at
present we can easily recognize it as
a euphemism.
An important question arises: How
long will the future of Homo
sapiens be? Hundreds, thousands or
millions of generations? We do not
know. However, we do know that the
present generation determines the
conditions for life on earth as no
generation did before. Ecology can
be called the science of small causes
and big consequences. Many things
we are doing have consequences
which extend far into the future. For
example, if we release radioactivity
into the environment, there will be
mutations in living cells with the
consequence of a genetic load which
produces an increasing number of
inherited health effects in future
generations. In addition, look at
species depletion. Every extinct
species is an irreversible loss. On the
other hand, every successful measure
pertaining to nature-conservation or
environmental hygiene has far reaching
positive consequences.
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Nuclear physics and
peace at the threshold
of the 21st century
Martin B. Kalinowski
Non Governmental
Organisations' achievements to
ban the atomic bomb and the
role of scientists and engineers
Since the first nuclear bombs
exploded in 1945. scientists and
engineers got involved in activities
with the goal to free the world of the
atomic bomb. Especially physicists
felt their responsibility to ban this
weapon of mass destruction that was
made possible due to the results of
nuclear physics. Non Governmental
Organizations (NGO) were able to
influence the politics of nuclear
weapon states which are still extremely
resistant against any concrete measures
towards the global elimination
of nuclear weapons. Over several
decades, the Pugwash Conferences
for Science and World Affairs played
a major role and were honoured
together with its co-founder Prof.
Joseph Rotblat with the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1995. Some more recent
NGO achievements will be described
here with an emphasis on the role of
scientists and engineers in these.
The INES Newsletter
Editorial address: Armin Tenner
Buziaustraat 18, 1068 KN Amterdam,
The Netherlands
Tel/Fax: +31 20 6192738
E-mail: q18@nikhef.nl
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An open letter to the
leaders of all non-nuclear
weapon states
David Krieger
Your Excellencies:
The nuclear perils to humanity are not
sufficiently widely recognized nor
appreciated. In the words of writer
Jonathan Schell we have been given
"the gift of time." but that gift is
running out. For this reason vision
and bold action are called for.
General George Lee Butler, a former
Commander in Chief of all US strategic
nuclear weapons. poses these
questions: "By what authority do
succeeding generations of leaders in
the nuclear weapons states usurp the
power to dictate the odds of
continued life on our planet? Most
urgently. why does such breathtaking
audacity persist at the moment when
we should stand trembling in the face
of our folly and united in our commitment
to abolish its most deadly
manifestation?"
It is time to heed the, warnings of
men like General Butler, who know
intimately the risks and consequences
of nuclear war. The time is overdue
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for a New Agenda on nuclear disarmament.
What is needed is commitment
and leadership on behalf of humanity
and all life.
The heart of the Non-Proliferation
Treaty agreement is the link between
non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament.
The non-nuclear weapons
states agree in the Treaty not to
develop nor deploy nuclear weapons
in exchange for the nuclear weapons
states agreeing to negotiate in good
faith to achieve nuclear disarmament.
.....
Have you ever been to
Korea?
Sandra Striewski
"Inspire, Empower, Act!" was the
title of the 1999 International NGOs
Conference at the Olympic Park in
Seoul, which was organized by a
Korean Committee in collaboration
with United Nations agencies. For
five davs, some 7.000 participants
from all world, devided over 10
round-tables and over 180 working
groups, debated the following issues:
Peace and Security, Environment,
Education, Ethics, Human Rights,
Social and Economic Development,
Youth, Gender Justice. Aging, Health
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and Strengthening the NGOs Representatives
from a variety of NGOs
presented their activities in the
working groups, where particularly
human rights and gender justice
issues were discussed. In addition,
there were cultural activities, an
NGOs' exhibition hall, as well as
other activities such as a Youth Forum.
Séminaire de Réflexion sur la
Conférence Africaine sur la Paix
"CAP 2000"
Le 11 Mars de l'an 2000, aura
lieu à Dortmund (Allemagne) la
première journée de réflexion
concernant la Conférence Africaine
sur la Paix (Cap - 2000), qui se
tiendra certainement à Dakar /
Sénégal au courant du mois
d'octobre de l'an 2000.
Les thèmes de cette rencontre
seront principalement centrés sur
l'élaboration d'un DOCUMENT
CADRE de la recherche sur la
paix durable en Afrique.
Adresse de contact:
INES - Gutenbergstr. 31,
Dortmund, Allemagne
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CHALLENGES FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IN THE 21st CENTURY
International INES Conference, 14-18 June 2000, Stockholm, Sweden
The conference will open up
unique possibilities to discuss the
present constitution of science and
engineering, the relation between
science and society in the new
century, the demands on science
in a rapidly changing world, the
impact of scientific methods on
socCal life and the environment,
and the responsibility of scientists
and engineers' for the consequences
of their work.
The conference consists of 14
plenary presentations and 20
workshops, dealing with a broad
spectrum of subjects in four
theme areas: a) Developing the
culture of science and engineering,
b) Science and engineering
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for a finite world, c) Humanizing
the economy in a global context,
and d) Steps towards comprehensive
secunty and lasting peace.
Titles of workshops are e.g.:
- Towards a culture of individual
and institutional responsibility;
- Inventing and refining sustainable
technologies and services;
- Steps towards a sustainable
consumption;
- Towards disarmament and
the culture of peace.
Find more information on the web
page
www.ines2000.org,
or contact the organizers by e-mail:
ines2000@t-online.de.
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Prof. Ricardo Diez-Hochleitner,
President of the Club of Rome
and Member of the INES 2000
Advisory Board writes:
Science and Engineering based
on cultural heritage in a process
of continuous enrichment - are
the extraordinary fruits of the
human brain and spirit that
contribute to broader knowledge
and drive progress.
The Intemational Conference convened
by INES has thus been
timely and wisely designed - in
the context of culture, globalization,
and peace - to better serve
humanity in overcoming the main
challenges facing us in the 21st
century.
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