Recently one hundred international leaders met in Paris to launch the Global Zero Campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons.  A far cry from a simple “no nukes” bumper sticker, the distinguished group is developing a clear step-by-step plan to phase out the development of nuclear weapons and verify their elimination worldwide.  The signatories of the Global Zero declaration include Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, and Queen Noor of Jordan.

And here are some of the proposed goals:

• Deep reductions to Russian-U.S. arsenals, which comprise 96% of the world’s 27,000 nuclear weapons.
• Russia and the United States, joined by other nuclear weapons states, cut arsenals to zero in phased reductions.
• Establishing verification systems and international management of the fuel cycle to prevent future development of nuclear weapons.

While the cold war may have been declared over, the threat of nuclear weapons still looms large over all of us.

takepart sign-declaration by signing the Global Zero declaration to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Nuclear weapons. Who’s got them, and how many do they have? Are those numbers increasing or decreasing? Oh, and what would happen if one were dropped on the Empire State Building?  Sensational?  Maybe a little, but  Good Magazine certainly puts nuclear proliferation into perspective with this flashy video featuring RATATAT’s “Gettysburg.”

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