Helen Caldicott: Difference between revisions
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Her sixth book, ''The New Nuclear Danger: George W. Bush’s Military Industrial Complex'', was published in 2001. |
Her sixth book, ''The New Nuclear Danger: George W. Bush’s Military Industrial Complex'', was published in 2001. This book was reviewed by [[Ivan Eland]] who stated |
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''"In some parts of the text, Caldicott's analysis borders on the absurd. Acting as an amateur psychoanalyst, she probes the psychology of the scientists who design nuclear bombs: "Perhaps at a subliminal level these scientists—almost exclusively men—are seeking an archetypal understanding of the experience of conception and delivery, otherwise unavailable to them. The ultimate destruction of the creation is, in their minds, analogous to creation" "''<ref>Ivan Eland, The Independent Review, 2003, volume 8, number 2 (fall), pages 307-310.</ref> |
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Ivan goes through her book, in this review he comments in a series of issues that Helen raises. These include |
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1. Helen argues that the [[missile defense]] being developed acts as a shield which enables [[US military]] interventions against countries which have [[weapons of mass destruction]] and long range missiles. |
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2. She asks why the [[USA]] needs to meddle in the affairs of countries around the globe. |
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Ivan states that she argues from a left wing point of view that "iron-fisted diplomacy goes hand-in hand with "U.S. corporate globalization". Ivan argues that she has failed to distinguish "mercantilism at gunpoint with peaceful trade and financial transactions by private parties leading to a more prosperous and interdependent world". |
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3 She claims that " "that "right-wing think tanks" controlled by corporate interests direct the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and other prominent international organizations" |
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In 2008 Caldicott founded the Helen Caldicott Foundation for a Nuclear Free Future which, for over four years, produced a weekly radio commentary, "If You Love This Planet".<ref name="affiliates">{{cite web|url=http://ifyoulovethisplanet.org/?page_id=254|title=If You Love This Planet weekly radio program archives|access-date=6 May 2009}}</ref> |
In 2008 Caldicott founded the Helen Caldicott Foundation for a Nuclear Free Future which, for over four years, produced a weekly radio commentary, "If You Love This Planet".<ref name="affiliates">{{cite web|url=http://ifyoulovethisplanet.org/?page_id=254|title=If You Love This Planet weekly radio program archives|access-date=6 May 2009}}</ref> |
Revision as of 08:48, 15 May 2021
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Helen Caldicott | |
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![]() Caldicott in 2007 | |
Born | Helen Mary Caldicott 7 August 1938 |
Occupation(s) | Physician, activist |
Spouse | William Caldicott |
Children | Philip, Penny, William Jr |
Website | Helen Caldicott's official website |
Helen Mary Caldicott (born 7 August 1938) is an Australian physician, author, and anti-nuclear advocate. She founded several associations dedicated to opposing the use of nuclear power, depleted uranium munitions, nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons proliferation, and military action in general.
Early life and education
Helen Caldicott was born on 7 August 1938, in Melbourne, Australia, the daughter of factory manager Philip Broinowski and Mary Mona Enyd (Coffey) Broinowski, an interior designer. She attended public school, except for four years at Fintona Girls' School at Balwyn, a private secondary school. When she was 17, she enrolled at the University of Adelaide medical school and graduated in 1961 with a MB, BS degree (the equivalent of an American M.D.). In 1962, she married William Caldicott, a paediatric radiologist who has since worked with her in her campaigns. They have three children, Philip, Penny, and William Jr.[1][dubious – discuss]
Caldicott and her husband moved to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1966 and she entered a three-year fellowship in nutrition at Harvard Medical School. Returning to Adelaide in 1969, she accepted a position in the renal unit of Queen Elizabeth Hospital. In the early 1970s, she completed a year's residency and a two-year internship in paediatrics at the Adelaide Childrens Hospital to qualify as a paediatric physician so she could legitimately establish the first Australian clinic for cystic fibrosis at the Adelaide Childrens Hospital. The clinic now has the best survival rates in Australia.[citation needed] In 1977, she joined the staff of the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston as an instructor in pediatrics. She taught paediatrics at the Harvard Medical School from 1977 to 1980.[1]
Anti-nuclear activism
Early activity
Caldicott's interest in nuclear issues was sparked when she read the 1957 Nevil Shute’s book On the Beach, a novel about a nuclear holocaust set in Australia.[2]
1970s
In the 1970s, she gained prominence in Australia, New Zealand and North America, speaking on the health hazards of radiation from the perspective of paediatrics.
Her early achievements included convincing Australia to sue France over its atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific in 1971 and 1972, which brought the practice to an end. She also informed Australian trade unions about the medical and military dangers of uranium mining, which led to the three-year banning of the mining and export of uranium.[3]
After visiting the Soviet Union in 1979 with an AFSC delegation and upon learning the impending US deployment of cruise missiles (which would end arms control) and Pershing II missiles that could hit Moscow from Europe in 3 minutes,[4] Caldicott left her medical career to concentrate on calling the world's attention to what she referred to as the "insanity" of the nuclear arms race and the growing reliance on nuclear power. In 1978 she reinvigorated Physicians for Social Responsibility. Over time she and others recruited 23,000 physicians to this orgnaisation which, through wide educational efforts, taught the US public about the dire medical implications of both nuclear power and nuclear war. In 1985 this national organisation and many others, she founded around the world were awarded the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. She herself was nominated for the Nobel Prize by Linus Pauling, himself a Nobel winner. (ref A Desperate Passion, WW Norton, 1996)1.
1980s
In 1980, she founded the Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament (WAND) in the United States, which was later renamed Women's Action for New Directions. It is a group dedicated to reducing or redirecting government spending away from nuclear energy and nuclear weapons towards what the group perceives as unmet social issues.[5]
Helen was involved with a 1982 film (If You Love This Planet) which was regarded by the US government (DOJ) to be propaganda along with Prophecy (a film about the atomic bombings in Japan).[6]
1990s
In 1994 Caldicott published a revised edition of her 1978 book Nuclear Madness: What You Can Do, a book discussing the medical implications of nuclear power. The book was criticized by Ian Fells of Newcastle University, who wrote that "She damages her own case by providing an account that is anything but objective. As far as she is concerned the nuclear industry and its supporters are evil."[7]
In 1997 she wrote a letter to the LA Times which resulted in some replies. Her reactions to the critics of her opinion was to attack the critics rather than to show why they are wrong. Bernard L. Cohen commented "Her principal issue is the potential harm from the radioactive wastes of nuclear power that will be converted into a rock-like material and buried in the natural habitat of rocks, deep underground.". He then goes on to point out that many rocks are already radioactive ad contain non radioactive carcinogens such as cadmium, arsenic and beryllium. He also points out that the contribution to the radioactivity of rocks which would be caused by the disposal of waste from the operation of nuclear power plants in the rocks would be very small and will largely disappear within a few 100 years. He argues that by changing from coal to nuclear power will result in the reduction of greenhosue gas emissions and other air pollution. Helen in her letter denied this. Bernard L. Cohen claims that Helen has falsely claimed that the Friends of the Earth have supported her claim that nuclear power use can reduce global warming.[8]
Her reply in a letter to the LA Times to this comment was to make a statement which can be understood as not answering the question.
"Should I defend myself when in the 1970s 3 uranium diffusion plants used 6700 megawatts of coal produced electricity per year- the equivalent of almost 7 large nuclear reactors to enrich uranium for this country - all done at tax payers expense. As you also know, these enrichment plants are the single largest point source of CFC114 gas to the environment, a material that is both a potent global warmer and also an effective destroyer of the ozone layer. Is there therefore any doubt to this day that uranium enrichment, which remains hidden from public view and debate adds, enormously to global warming?"[9]
Michael C. Baker commented on this reply to B.L. Cohen with the comment
"I would also like to comment on her use of 20 year old information on uranium enrichment, a very small part of the nuclear fuel cycle, to make the assertion that nuclear power is contributing to global warming. In 1996 alone, U.S. nuclear power plants prevented the discharge of 147 million tons of carbon, 2.5 millions tons of nitrogen oxide and 5.3 million tons of sulfur dioxide. Since 1973, nuclear power plants have accounted for 90% of all carbon emission reductions achieved by the electric utility industry. By picking one small part of the nuclear fuel cycle Ms. Caldicott has ignored these numbers and a real benefit of nuclear energy"[10]
Otto G. Raabe (President of the Health Physics Society) commented in his letter "Dr. Caldicott is a pediatrician with no training in radiation safety whose views about radiation risks are inaccurate and misleading." and then went onto state "No epidemic of radiation-induced cancer or genetic damage has occurred from the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Nor will it!".[11] Rather than addressing his comments and claim she decided to attack Rabbe rather than his opinion by writing
"Should I defend myself against attack by the current President of the Health Physics Society when the father and much lauded dean of health physics Karl Z Morgan recently said "It is with much reluctance and regret that I now must recognise that the US profession of health physics has become essentially a labor union for the nuclear industry - not a profession of scientists dedicated to protect the worker and members of the public from radiation injury?"
2000s
Her sixth book, The New Nuclear Danger: George W. Bush’s Military Industrial Complex, was published in 2001. This book was reviewed by Ivan Eland who stated
"In some parts of the text, Caldicott's analysis borders on the absurd. Acting as an amateur psychoanalyst, she probes the psychology of the scientists who design nuclear bombs: "Perhaps at a subliminal level these scientists—almost exclusively men—are seeking an archetypal understanding of the experience of conception and delivery, otherwise unavailable to them. The ultimate destruction of the creation is, in their minds, analogous to creation" "[12]
Ivan goes through her book, in this review he comments in a series of issues that Helen raises. These include
1. Helen argues that the missile defense being developed acts as a shield which enables US military interventions against countries which have weapons of mass destruction and long range missiles. 2. She asks why the USA needs to meddle in the affairs of countries around the globe.
Ivan states that she argues from a left wing point of view that "iron-fisted diplomacy goes hand-in hand with "U.S. corporate globalization". Ivan argues that she has failed to distinguish "mercantilism at gunpoint with peaceful trade and financial transactions by private parties leading to a more prosperous and interdependent world".
3 She claims that " "that "right-wing think tanks" controlled by corporate interests direct the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and other prominent international organizations"
In 2008 Caldicott founded the Helen Caldicott Foundation for a Nuclear Free Future which, for over four years, produced a weekly radio commentary, "If You Love This Planet".[13]
In an editorial article in 2009 she urged Barack Obama to work towards a world without nuclear weapons. She pointed out that while George H.W. Bush had withdrawn some Tactical Nuclear Weapon from Europe, Bill Clinton had failed to negotiate the elimination of strategic nuclear weapons.[14]
2010s
In April 2011, Caldicott was involved in a public argument in The Guardian with British journalist George Monbiot. Monbiot expressed great concern at what he saw as a failure by Caldicott to provide adequate justification for any of her arguments. Regarding Caldicott's book Nuclear Power is Not The Answer, he wrote: "The scarcity of references to scientific papers and the abundance of unsourced claims it contains amaze me."[15][16] Caldicott replied: "As we have seen, he and other nuclear industry apologists sow confusion about radiation risks and, in my view, in much the same way that the tobacco industry did in previous decades about the risks of smoking.".[17]. Some of her claims in her reply to Monbiot can be shown to be false, she claimed he is not a Scientist, Monbiot has a degree in biology. Also she has claimed that the radionuclides from the Fukushima accident bioconcentrate at each stage of food chains. It has been pointed out by Foreman that Helen is wrong in making the suggestion that radioactivity is going to concentrate at each stage of a food chain as in many food chains many radioactive elements do not concentrate well.[18] The article by Foreman was written in response to one by Helen in the same journal.[19] During her debate with George Monbiot she did suggest that he read her book, suggesting that she considers herself to be an authority on nuclear issues. A claim to be an expert should not be confused with actual qualifications. Additionally the book has been shown to misrepresent the contents of references.[20]
in 2011 Caldicott made a written submission regarding the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station new build project in Canada,[21] in which she claims that plutonium can cause cancer of the testicles after accumulation in these organs. However after a real life intake (inhalation) of plutonium nitrate (58 kBq) by a man very little was found at autopsy (38 years after the exposure) to be present in the testicles (27 Bq in lungs, 0.19 Bq in thoracic lymph nodes, 1170 Bq in the skeleton, 937 Bq in the liver, 1.7 Bq in the kidneys and 0.87 Bq in the testicles).[22]
In 2014, Physicians for Social Responsibility hosted a lecture on "Fukushima's Ongoing Impact" by Caldicott in Seattle, Washington.[23]
Caldicott is critical of Donald Trump. She expressed the view that he never reads books and knows nothing about global or USA politics.[24]
Honors and awards
Caldicott has been awarded 21 honorary doctoral degrees and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling in 1985.[25][26] It is important to note that nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize are supposed to remain confidential for 50 years after the nomination.[27] In 1982, she received the Humanist of the Year award from the American Humanist Association.[28] In 1992, Caldicott received the 1992 Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston for her leadership in the worldwide disarmament movement. She was inducted to the Victorian Honour Roll of Women[29] in 2001. She was awarded the Lannan Foundation Prize for Cultural Freedom in 2003, and in 2006, the Peace Organisation of Australia presented her with the inaugural Australian Peace Prize "for her longstanding commitment to raising awareness about the medical and environmental hazards of the nuclear age". The Smithsonian Institution has named Caldicott as one of the most influential women of the 20th century.[30] She is a member of the scientific committee of the Fundacion IDEAS, a progressive think tank in Spain. She serves on the Advisory Council of the Nuclear Age Peace.[31] In 2009, she was designated a Women's History Month Honoree by the National Women's History Project.[32]
Bibliography
Title | Year of Publication | Publisher(s) | ISBN | Role |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nuclear Madness: What You Can Do! | 1978 (revised 1994) | W.W. Norton & Company | ISBN 0393310116 | Author |
Missile Envy: The Arms Race and Nuclear War | 1984 | William Morrow & Co | ISBN 9780688019549 | Author |
If You Love This Planet | 1992 | W. W. Norton & Company | ISBN 9780393308358 | Author |
A Desperate Passion: An Autobiography | 1996 | W.W. Norton & Company | ISBN 0393316807 | Author |
Metal of Dishonor: How Depleted Uranium Penetrates Steel, Radiates People and Contaminates the Environment | 1997 | International Action Center | ISBN 0-9656916-0-8 | Author |
The New Nuclear Danger: George W.Bush's Military-industrial Complex | 2002 (revised 2004) | The New Press
Scribe Publications (Australia) |
ISBN 1565847407 | Author |
Nuclear Power is Not the Answer | 2006 | The New Press | ISBN 978-1-59558-067-2 | Author |
War in Heaven: The Arms Race in Outer Space | 2007 | The New Press | ISBN 978-1-59558-114-3 | Co-author with Craig Eisendrath |
Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy | 2007 | RDR Books | ISBN 978-1571431738 | Author of Afterword (author is Arjun Makhijani) |
If You Love This Planet: A Plan to Save the Earth | 2009 | W.W. Norton & Company | ISBN 978-0-393-33302-2 | Author |
Loving This Planet | 2012 | The New Press | ISBN 978-1-59558-067-2 | Editor |
Crisis Without End: The Medical and Ecological Consequences of the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe | 2014 | The New Press | ISBN 978-1-59558-960-6 | Editor |
Sleepwalking to Armageddon | 2017 | The New Press | ISBN 978-1-62097-246-5 | Editor |
Documentary films
Caldicott has appeared in numerous documentary films and television programs. In the early 1980s, she was the subject of two documentaries: the Oscar-nominated 1981 feature-length film Eight Minutes to Midnight: A Portrait of Dr. Helen Caldicott and the 1982 Oscar-winning National Film Board of Canada short documentary, If You Love This Planet.[34]
A 2004 documentary film, Helen's War: Portrait of a Dissident,[35] provides a look into Caldicott's life through the eyes of her niece, filmmaker Anna Broinowski.
Caldicott is featured along with foreign affairs experts, space security activists and military officials in interviews in Denis Delestrac's 2010 feature documentary Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space.
The 2013 documentary Pandora's Promise also features footage of Caldicott, interspersed with counter-points to her assertions regarding the health impacts of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Title | Director | Production Company | Year |
---|---|---|---|
The World Awaits | Don Haderlein | 2015 (in production) | |
The Oracles of Pennsylvania Avenue | Tim Wilkerson | 2013 | |
United Natures | Peter Charles Downey | United Natures Independent Media | 2013 |
Pandora's Promise | Robert Stone | Robert Stone Productions, Vulcan Productions | 2013 |
Democracy Now! (TV Series) | Democracy Now | 2011 | |
The University of Nuclear Bombs | Mohamed Elsawi, Joshua James | 2010 | |
Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space | Denis Delestrac | Coptor Productions Inc., Lowik Media | 2009 |
Difference of Opinion (TV Series) | Australian Broadcasting Corporation | 2007 | |
Poison Dust | Sue Harris | 2005 | |
Fatal Fallout: The Bush Legacy | Gary Null | Gary Null Moving Pictures | 2004 |
Helen's War: Portrait of a Dissident | Anna Broinowski | 2004 | |
American Experience (TV documentary) | WGBH | 1998 | |
In Our Hands | Robert Richter, Stanley Warnow | 1984 | |
If You Love This Planet (short) | Terri Nash | National Film Board of Canada | 1982 |
Eight Minutes to Midnight: A Portrait of Dr. Helen Caldicott | Mary Benjamin | 1981 | |
We are the Guinea Pigs | Joan Harvey | 1980 |
See also
- Propaganda
- Antimilitarism
- Anti-nuclear movement in Australia
- Anti-nuclear movement in the United States
- List of peace activists
- Nuclear weapons and the United States
- Nuclear-free zone
- Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone
- Treaty of Rarotonga
- Akhtar Naraghi
- Michio Kaku
- Tilman Ruff
References
- ^ a b "Helen Caldicott Biography (1938-)".
- ^ Dullea, Georgia (2 June 1979). "Pediatrician believes babies more susceptible to radiation". The Index-Journal. Greenwood, South Carolina. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ "CV - Helen Caldicott, M.D." Helen Caldicott. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ A Desperate Passion
- ^ Sheldon, Sayre (October 2004). "A Brief History of WAND". WAND Education Fund. Archived from the original on 27 July 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ^ Nuclear Propaganda: A Review Essay, Diana Papademas, Humanity & Society, 1984, 8, page 104, https://doi.org/10.1177/016059768400800114
- ^ Fells I. Nature, 1994, volume 370, 7 July, p.27
- ^ http://www.ntanet.net/cohen.html
- ^ http://www.ntanet.net/twocaldicott.html
- ^ http://www.ntanet.net/webdoc1.html
- ^ http://www.ntanet.net/raabe.html
- ^ Ivan Eland, The Independent Review, 2003, volume 8, number 2 (fall), pages 307-310.
- ^ "If You Love This Planet weekly radio program archives". Retrieved 6 May 2009.
- ^ H. Caldicott, Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2009, volume 20, page 151
- ^ Monbiot G. Nuclear opponents have a moral duty to get their facts straight. The Guardian, 14 April 2011
- ^ Monbiot G.The unpalatable truth is that the anti-nuclear lobby has misled us all. The Guardian, 5 April 2011
- ^ Caldicott H. How nuclear apologists mislead the world over radiation.The Guardian, 11 April 2011
- ^ About Helen Caldicott’s guest article, M.R.StJ Foreman, Australian Medical Student Journal, 2014, 5(1), 10. http://www.amsj.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/AMSJ_v5_i1.pdf
- ^ The impact of the nuclear crisis on global health, H. Caldicott, Australian Medical Student Journal, 2013, 4(2), 40. http://www.amsj.org/wp-content/uploads/files/issue/amsj_v4_i2.pdf
- ^ Foreman M. R. StJ. "Reactor accident chemistry an update", Cogent Chemistry, 13 March 2018, volume 4, article 1450944, Reactor accident chemistry an update
- ^ https://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/documents/48010/48010F.pdf Written Submission from Helen Caldicott, PMB 11-P1.108, Date 2011-02-17
- ^ Nielsen, C. E., Wilson, D. A., Brooks, A. L., McCord, S. L., Dagle, G. E., James, A. C., . . . Morga, W. F. (2012). Microdistribution and long-term retention of Pu-239 (NO3)(4) in the respiratory tracts of an acutely exposed plutonium worker and experimental beagle dogs. Cancer Research, 72, 5529–5536. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-12-1824
- ^ Fukushima’s Ongoing Impact Archived 10 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine; Physicians for Social Responsibility; 28 September 2014
- ^ Dan Drollette Jr (2018) A conversation with Helen Caldicott, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 74:3, 177-184, DOI: 10.1080/00963402.2018.1461976
- ^ Caldicott Biography; U.S. National Library of Medicine
- ^ Curriculum Vitae; Caldicott Website; 12 January 2015
- ^ Nomination and Selection of Peace Prize Laureates. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2019. Sun. 22 Sep 2019. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/facts/nomination-and-selection-of-peace-prize-laureates>
- ^ "Remedy for Global Instability – a Public Lecture by Dr Helen Caldicott". 12 November 2016.
- ^ "Victorian Honour Roll of Women 2001" (PDF).
- ^ Anti-nuclear Activist Dr. Helen Caldicott to Appear; Cape Cod Today; 28 March 2012 [dead link]
- ^ Advisory Council; Nuclear Age Peace Foundation; 20 February 2014
- ^ "Honorees: 2010 National Women's History Month". Women's History Month. National Women's History Project. 2010. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ "Books". Trove. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ Nash, Terre (1982). "If You Love This Planet". NFB.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 30 April 2009.
- ^ "CBC The Passionate Eye Sunday Showcase: Helen's War, Portrait of a Dissident". Archived from the original on 15 January 2006. Retrieved 15 January 2006.
{{cite web}}
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External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- www.helencaldicott.com - Helen Caldicott's official website
- www.ifyoulovethisplanet.org - Helen Caldicott's weekly radio program, "If You Love This Planet"
- Watch a video clip of Helen Caldicott at Big Picture TV
- Video of Speech on Depleted Uranium from Freespeech.org
- Anti Nuclear Oxford debate by former New Zealand PM David Lange
- Heyoka Magazine Interview
- KGNU Denver interview with Claudia Cragg in July 2007 about Japan's Nuclear Industry and Earthquakes
- Appearances on C-SPAN by Caldicott
- Nuclear power no answer to climate change
- Helen Caldicott Papers at the Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College.
- Helen Caldicott at IMDb
- 1938 births
- Living people
- Activists from Melbourne
- Australian agnostics
- Australian anti–nuclear weapons activists
- Australian anti–nuclear power activists
- Australian autobiographers
- Australian humanists
- Australian paediatricians
- Australian political writers
- Harvard Medical School faculty
- Medical doctors from Melbourne
- Non-fiction environmental writers
- University of Adelaide Medical School alumni
- Nonviolence advocates