During the Aug. 7 event Remembering Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Ron Faust reads the words of Takato Michishita, a hibakusha, a survivor of one of the 1945 blasts, who wrote to young people, "If you sense (war) coming, it may be too late."--Photo by Jim Hannah
PeaceWorks KC Nuclear weapons

Knotty Karma

Ron Faust, poet, heard Japanese-Americans say on Aug. 7, “We should never build another nuclear weapon.” He wrote a warning: “As long as we are stuck (with the world having 13,000 nukes), We will shorten the time of the Doomsday Clock.”

Ann Suellentrop asks, “Why do we fly these colorful flags today? Because they are a sign of great hope!” They represent 66 countries that have ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Listening behind Ann are, from left, Daniel Karam, Beth Seberger, and Jon Shafer.—Photos by Jim Hannah
PeaceWorks KC Nuclear weapons

Recalling 1945 bombings of Hiroshima, Nagasaki

Echoes. Hope. Two hands. These came into play at our annual observance Aug. 7, “Remembering Hiroshima & Nagasaki: Never Again!”

Atsuki Mori holds up a picture of her grandmother’s fiance’s nephew, Kensuke Ueke, PhD, who lost his left eye during the bombing of Hiroshima and has devoted much of his life to seeking a nuke-free world.—Photos by Jim Hannah
PeaceWorks KC Nuclear weapons

Atsuki Mori talks about results of Hiroshima bombing

Atsuki Mori, from Osaka, Japan, now a nurse living in Warrensburg, MO, tells of her grandmother’s bravery and her grandmother’s fiance’s nephew who became an anti-nuke activist in ICAN.

Flags fly in KC, MO, in January 2021 for the then 51 countries (now 66 countries) that have adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.—Photos by Jim Hannah
PeaceWorks KC Nuclear weapons

Progress on treaty to prohibit nukes; focus on universities

At an Aug. 7 gathering in KC, MO, Ann Suellentrop celebrates international advances through the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and an effort to urge universities to stop supporting the nuclear weapon industry.

In the Rockies, evening sun graces snow on the mountaintop. If we let its beauty call us to act, we may later say of our climate work, as Christiana Figuerez hopes, “We did everything that was necessary.”—Photos by Ann Suellentrop
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Climate response course in KC offers hope for Earth

At the halfway point of a climate response course, I am engaged and inspired. I’ve been drinking in ideas of environmental leaders including Paul Hawkins, Joanna Macy, Dr. Riane Eisler, and Christiana Figuerez.

Ron Faust and his wife, Toni, hold their bid for peace in January 2022 at the first anniversary of the "entry into force" of the new UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.--Photo by Jim Hannah
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Faust’s poetry scans American legacy, warts and all

Ron Faust, in his introduction to his new book, Percolating Poetry, says, “To have a cup of coffee / Is to take a break in the action.” He offers hope—saying hope lies in abolishing all nuclear weapons—and the fun of a few love poems.

Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons - history and forecast
The number of parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) between 2017-09-20 and 2022-06-30 with 98 and 80 percent (red and orange) prediction limits on the future, assuming the political processes that motivated the current 66 states parties remains unchanged. That assumption is not realistic further in the future but might still be useful. Spencer Graves
PeaceWorks KC Nuclear weapons

Ask our members of Congress to join the TPNW

What's the single most important thing we can do to reduce the risk of nuclear Armageddon? My answer: Ask our representatives in the US Congress to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.