Guest speaker shares perspectives on nuclear power
This month, EF Academy IB Geography classes were paid a visit by Alice Slater, an acclaimed speaker on the topic of nuclear war and weapons. Ms. Slater is the United Nations representative of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. During the speech, participants broke into small groups to evaluate nuclear power generation led by representatives from World Beyond War. World Beyond War is a global nonviolent movement to end war and establish a just and sustainable peace. They aim to create awareness and develop support for ending war. Their work focuses on advancing the idea of not just preventing any particular war but abolishing the entire institution.
Senior Zichuan Wang attended the presentation and had the following comments to share:
“This presentation highlights a critical issue of the modern era nuclear energy, which has been heatedly debated by scientists and politicians. Particularly, the introduction to the mechanism of nuclear power plants deepened our understanding of the local case of Indian Point nuclear power station. In the activity where we grouped up to sort the process of nuclear power generation and evaluate the waste production in each process, we couldn’t help but realize how devastating the whole power generation process can be even if no major accident occurs. This learning experience enlightened me and made me aware of both the threats and the opportunities that nuclear power holds for the future.”
Alice Slater serves on the Coordinating Committee of World Beyond War and is the UN NGO Representative of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. She is on the Global Council of Abolition 2000 working for a treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons, serving on its International Coordinating Committee and directing its Sustainable Energy Working Group. She is a member of the NYC Bar Association and serves on the Coordinating Committees of the People Climate Committee, New York working for 100% green energy by 2030. Ms. Slater serves on the Board of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, is an Advisor to the Rideau Institute, and is Secretary of Sustainability in the Green Shadow Cabinet. In addition to all of her involvement with the above organizations, she has also written numerous articles and op-eds, with frequent appearances on local and national media.