Environment

Dr. Helen Caldicott My Earth Day Hero

by Barbara McPherson | April 20, 2009 at 09:41 am

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Earth Day is just around the corner and I wanted to share with you my personal hero - Dr. Helen Caldicott. I too read On The Beach when I was a teenager and it shaped much of my thinking. The story tells of the demise of humanity due to an accidental nuclear war. Many people think that the danger of nuclear war ended when the Soviet Union was disassembled. Not so.

Dr. Caldicott is an Australian citizen, born in 1938. She credits the novel On The Beach with shaping her life's work. She has been a tireless campaigner against the use of nuclear weapons and nuclear power stations. Dr. Caldicott has founded many organizations to work towards world peace and environmental protection, founding Physicians for Social Responsibility, Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament, Nuclear Policy Research Institute to name a few. Her important work has been recognized by many and in 1985 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, nominated by Linus Pauling.

The single most articulate and passionate advocate of citizen action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises, Dr Helen Caldicott, has devoted the last 35 years to an international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age and the necessary changes in human behavior to stop environmental destruction.

In 1982 Dr. Caldicott's documentary film If You Love This Planet was awarded the Academy Award for best documentary.

This is the ultimate spiritual and religious issue ever to face the human race. For what is our responsibility to God to preserve the creation and evolution? We are the curators of possibly the only life in the universe and our responsiblity is enormous. We must therefore dedicate every waking and sleeping moment to the preservation of creation. But first, action must be preceeded by education. We are all physicians to a planet that is in the intensive care unit. The New Nuclear Danger is now the Grays Anatomy for a new breed of global physicians. Learn it and you will become ultimately powerful and equipped with the necessary knowledge that will drive our new crusade for global preservation

When I hear the frogs in spring or watch the hummingbirds zoom past or look at the clear starry sky, I know I love this planet. Let's all do a little something to help keep it alive.

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Rachel Nixon

at 10:36 on April 20th, 2009

Thanks for your timely post, Barbara.

Amy Judd

at 12:30 on April 20th, 2009

I've never read this book, am going to check it out though!

Tina Kells

at 14:28 on April 20th, 2009

Nevil Shute wrote an amazing story in On the Beach, without a doubt it shaped many of my own political views growing up. In grades 4 & 5 I had a teacher in Vancouver, Daryl Sturdy, pretty much the best teacher I have ever met, and he worked hard to instill in his students a strong sense of responsibility for the planet and all creatures upon it.

He showed us the documentary "If You Love This Planet" and took us to Peace marches from Kits Beach as optional field trips. In grade 5 he suggested reading On the Beach when we were older and 5 years later, in 10th grade, I did. A very important book that I think everybody should read! Nice to know I am not the only one who found Shute's work so inspiring.