March 21, 2024

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We stand in gratitude towards women as we conclude Women’s History Month and prepare to enter two more months that celebrate and honor women: Earth Month in April, dedicated to the nurturing spirit of our mother planet, and May, named after Maia, the Greek goddess associated with motherhood.

In this newsletter we highlight our March edition of the "First Fridays" series, which features remarkable women advocating for a more inclusive and nurturing approach to leadership and education, from emotional intelligence to artificial intelligence.

We also showcase the collaboration between SLF and groups like Mothers for Peace and the Women of Three Mile Island. While acknowledging the progress made towards gender equity, we recognize the ongoing importance of honoring the remarkable contributions of women like those featured in this newsletter.

Bart Ziegler, PhD

President, Samuel Lawrence Foundation

Mothers for Peace

Photo Source: Mothers for Peace's Instagram

San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the perils of Diablo Canyon, radioactive waste, and nuclear weapons, also champions peace, environmental and social justice, and renewable energy.

Its current campaign is to shut down Diablo Canyon, which was scheduled to retire in 2024 and 2025. However, Senate Bill 846 and state and federal subsidies have extended operations for at least 5 more years. Worryingly, Pacific Gas & Electric Company has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a further 20-year license extension. Learn more about Mothers for Peace's campaign.  

SLF continues to work tirelessly with Mothers for Peace — coalition-building, information-sharing, and more — to take powerful action on our shared goals. We work to minimize the dangers posed by the now-decommissioned San Onofre nuclear plant and the still-very-active Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, as well as the nationwide nuclear waste storage crisis overall.

Women Lead the Way

Did you catch our last edition of First Fridays?

Melissa Sims is bravely using a creative legal strategy to sue the planet's biggest polluters (like Exxon Mobil and Shell) — one that could thankfully cost them billions for warming the planet.

Finland's Janna Salokangas co-founded an organization that is addressing the tremendous loss of jobs by women during the pandemic, and creating exciting new opportunities for women in AI.

Anne Wadsworth is leading a movement to help organizations on the ground in Tanzania educate girls and young women — demographics that too often get short shrift in that country, and around the world.

And Nyaradzo Hoto leads an all-woman ranger unit in Zimbabwe, protecting dangerous animals — and warding off dangerous poachers, too.

Earlier this month, we assembled this dynamic quartet of women who are leading innovative solutions for a more sustainable planet in our monthly “First Fridays” video podcast series.

And tune in April 5th for the next installment of “First Fridays,” which will feature environmental innovators we can all appreciate for Earth Month.

The International Uranium Film Festival offers a platform for filmmakers to spread word about the dangers of nuclear power and weapons through storytelling.

SLF has partnered with the IUFF to launch the “Samuel Lawrence Foundation Award for the Best Young Filmmaker,” for which the inaugural winner is a filmmaker from India named Satish Munda. Munda, whose film “Jadugoda: The Land of Magic” explores a region of India rich with uranium, the mining of which has brought unforeseen horrors to its residents.

“Radiation and health experts across the world charge that toxic materials and radioactivity released by the mining and processing operations [in Jadugoda] are causing widespread infertility, congenital deformities, spontaneous abortions, genetic mutation, death of newborns, cancer, and lung diseases.”

Director Munda will also receive a $1,000 prize donated by the Samuel Lawrence Foundation. It will be presented during the opening of the IUFF Chicago next week.

Next week (March 28) will be the 45th anniversary of the meltdown at Three Mile Island. The nuclear accident that took place at the nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s capital, on the Susquehanna River, was the worst accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history, and the accident gripped the nation, confirming the worst fears of anti-nuke activists.

Filmmaker Heidi Hutner revisits the traumatic events in a tense and compelling documentary, “Radioactive: The Women of Three Mile Island,” which is now available for streaming on Apple TV and Amazon.

SLF Senior Advisor Dr. Tom English is presenting the next installment of "Climate Talks for Everyone" on April 6. He will discuss his environmental experience with preventing nuclear war, managing nuclear waste, preventing mass extinction of species, and climate change. Register for the virtual talk today.

SLF Board Member Dr. Peter Andersen presented on the dangers of San Onofre at the Solana Beach Eco Rotary Club last week. Help us "Clean Up San Onofre" by signing our Change.org petition and checking out SLF's Nuclear Safety Resources on our website.

SLF Senior Fellow Steve Chapple chats with CEO of E2, Bob Keefe, about the "Save Our Planet Bill" (also known as the Inflation Reduction Act) in the latest post on his Substack Hot Globe.

Like these topics? Check out our "First Fridays" Series on YouTube or Spotify, where we bring together leading experts to discuss climate change, nuclear safety, environmental issues, energy solutions, and public health and wellness.

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