Greenpeace adviser offers nuclear caution

As soon as University alumnus and current Greenpeace Senior Adviser Harvey Wasserman arrived on campus yesterday, he headed for Nichols Arboretum.

The dismal weather came as no surprise, and he said the drizzle actually made him feel like he was a University student again.

Wasserman, who received a bachelor's degree from the University in 1967, visited campus with his multi-media presentation titled "Killing Our Own - The Disaster of America's Experience with Atomic Radiation."

Wasserman's presentation last night in the Chemistry Building was peppered with nostalgic stories of his times at the University, including anecdotes about his work as a senior editor of The Michigan Daily.

"I've been waiting for years to put this on," Wasserman said as he sat on a desk in front of about 30 students. He was referring to a 1997 National Championship sweatshirt.

Putting aside all humor, Wasserman spoke about the government's continuous effort to undermine the destructive capabilities of nuclear radiation, saying, "The more we find out about radiation, the more deadly we find it is.

"Nuclear power is the manifestation of technology gone too far ... It's just not going to work in this world," he said.

Wasserman - an internationally known ecology activist, journalist, author and radio commentator - has spoken at more than 200 college campuses and countless public forums throughout the United States and Asia.

He started his career in environmental activism early in his life and is proud of the accomplishments he has made. "I can point to places in my life where what we did made a difference," he said.

Wasserman assured students that political activism can lead to change in society.

He quoted the late Benjamin Spock, an expert in child-rearing, as saying, "You know more than you think you do." He related the quotation to activism, urging students to act on their beliefs.

Wasserman juxtaposed the evolution of the social movement against nuclear radiation - beginning with the propaganda campaigns glorifying the "benefits" of atomic radiation in the 1960s. Wasserman showed a short film to illustrate the rallies, fear and devastation that resulted from the presence of nuclear weapons.

SNRE senior Mona Hanna, chair of the Environmental Theme Semester Planning Committee, said Wasserman's visit was necessary because "he is very passionate and into what he's working on. He's also from U of M and has great U of M stories."

03-20-98