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Tough Questions - Conference Issue 1992

ENVISIONING A SUSTAINABLE WORLD : 
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
By Tim Larson

     On June 2, 1992, over 100 heads of state, along with thousands 
of individuals representing government ministries, NGOs, religious 
groups, indigenous peoples, and the press, converged on Rio de 
Janiero, Brazil.  The occasion was the United Nations Conference on 
Environment and Development (UNCED) and the Global Forum.  The TEarth 
SummitU, touted as the largest gathering ever of world leaders, 
differed markedly from its predecessor in Stockholm in 1972 Q in 
particular, TdevelopmentU was a central issue of concern.  No longer 
could environmental degradation be separated from economic 
development, burgeoning population growth, technological innovation, 
income distribution, or global resource consumption.  The economic and 
environmental fates of the countries in the South were recognized to 
have a causal link with quality of life in the North.

     As past Student Pugwash USA International Conferences have 
highlighted, the challenges and problems facing countries all over 
the world have become inextricably intertwined.  The repercussions of 
social, economic, political, and environmental change in one country 
can be felt by countries in another hemisphere.  Furthermore, 
environment, trade, and social services remain tightly connected, as 
GATT negotiations have illustrated.  Public health is directly 
impacted by seemingly disparate issues such as soil erosion, urban 
migration, deforestation, and religion.  The resulting complexity 
creates substantial difficulties in devising and implementing 
solutions, since a seemingly beneficial solution can have devastating 
impacts on another important sector or in another geographic 
location.  In fact, the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World 
Affairs were initiated to encourage scientists and world leaders to 
look beyond isolated disciplines and isolated problems and consider 
the larger global setting.

     Student Pugwash USAUs Seventh International Conference, Visions 
for a Sustainable World:  A Conference on Science, Technology, and 
Social Responsibility, aimed not only to acknowledge the challenges 
of increasing interdependence, but also to discuss solutions and 
future directions.  The Conference, held at Emory University in 
Atlanta, Georgia, from June 14-20, 1992, united 100 graduate and 
undergraduate students from 27 countries along with over 65 experts 
from government, industry, and academe for a week of intensive 
analysis.  Students and professionals participated in the following 
working groups throughout the week:

     Environmental Challenges for Developing Countries
     Energy Options: Their Social and Environmental Impacts
     Health Care in Developing JCountries
     Changing Dynamics of PeaceJand Global Security
     Educating for the Socially Responsible Use of Technology
     Ethics and the Use of JGenetic Information

Since a plethora of information exists which documents and details 
the problems that confront us in these areas, the Conference sessions 
and working groups concentrated on exploring the relationships 
between issues and developing potential solutions which could take 
into account these interrelations.  The broad range of topics covered, 
along with the diversity of student and expert backgrounds, greatly 
enhanced the ability of participants to discover and discuss the 
broader impact of science and technology on global issues.

     RVisionS was a central theme throughout the Conference week.  
The need to look to the future is essential to the concept of 
sustainability, which implies the ability of a given generation to 
meet its needs without compromising the quality of life for future 
generations.  A failure or inability to envision a viable, livable 
future for our world is itself a threat to our survivability.  This 
threat is especially apparent in light of recent global events and 
accelerating technological advancement, which force individuals to 
act, or react, ever more quickly to meet the challenges of societal, 
economic, and environmental change.  The critical component in 
meeting these challenges is the ability to comprehend the global 
framework in which all of these issues reside and envision the 
positive effect we can have upon that framework.

     During the Conference, participants were called upon to 
visualize the type of world in which they want to live, and to 
determine how our scientific and technological know-how can help to 
create such a world.  The World Game Workshop, which took place early 
in the week, provided an excellent vehicle for viewing broad global 
themes and trends and developing a collective vision of how the world 
should look.  The Workshop highlighted the growing demand for 
individuals who are able to see and work across traditional 
disciplinary boundaries, and individuals who are sensitive to the 
long-term impacts of their work on all aspects of society.

     As the week progressed, the tone of the Conference evolved from 
vision to action.  The energy, ideas, excitement, and frustration 
arising from the discussions had to be channeled to solve problems.  
It is essential to convince students - who will soon enter into 
positions of organizational and global leadership - that they have 
the power to create change, but that this requires commitment and 
individual responsibility.  These students, however, must determine 
what steps and actions are appropriate for their interests, abilities 
and beliefs.  In order to facilitate this process at the International 
Conference, each student met with a SPUSA staff member during the 
week to outline a RPersonal Plan of Action.S  This exercise provided  
an opportunity for students to share information on their past 
involvement with the issues addressed at the Conference and to 
brainstorm actions which they would like to pursue in the future.  
Mapping out the Personal Plans of Action also gave staff members a 
chance to inform students about the variety of resources SPUSA could 
provide to support their efforts, helping to ensure that the 
Conference did not end in Atlanta.

     As the pace of global change continues to intensify, young 
people must know that they have a crucial role to play in shaping 
and creating our common future.  In Atlanta this summer, a talented 
group of students let the world know that they were ready and excited 
to accept that challenge.

Tough Questions - Conference Issue 1992

From the Executive Director
PERSON-SIZED ACTIONS AND OUR GLOBAL FUTURE
By Betsy Fader

********************************************************************
Betsy Fader is a 1985 graduate of Vanderbilt University where she 
studied political science and communications.  While at Vanderbilt, 
she served two years in the Student Senate and was subsequently 
elected to the University's Board of Trustees upon her graduation 
from the University.  Prior to her arrival at SPUSA, Betsy served as 
Parliamentary Assistant to a member of the House of Commons in 
London, England, and then as Legislative Assistant in a D.C. law 
firm.  In both positions, Betsy tracked legislative and policy 
developments in alternative energy and clean energy technology 
issues. Betsy then served as legislative assistant at the Association 
of American Universities where she followed issues, focussing on 
biomedical research policy and policies regarding ethical conduct 
in research.  She has served as Executive Director of Student Pugwash 
USA since 1989.
*********************************************************************

Each day, news sources inform us that the lifestyles we lead, and our 
consumption of the worldUs resources, are not sustainable.  We know 
that our over-use of finite energy resources and abuse of the 
environment will soon place us in a state of ecological crisis. We 
know that our fragile planet  cannot carry the ever-increasing numbers 
of people inhabiting its limited space.  This is not news.

     An interested individual can easily locate a plethora of 
articles, books and journals devoted to examining these issues.  
However, while there is no shortage of information documenting the 
unfavorable direction weUre heading or the problems we will soon 
confront, there is a distinct absence of realistic solutions to these 
dilemmas.  Likewise, there is a notable lack of attention devoted to 
the role that young scholars will play as the leaders, decision-makers 
and managers of technology in the not-too-distant future.  

     Student Pugwash USAUs conferences and programs help to bridge 
the gap between documentation of problems and positive social change 
by providing opportunities for young people to develop their own 
individual agendas for the exploration of critical global issues.  
For the week of June 14 - 20,1992, Student Pugwash USAUs Seventh 
International Conference brought together an interdisciplinary, 
international and intergenerational group of committed scholars and 
eminent professionals for intensive discourse and examination of a 
variety of social and global issues.  Unlike the dozens of student 
conferences that take place each year, the Student Pugwash USA 
International Conference stressed the exploration of solutions to 
current and impending problems.  Rather than focussing solely on the 
current state of social, environmental and global dilemmas, Student 
Pugwash USAUs International Conference stressed the importance of 
ENVISIONING the type of world in which each of us would like to live 
and identifying what we, as individuals, can do to help shape such a 
world.

     Unfortunately, SPUSA does not attract the TaverageU or TtypicalU 
student.  Rather, we attract young people with an established affinity 
for critical analysis of global issues and a strong desire to utilize 
their talents to affect positive social change.  And so, while we 
successfully assembled a group of committed citizens who recognize 
that we each share in the responsibility for determining and setting 
our global agenda, I ask myself why more people do not share this 
commitment?  What will it take before more people feel empowered to 
take action and change the unsustainable course we have chosen?  Will 
it take global catastrophe before individuals realize that we are all 
part of the problem, but we are also part of the solution?

     Following are the closing remarks that I made to the 95 student 
participants of Student Pugwash USAUs Seventh International 
Conference.  I present these remarks here as a commendation, a 
challenge, and a responsibility that we all need to accept!

     The activities of this past week have, hopefully, helped to 
better form your collective and individual vision for a world that IS 
sustainable, a world which supports life that is free from the threat 
of nuclear war, a world which supports a balanced ecosystem, and a 
world which ensures freedom and opportunity for all of its inhabitants. 

     The challenge we face in achieving such a vision is great, but 
the potential to facilitate positive social change is equally great, 
beginning with you.  The path toward sustainability begins with your 
ability to make a difference through the work you undertake, through 
the decisions you make in your professional and personal life, and 
through your ability to empower other people to share your vision.  

     You have now had the opportunity to share in the development of a 
very special community.  You have helped create a community dedicated 
to exploring and learning from global problems in the context of a 
vision for the future.  You have helped form a community that 
challenges itself and others to seek solutions.  You have helped 
develop a community that serves as a catalyst for change. 

     A Student Pugwash USA International Conference similar to this 
one will not take place for another two to three years, and there 
are less than one thousand individuals who have had the opportunity 
to take advantage of this experience over the last thirteen years.  
So it is extremely important that this experience not end here, at 
Emory University.  The Conference, and the energy that you have 
expended, must extend to Africa, Europe, Asia, and South America Q 
to each of the 27 countries from which you have come.  

     And while this Conference may have begun when you arrived one 
week ago, it does not end here.  It will continue after you leave, 
when you share this experience with the people you know and meet, and 
the community in which you live.  The Student Pugwash USA International 
Conference will continue as long as you, as individuals, decide that 
you have a contribution to offer, a responsibility to make this world 
a better place than you found it, and a vision of the future to share.

     As you read through the reports, perspectives, and reflections 
that are contained in the pages of this special conference edition of 
Tough Questions, I invite you to become a part of this community as 
well.  In encouraging widespread participation and commitment to 
global sustainability, more emphasis and attention must be placed on 
how tangible, behavioral changes by average citizens can have a 
profound impact upon our continued survival.  After all, global 
problems will be resolved, in the end, through person-sized actions.

Tough Questions - Conference Issue 1992

WEAPONS ADDICTION
By Theodore Taylor

     During his participation in Student Pugwash USAUs Seventh 
International Conference, Theodore Taylor was often called upon to 
speak of his experiences  in the field of weapons development.   A 
retired physicist, Theodore Taylor worked on the Manhattan Project 
and was instrumental in RminiaturizingS the bomb.  In the 1960Us, he 
worked at the Pentagon under Robert McNamara, then Secretary of 
Defense.  Later, in 1965, Mr. Taylor made a decision to separate 
himself from weapons development and to work, instead, toward the 
abolition of all nuclear weapons. 

     We asked Mr. Taylor, having once worked so enthusiastically on 
the design of nuclear weapons, about his individual decision to shift 
his focus from weapons development to disarmament and environmental 
responsibility. 

********************************************************************

     Soon after I reported for work at the Los Alamos Laboratory in 
November 1949, I showed symptoms of an addictive disease.  I became 
fascinated with the inner workings of nuclear explosives.  
Astronomical temperatures and pressures caused by the release of as 
much energy as in a pile of high explosive as big as the White House 
were contained, for an instant, in a sphere of plutonium no bigger 
than a tennis ball.  I became obsessed with pushing the designs to 
absolute limits.  Could we design an atom bomb small enough to be 
fired out of a canon or carried in a suitcase, or big enough to 
destroy all of Moscow?  Each successful test of one of these bombs I 
helped design triggered an intense high.  I developed a sense of 
personal power over global events.  I kept wanting more.
     My mother and my wife, Caro, asked how I could work on anything 
designed to kill as many people as possible.  My answer was the same 
as my governmentUs: We at Los Alamos were, in fact, the worldUs front 
line of peacemakers.  We were making war impossible by making sure it 
would be completely devastating.  This answer didnUt wash with Caro 
or my mother.  I continued to search for new highs for some 16 years.

     Like drug addiction, my disease is incurable.  The only way to 
control it is total abstinence.  To take control requires bottoming 
out.  This means feeling such profound despair about the future that 
the addict has no acceptable choice but to admit the addiction and quit 
Q absolutely and forever.

     This happened to me in 1965, while I was working in the Pentagon. 
The wars in Korea and Vietnam proved that our 30,000 nuclear warheads 
were not preventing devastating wars.  I also became totally alarmed 
with the lack of understanding in Congress on nuclear weapons matters. 
I was present when Congress was told by the highest authorities in the 
Defense Department that we had no problem in terms of actually using 
our deterrents.  I was the last witness at those hearings and sort of 
spilled a lot of beans.  Somehow that crowned the whole architecture 
of the new form in which I saw nuclear weaponry.  At that point I 
said, RItUs bad, itUs wrong, itUs immoral, itUs the work of the devil, 
we must get rid of that.S  I had engaged in self deception, to feed my 
addiction, and I realized that my wife and mother had been right all 
along.

     Since that time I have devoted myself to the worldwide abolition 
of all nuclear weapons for all time.  For 25 years it has troubled me 
deeply that my country is prepared to kill millions of innocent people 
in retaliation to acts committed by a few insane leaders.

     I think itUs up to all of us to change the direction weUre headed 
in now.  For reasons I donUt understand, I think all of us, all people 
on earth, are now being put upon to take responsibility.  This is the 
time for passion.  Passion is whatUs needed to keep us off this 
reckless drive which has no end but death, really.  I think the signal 
of where to get off this freeway is the receptiveness of people to 
expressions of good feeling and trust.  We need to start looking at 
some of the things that we can do together.  We need to become 
dependent on working together.  For example, take a tiny fraction of 
our military spending and, starting tomorrow, put it into a project 
to find some way to purify the aquifers in the Commonwealth of 
Independent States and the United States that are now contaminated 
with pesticides.  ThatUs the way to go.  I just wish weUd get on with 
it.

********************************************************************

     Building upon his personal vision of a sustainable world, Mr. 
Taylor  has dedicated his work not only to nuclear disarmament but 
also to the promotion of environmental responsibility.  Currently, 
Mr. Taylor is the president of Southern Tier Environmental Protection 
Society (STEPS), a non-profit organization which provides pathways 
for concerned citizens to take RstepsS to promote renewable energy 
sources, energy conservation, environmental education, and 
environmental renewal.  STEPS involves citizens in action in areas 
of energy, the environment, and education.  Mr. Taylor is also a 
consultant for the Federation of American Scientists.  He currently 
writes, lectures, and testifies about nuclear arms control and 
disarmament, ethical and moral issues facing scientists and 
engineers, environmental issues, and space technology for peaceful 
uses.

Tough Questions - Conference Issue 1992

REACHING, TEACHING, AND UNDERSTANDING :
SPUSA INVITES DIALOGUE ON MULTI-CULTURAL PARTICIPATION
By Morris Reid

     Just five decades ago, most black Americans could not work, 
live, shop, eat, seek entertainment, or travel where they chose.  
Even a quarter century ago, 100 years after the Emancipation 
Proclamation of 1863, most blacks were effectively denied the right 
to vote.  A large majority of blacks lived in poverty, and very few 
black children had the opportunity to receive a basic education.  
Indeed, black children were forced to attend inferior and separate 
schools in jurisdictions that had not accepted the 1954 decision of 
the Supreme Court, declaring segregated schools unconstitutional.

     While the situation today is very different, the great gulf 
that existed between black and white Americans in 1939 has only been 
narrowed; it has not closed.  One out of three blacks still lives in 
a household with an income below the poverty line.  Even more blacks 
live in areas where ineffective schools, high rates of dependence on 
public assistance, severe problems of crime and drug use, and low and 
declining employment prevail.  Race relations, as they affect the 
lives of inhabitants of these areas, differ considerably from race 
relations involving middle-class blacks.  Lower status blacks are 
effectively restricted in their access to desegregated schools, 
neighborhoods, and other institutions or public facilities.  
Furthermore, their interactions with whites, as low-skilled employees, 
public agency clients or marginally performing pupils, frequently 
emphasize this subordinate status.

FROM EMANCIPATION INTO THE MARVELOUS "GREEN LIGHT"

     With the exception of anti-toxic campaigns and selected 
environmental initiatives, there has been little communication or 
collaboration in the United States between organizations working for 
social change in Science, Technology and Society issues and Non-
European minority groups.  Critical problems such as population 
control, limiting human intervention in the ecosystem, or rebuilding 
our cities in balance with nature have been discussed almost entirely 
from a European, and often elitist, perspective.

     Recent environmental campaigns have taught us to appreciate and 
respect the biodiversity of our planet and to recognize the 
fundamental inter-dependency of human and non-human life with respect 
to various planetary processes.  However, despite a conscious effort 
to highlight crises in underdeveloped countries, the environmental 
movement has tended to be racially exclusive, expressing the point of 
view of middle- to upper-class European ethnic groups in developed 
countries.

     If the sustainability movement hopes to have credibility as the 
voice of a grassroots planetary movement, this pattern of exclusivity 
will have to change.  Traditionally under-represented  groups can play 
an important role in this shift of strategy and consciousness.  
Environmental protection must be understood as intimately connected to 
efforts to expose and eradicate injustice.  Solutions must offer 
practical goals which can be accomplished in the short run as we 
explore paths toward a more sustainable future.  Most importantly, 
individuals and organizations simply cannot afford to maintain the 
view that they are not involved with or unconcerned about who benefits 
and who loses from restrictions on economic growth.

     The American inner city was once a wilderness.  Today, islands, 
estuaries and forests that once existed in these privileged locations 
have been replaced by asphalt, concrete, barbed-wire fences, boarded-
up stores, crack houses, landfills and pollution.  After generations 
of isolation and manipulation, the people who live in these places 
rarely remember what it once was, or speculate on what it might 
become.  The debate on sustainability must  reach into these areas in 
order that we may collectively envision the city, and the world, of 
the future.

REACHING, TEACHING, AND UNDERSTANDING
     Just how important is it that those involved in sustainability 
issues include and involve the African American and other under-
represented communities?  Consider the fact that population growth 
among the Latin, Asian and African American communities is nearly 
twice that of white Americans.  Consider the findings of the 
Workforce 2000 study which projects increasing numbers of women and 
minorities in the workforce by the year 2000.  Reaching, teaching 
and understanding are crucial components to any effort to envision or 
actualize a sustainable future.

     What is Reaching, Teaching, and Understanding?  Reaching, 
Teaching, and Understanding is a long term commitment initiated 
through Student Pugwash USA to foster dialogue on increased multi-
cultural participation in the debate on critical global issues and, 
specifically, to increase minority participation in all aspects of 
SPUSA activities and programs.  However, this is not just an attempt 
to increase the number or percentage of minorities participating in 
SPUSA, but rather an earnest effort to fill a void that now exists 
between the minority community and the sustainability movement.

     Clearly, there must be more race sensitive planning by many of 
the larger environmental organizations, like the Sierra Club or the 
National Wildlife Federation.  As we approach the 21st century, race 
sensitive planning must take on a more progressive and visible role, 
which I fundamentally believe could address and eradicate the void 
that now exists by:

-- promoting greater understanding of the productive assets of 
society, including land, water and natural resources
-- Strengthening collaboration with groups seeking to redirect 
public investment and economic development away from wasteful 
exploitation of nature and gaining access to information resources 
which enhance the potential of community survival
-- Strengthening social and political organization and creating 
new opportunities for leadership within the community.

     In order to meet responsibilities for citizenship, blacks and 
other minorities must have opportunities and learn to play a greater 
role in formulating environmental policies which, after all, affect 
all members of the community.  We must find new ways to bridge the 
gap between the sustainability movement and the African American and 
other under-represented communities.

******************************************************************
RReaching, Teaching, and Understanding: Multi-Cultural Participation 
in the New Environmental OrderS has been  initiated by Eric Whitaker 
and Morris L. Reid through Student Pugwash USA to address multi-
cultural recruitment and participation in Science, Technology, and 
Society issues.  For further information or involvement, contact 
Eric Whitaker at (312) 324-6665 or Morris L. Reid at (216) 794-1232 
or write us at Student Pugwash USA.

Tough Questions - Conference Issue 1992

DEVELOPMENT IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD
By Eric J. Dolin, Aditi Dutt and Scott Haase

     Historically speaking, development, as a theory and in 
practice, has been focused on quantitative rather than qualitative 
principles.  The focus of World Bank programs and other development 
initiatives has always been economic productivity, as measured by 
GNP, no matter what the cost in human or environmental terms.  This 
narrow definition has led to bleak situations in many developing 
countries, as well as in many developed countries (look at our own 
inner cities).   Despite decades of effort and the expenditure of 
billions of dollars on development programs, there is little 
indication that the process of environmental degradation is being 
halted, let alone reversed.  Indeed, the situation seems to be 
getting worse.  While the notion of Tsustainable growthU, suggested 
by the Brundtland Commission as a way to redefine development, has 
inspired a valuable public discussion, it is probably impossible to 
achieve in the long run.  The worldUs economic systems cannot 
continue to grow  indefinitely, at least not without major changes 
to our environment.

     In the midst of the debate on these issues, delegates 
representing ten countries gathered at the SPUSA International 
Conference for the Environmental Challenges for Developing Countries 
working group.  In spite of the difficulties which sometimes can 
arise with such diversity, our discussions were very congenial and a 
great learning experience for all.  Indeed, the diverse ethnic, 
experiential and personal make up of the working group provided 
invaluable resources for the group as a whole, as we sought to 
define and explore issues.  What  is Tsustainable development'? How 
can we decouple the notion of TdevelopmentU from TgrowthU in order to 
move toward sustainability?  How can we best measure and analyze our 
efforts, in both a quantitative and a qualitative fashion?  Besides 
the frequently used terms, TMore Industrialized NationsU and TLess 
Industrialized Nations,U should we define a new term for TDegrading 
Industrialized NationsU which would include some of the so-called 
Tdeveloped' countries?

     Virtually all members of the group agreed that the bioregional 
approach is a sensible way to address resource and pollution 
problems. This approach argues for managing the environment in a 
holistic fashion that recognizes the integrity and importance of 
ecosystems, The debate heated up, however, when the group moved from 
this agreement on principles to a discussion of how bioregionalism 
could be operationalized in light of the fact that ecosystems donUt 
respect traditional political jurisdictions.  Some argued that the 
bioregional approach requires improved cooperation among existing 
political units.  Others felt that the only way to achieve 
bioregionalism is to dissolve or at least severely weaken traditional 
political jurisdictions and create new international forms of 
government, such as a Tglobal environmental protection agency.U  
Understandably, the challenges inherent in the creation of a global 
EPA or similar structures inspired another interesting and 
inconclusive debate on how such international governmental structures 
could be established and why nations would consent to be, in effect, 
stripped of their sovereignty in some regard.

     A number of participants felt that, under the rubric of 
technology transfer, the Developed Nations should send environmental 
experts to the Developing Nations in order to help the latter 
implement sustainable policies.  No sooner had this proposal been 
mentioned than some of the participants from developing countries 
pointed out that it was not expertise that their countries lacked, 
but the financial means and technological hardware necessary to put 
that expertise to work.  The group agreed that this was an important 
distinction.  After all, developing countries are populated by many 
smart and capable administrators, scientists, and policy makers.  The 
real challenge is to carefully consider the social, economic and 
political climate within which these individuals must operate, when 
designing foreign aid and technology transfer initiatives.  In this 
regard, western industrialization models for development can be 
inappropriate for developing countries.  While the expertise and aid 
that Developed Nations have to offer are essential components of a 
sustainable future, one should be careful to avoid the assumption that 
this expertise is all- important or inherently sufficient.

     Another element of the expertise question has to do with 
indigenous knowledge.  Local people who have the closest relationship 
with their environs often can provide valuable information for 
designing sustainable practices, especially those having to do with 
agriculture.  Rather than approach a situation with the Tanswers,U 
development agencies, in particular, should seek to learn from those 
they want to help.  Part of this learning process involves 
understanding how the indigenous people will react to new programs.  
The importance of this understanding in ensuring the success of such 
programs was highlighted in one of the student papers as follows:

In many African villages, water supply projects fail because they [do 
not] take account of the fact that the task of gathering water serves 
a social purpose for women to get together and talk.  Wood gathering 
may serve a similar social purpose, giving women a chance for a long 
absence from overbearing males, in addition to the main objective of 
gathering fuel.  Issues such as these must be carefully considered.

This focus on indigenous knowledge and culture fit in well with our 
discussion of the need to utilize both top-down and bottom-up 
strategies in the implementation of environmental programs.

     In recognition of the Tenvironmental challengesU posed by rapid 
population growth in the Developing Nations, we explored the 
obstacles of implementing western control measures such as Family 
Planning, contraception and educational programs. First of all, the 
pervasive Catholicism in many developing nations simply does not 
allow women access to contraception. Secondly, from a cultural point 
of view, children are often equated with virility, which makes 
population control measures unacceptable to many men even if women 
desire access to them.  Finally, uneducated women often believe that 
children are a Tboon from the heavensU and simply do not question or 
want to interfere with this process.  Hence, many members of the 
group felt that it was crucial to work toward an increased financial 
and educational backbone for all women in the world, resulting in 
increased self-esteem and independence for women to address these 
obstacles.

     One of the frustrations of the group was our inability, in some 
instances, to come up with specific steps that should be taken to 
implement those principles of sustainable development on which there 
was substantial agreement.  It is one thing to support a top-down and 
bottom-up approach to program implementation, but quite another to 
map it out.  At the same time, we realized that in light of the time 
constraints, the complexity of the issues addressed, and the lack of 
case-specific data, coming up with detailed proposals was 
unrealistic.  This frustration, however, should not be construed as 
an indication of despair or failure. We were all heartened by the 
quality of the discussion and each otherUs dedication to the cause 
of sustainable development.  Our time together was clearly a success. 
And we were all confident that as our academic and professional 
careers progress, so too will our ability to influence the 
sustainable development debate, ultimately contributing to the 
process of transforming aspirations into reality.

Tough Questions - Conference Issue 1992

HEALTH CARE : LOOK, LISTEN, AND LEARN
By Liesl Cooper, Lyta Hamm and Troy Jacobs

     The Health Care in Developing Countries working group was 
comprised of participants from seven countries, with many varied 
perspectives and experiences represented. Because health care in 
developing countries is largely dependent on foreign aid, the 
relationship between donor and recipient was a recurring theme.  We 
paid particular attention to programs which failed to be effective 
because they did not, or were not able to, address the self-
identified problems of the community affected.  Without a sincere 
and sustained dialogue between donor and recipient, it seems 
impossible to plan and implement sustainable health care initiatives.

     In order to illustrate this, we would like to invite you to tune 
in to the Health Channel.  Here on the RLook, Listen, and Learn ShowS
 your window into the world of health and development -  we have Dr. 
North representing global aid in  the Developed World, and Ms. South 
representing the Developing World:

Dr. North:  A team of development professionals from the 
Industrialized Nations and I viewed a colleagueUs slide presentation 
a while ago, and we were deeply concerned about rural 
underdevelopment. We saw pictures of malnourished children, dirty  
living conditions, no indoor plumbing or toilets, and rampant diseases. 
We decided that the best intervention was to send a team to build a 
modern clinic in your village.  As you know, the clinic has not been 
wholly successful.  What went wrong?

Ms. South:  For the first few weeks, people from my village did not 
go to the clinic, for they thought that people went there to die. The 
translators came to tell the people that it was better than our old 
ways and villagers eventually went, hoping to get better, but then 
funding for the project ceased and the doctors left the clinic.  
Nothing has changed, really.  We still have malnutrition, poor water 
and disease.

Dr. North:  The clinic is a state-of-the-art facility, and we sent 
a well-qualified staff to run it and train others.  Granted, many of 
the diseases are recurring and our follow-up procedures could have 
been better, but what more could we have done? Tell me, Ms. South, 
how can we better assist you?

Ms. South:  In the work of a non-governmental organization in my 
village, weUve seen that, above all, community participation builds 
health.  One must respect good and bad traditions, and reason with 
people.  In this way, people feel like they own the project, and 
eventually improvements occur.  Furthermore, one must listen to the 
needs of the people and promote development in a broad sense.  We 
often promote agriculture, breast feeding, and the equal status of 
women in the name of comprehensive community health and empowerment.

Dr. North:  Your approach sounds workable in a small area, but what 
about an entire country or world?

Ms. South:  This is the true challenge we face.  I am convinced, 
however, that the change must be instituted by the communities 
themselves in order  to be effective and permanent.

     Bearing in mind this kind of bottom-up approach, we explored 
many structural issues during the course of the week.  These 
included increasing the status of women and the availability of 
family planning services in order to increase the health status of 
a society.  Other needs discussed were improved sanitation, food 
supply, transportation,  rural health services, occupational safety 
and the reduction of pollution hazards.  In addition, we discussed 
the need for governmental 'political will' to make health a priority 
and the need for political stability.  Many hard-won health gains 
have been eliminated by political instability and war.

     However, we must not forget that, in reality, this sort of 
mutually respectful dialogue between  North and South rarely occurs. 
The largest barriers to improved health care are the same barriers 
which inhibit success in nearly all aspects of society and science. 
These barriers are not due to a lack of technology, research or 
ideas, nor even to a lack of resources.  Rather, they are due to 
the way in which we interact, as individuals, as communities, as 
organizations, and as nations.  Our critical examination of health 
care issues in developing countries led us to conclude that this was 
the point of failure in societyUs efforts.  Overcoming this is the 
challenge for a sustainable world today.

     The type of koinonia, or commonality of community, that has been 
identified as occurring in the 1992 Student Pugwash USA International 
Conference as a whole occurred in our working group as well.  We 
challenge you to Look, Listen, and Learn: Look for  underlying 
problems and long-term solutions, Listen actively and respect other 
people's points of view, and Learn to think in a new way.

Tough Questions - Conference Issue 1992

ENERGY OPTIONS : EMBRACING A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
By Andrew Young

A central question presents  itself in planning for a sustainable 
global future: How can we meet the rapidly expanding energy demand, 
and at what cost?  The demand for energy will continue to increase, 
as energy provides a means to meet basic human needs for increasingly 
large populations throughout the world.  For example, half of the 
planetUs population depends on fuel wood to provide meals; 
inhabitants of the more extreme latitudes rely on heating to survive 
harsh climate conditions; and energy is required to build and operate 
sanitation systems that prevent communicable diseases from decimating 
heavily populated areas.  Now more than ever there exists a direct 
link between access to energy and survival.  However, energy issues 
extend far beyond the comparatively narrow realm of technology and 
environmental science.  To address the broader scope of energy 
problems, our working group, Energy Options: Their Social and 
Environmental Impact, organized the analysis of energy options and t
heir implications into the categories of technological issues, 
institutional influences, and political interplay.  

     From the technological perspective there is much promise for a 
sustainable future, assuming that the new technologies are nurtured 
and implemented.  Energy-efficient technologies offer huge potential 
for environmental and economic savings.  One compact flourescent lamp 
factory, for example, can displace the energy need that is provided by 
a base-load, coal-fired power plant at 1/139 of the cost.  There is 
also much room for efficiency improvement.  Japan, who has yet to meet 
its full potential of energy efficiency, still enjoys twice the 
efficiency of the United States, and four times that of the former 
Soviet Union.  

     Renewable energy also shows much promise for the future and is 
economically competitive today. Wind power can currently be produced 
for $.07/kWh and solar thermal for approximately $.08/kWh, as compared 
to $.094/kWH for nuclear power.  These renewable energy costs are 
expected to drop even lower in the near future.  Nuclear power has 
also seen many recent innovations, but the question of safe waste 
disposal remains unsolved.  

     If technology promises to solve our energy problems, then why is 
there such great concern about energy now?  At this point, political 
and institutional factors lend serious complication and challenge to 
our vision of an economical, equitable, and environmentally benign 
energy future.  In most of the world, electric power is heavily 
subsidized, while energy efficient and environmentally-sound 
technologies are not. Financially, this  encourages the wasting of 
energy which restricts the availability of energy services.  To 
further pave the way for energy efficiency, utility energy sales 
should be decoupled from profits.  The emphasis should be placed on 
providing energy services, i.e., the end-use benefits, and not placed 
simply  on the amount of electric power sold.  

     Harmful environmental and health externalities associated with 
the fossil fuel and nuclear industries have also been ignored in 
energy pricing, and prices have not reflected the social costs.  
Placing the cost of externalities 'up-front' in the form of an 
environmental tax would help ensure the success of beneficial energy 
technologies and would prevent our and future generations from having 
to pay the 'cost' of todayUs energy consumption tomorrow.  Instituting 
an externality tax is not a simple solution, however.  It must be done 
in a way that equitably distributes the burden of transition to a soft 
energy path until the new technologies have proliferated.  In 
addition, though it is clear that non-renewable power sources are 
unsustainable, the complexity of our biosphere makes it difficult to 
foresee the broader effects of pollution and consumption, much less 
attach a price to them.  

     In conclusion, the Energy Options  working group exposed some of 
the incredible complexities of the problems surrounding energy and 
sustainability.  The problems are global in magnitude and influence. 
Accordingly, they require solutions which embrace a global perspective.

Tough Questions - Conference Issue 1992

ETHICS AND THE USE OF GENETIC INFORMATION

INTRODUCTION
     Genetic technology has made astounding progress in the last 15 
years, and we can only speculate where we will be in the next 15. 
The human genome endeavor, a concerted international effort, will 
attempt to map all 50 to 100 thousand human genes to their 
chromosomal locations. Another phase of the project will determine 
the exact sequence - the text, if you will - of these genes. The 
stated impetus of a project of this magnitude is to prevent and 
hopefully treat some of the 4,000 already known genetic disorders 
which afflict humanity. The information to be gained will lift a 
veil of uncertainty from our collective identity, but we must be wary 
of this technology. Only now do we have the technology to delve into 
the molecular structure of our human inheritance and try to shed 
light on questions of human nature. Given these ideas, we, the 
members of the Ethics and the Use of Genetic Information  working 
group, have prepared a statement on our recommendations for the use 
of the information gained from this endeavor.

PREAMBLE
     Modern genetic research will open many new vistas and create 
many new challenges. The greater knowledge of humankindUs genes can 
be a window into important facets of our inner self and of all 
humanity.  The human genome endeavor should be conducted in a manner 
that will benefit all humanity, and we should be well prepared to 
deal responsibly and ethically with the information that will be 
produced by this endeavor. However, we must recognize that our genes 
are not the sole determinant of our being; we are social beings, 
inextricably a product of our environment and behavior.

     In particular, our working group perceived a need for 
increasing public awareness and understanding of the human genome 
endeavor in particular and of science in general. People of all 
disciplines and backgrounds need to become involved in and welcomed 
into the scientific process. Science in general can and must become 
more democratic. We call upon scientists to provide easily 
understood and accessible information. We also call upon the public 
to better educate themselves on these issues in order to make 
informed decisions.

     To encourage the beneficial uses and applications, and to 
discourage intentional or accidental abuse, misdirection, or 
misapplication of genetic research, we, the members of the Genetic 
Information Working Group , believe that the following guidelines 
should be adopted regarding the human genome endeavor and similar 
applications of genetic technology.

     I. All information resulting from the human genome endeavor, 
except that which discloses an individualUs genetic information, 
should be public property and be available to all nations and people. 
All nations that possess the technological capacity to assist with 
the genome endeavor and that stand to benefit from the information 
have a responsibility to participate (financially and with human, 
material, and scientific resources) to the extent they are capable. 

     II. At its current funding rate, the human genome endeavor will 
produce information of fundamental importance at a rapid rate and 
with great potential for both use and abuse. It is the obligation of 
the global community to develop in parallel the ethical, legal, 
social, economic, and political tools, policies, principles, and 
procedures necessary to use this information to the benefit of 
humanity, and in an ethically sound manner. In addition, this 
parallel effort must go beyond research to include broad dialogue 
and public participation.

     III. The priorities of the human genome endeavor (and of 
publicly supported science in general) should focus on the needs of 
the global community. In particular, priorities shall not be 
determined by racial, gender, or discriminatory preferences.

     IV. The results of the human genome endeavor shall be used to 
the benefit of all. Great care shall be taken that the results are 
not used to the detriment of any people, based on race, ethnic, or 
gender groups or against people who do not have economic, racial, or 
political power.

     V. All individuals associated with the human genome endeavor 
have an on-going responsibility (which is not terminated by the 
completion of their particular involvement in specific studies) to 
ensure that appropriate steps are taken so that the information 
obtained from the effort is used in an ethical and responsible 
manner. The human genome endeavor may give humanity new appreciation 
of our diversity; it is critical that this information not be used 
to alter that. 

     VI. No individualUs genome should be typed as their genetic 
information without their prior consent or a court order. An 
individualUs identified genetic information should not be disclosed 
to anyone without that personUs prior written consent, except by 
court order.

     VII. Any identification of an individual based on genetic 
techniques must be accompanied by an explicit statement regarding 
the known uncertainty of that identification. Any advice, counseling 
or proposed medical intervention based on genetic evaluation should 
be preceded by an explicit statement regarding the known uncertainty 
of that evaluation. 

     VIII. Attempts to use predictive genetic technologies in 
decisions regarding access to and equity of education, employment 
and insurance are especially subject to misinterpretation, 
misunderstanding, misuse, or abuse. If allowed, the use of 
predictive technologies in these areas requires regulation and 
monitoring sufficient to prevent misuse of information and to 
safeguard human dignity and human rights.

CONCLUSION
     The exchange of information and dialogue are essential 
prerequisites for the development of mutual trust and respect, but 
only the sharing of our inner selves, our hopes, and our fears can 
establish the basis for truly working together to understand and 
solve the fundamental problems facing humanity.

Tough Questions - Conference Issue 1992

PEACE AS A PROCESS
By Matthew Udziela

     The first issue that needs to be recognized when considering 
the concept of global security is that of definitions.  What is 
peace?  Peace and security for whom?  A comprehensive notion of 
peace and security must include several factors.  Peace is not 
just the absence of war, but the absence of the potential for 
war, and as such must incorporate issues of health and education. 
Similarly, a country cannot be called secure if it does not fulfill 
the basic needs of its people.  Security is inextricably linked to 
national well-being and therefore must  address such issues as 
environmental degradation, resource allocation, and sustainable 
development.

     The end of the Cold War has resulted in both challenges and 
opportunities for global peace and security.  While there is 
increased cooperation between the superpowers,  there are also new 
instabilities being created as smaller nations, previously armed 
along Cold War lines, experience a marked decrease in weapons 
shipments from their former guardians.  While increased economic 
interdependence opens avenues for cooperation, all countries must 
balance this with the need to retain national sovereignty.  
Accordingly, this diverse spectrum of tensions demands an equally 
diverse spectrum of solutions, alliances and treaties.

     Europe is beginning its well-publicized cooperation through the 
EEC, but the same dynamism can be found in Asia with no formal 
organizational body.  The spread of democracy can be seen in light 
of this search for new solutions, as well.  However, while the 
current model of liberal democracy may create stability, this is by 
no means a foregone conclusion.  Democratic leaders are prevented 
from more extreme actions by their constituencies.  We must search 
for ways to improve all governmental structures if we hope to meet 
the challenges that lie ahead.

     Proliferation of nuclear weapons and the arms trade must be 
stopped, and the US must take the lead here.  The most recent US-
CIS treaty (June 1992) is a promising first step, but the US should 
continue with new actions and military reductions.  India and 
Pakistan may proliferate, but both are looking for paths to peace, 
and should be shown the way.   Of course, deeds are more powerful 
than words, but words are also important and must be expressed. 

     Issues of  equity and access must also be addressed, in our 
search for global peace and security.  For developing nations 
especially, security is linked to the procurement of common basic 
needs.  Thus, resource allocations must be revamped, from the 
individual to the national level.  Sister city programs must be 
strengthened and expanded, for direct aid between cities is often 
more efficient than hierarchical governmental programs.  Governments 
must learn to cooperate as Finland has done by donating its old 
computers and technology to the Balkans.  Furthermore, success in 
these types of resource allocation and re-allocation programs is 
greatly enhanced by a visibility of accounting practices and 
information exchange.  If you can show people where all the funds 
are going, pressure increases on leaders to stop the accumulation of 
wealth and work toward a more equitable distribution.  In the 
interim, a world court could help to mediate conflicts and 
aggression centered around these issues.  It need not have the 
power to pass judgement to be effective.

     Above all, knowledge empowers.  We must give more money for 
education Q specifically primary education.  This is usually more 
efficient when carried out through non-governmental agencies.  In 
addition, we must give materials, even simple ones such as paper and 
textbooks.  Texts must not be ethnocentric, however, as the 
educational initiatives we support must be part of a foundation to 
build a global community.

     Peace is a process, not a goal.  To fully engage in this 
process, we must blend the visionary with the pragmatic. We must 
take big steps and small steps when appropriate.  In an effort to 
decrease international secrecy and increase levels of trust, we must 
foster new ways of understanding through communications, student 
exchanges, and community living.  Towards this end, reducing 
international airline fares  is one small step that should be 
considered.  On a larger scale, European developments provide new 
models for economic sharing.  West-East relations can reduce tensions 
and increase transparency.  Perhaps we should change the familiar 
saying to, 'Act globally, act locally.'

     Peace is not static; we move through it.  We must increase trust 
through avenues such as the SPUSA International Conferences.  We must 
stop hiding from each other and begin to act as if we are all part of 
one family. 

Tough Questions - Conference Issue 1992

EDUCATING GLOBAL CITIZENS
By Jose Camberos, Jean Heller-Hendrick, and Barbara Sabonis-Chaffee

     The Education working group had to coalesce from a very broad 
base... and a long title: Educating for the Socially Responsible Use 
of Technology.  The papers submitted and discussed interpreted 
TeducationU to involve everything from how to best inform the public 
on the environmental hazards of landfills; to criticism of gender 
bias and other flaws built into formal education; to the unique 
problems of technological education in the face of extensive defense 
and  aerospace industry influence.

     From the diversity of topics to the diversity of individuals, to 
the diversity of educational and experiential backgrounds (students 
ranged in age from 19 to 53), the group worked to identify themes 
that could bring the far ranging topics into relationship.  We 
developed a list of 36 educational issues which had been raised, 
with three major categories emerging: 1) broad public education, 
as in media and print; 2) educating for values as a base for 
socially responsible decision making and global sustainability; 
and 3) formal education in classroom settings.

     Discussion around the TwhatU and ThowU of broad public 
education led to an increased awareness of the magnitude of issues 
that call for our attention, of the critical importance of 
maintaining respect for a diversity of views in addressing these 
issues, and of the tremendous power the media has to mold public 
opinion within this process.  Many members of the group felt that 
we must strengthen lines of communication between traditional 
TeducatorsU and the Teducated',  for it is more often than not 
that solutions to problems are found within the richness of human 
diversity than by TexpertsU seeking solutions in isolation.

     In order to enhance our understanding and facilitate our 
exploration of an educational agenda for instilling values as a base 
for socially responsible decision making and global sustainability, 
we generated a list of 21 criteria for consideration in developing a 
working definition of Tsocially responsible technology.U   The most 
inclusive and acceptable definition was that Rsocially responsible 
technology must be environmentally and economically sound, 
politically and socially acceptable over time, and it must meet the 
needs of todayUs population without compromising the needs of future 
generations.S  Furthermore, in order to explore the implications of 
such an educational agenda on a more individual level, we shared 
Tpersonal plans of actionU of how we might go about learning and 
sharing with others our visions for a sustainable world.  These 
ranged from developing a global support network for activists in 
developing countries, to producing a program on this conference for 
the local public access cable channel, to pursuing teaching in the 
sciences at the high school level as a career.

     Our final task was to address the needs of formal education at 
various levels.  In keeping with the concepts evolved in prior 
discussions, the group concluded that the goal of formal education 
should be the cultivation of globally educated citizens, with skills 
in critical thinking, creativity, empathy and the ability to 
communicate effectively.  These citizens must also be ethically 
concerned and able to develop, select, and use culturally sustainable 
technologies.  In any attempt to reach this goal, however, formal 
education must  first switch its emphasis from the imparting of 
information to the building of skills for Tlearning how to learnU and 
for making responsible choices.  Also seen as important was the 
commitment of those possessing knowledge and experience to mentor the 
next generation.  Only then will citizens be truly educated and 
empowered to act as agents of change.

      One conference participant, Jos Camberos, reflected upon the 
TwhyU of educating oneself and others on the creation of a sustainable 
world.  Jos shared with the participants of the 1992 SPUSA 
International Conference one possible answer he found universal -- 
Rbecause I contain the capacity to choose.  Freedom.  Unless we 
respect and cherish freedom, in the ideal, we impose a personal bias 
to all our judgements.  Any practical explicit solution to our common 
problem ultimately presupposes some bias because personal experience 
limits our capacity for action....Lao Tzu speaks of the world as a 
process, not an ideology, not a political, economic, environmental or 
social agenda.  The world Lao Tzu envisioned refers to an awareness 
of universal incompleteness in the process of becoming complete.  
Commitment to such an ideal transcends even our most noble actions.S 

Tough Questions - Conference Issue 1992

NEXT STEPS
By Barry Lasky

************************************************************
RIf you Tdo your homeworkU and Tthink things outU, it is possible to 
figure out just the right place to intervene in a big, complicated, 
seemingly overwhelming system.  You can do something, when no one 
notices, without necessarily possessing wealth and power as 
prerequisites to taking action or causing change.  You can have a 
significant effect.S
          Howard Brown
          President, Resource Planning and Management Systems, Inc
************************************************************

     Ever since the first SPUSA International Conference, Science 
and Ethical Responsibility held at the University of California, 
San Diego in 1979, SPUSA has emphasized that all citizens, young 
and old, have a right and a responsibility to join with experts in 
addressing the worldUs most pressing problems.  But how?  Even with 
an appreciation of the importance of this mission and a clear desire 
to involve oneself in the decision-making process, Taddressing the 
worldUs most pressing problemsU can often be a confusing and 
frustrating endeavor.  Recognizing the importance of working together 
to move beyond this confusion and frustration, one student participant 
from the 1992 International Conference recently wrote to us, RItUs 
wonderful that so many people take an interest in important global 
issues, but taking an interest is not enough.  We must search together 
for answers and solutions.S

     Aside from informing themselves and others on critical global 
issues and participating in extensive issue-based discussions, the 
student delegates to the 1992 SPUSA International Conference, Visions 
for a Sustainable World,  sought to take their conference experience 
one step further.  They sought to extend the dialogue on a 
sustainable future to action and application by developing a 
Personal Plan of Action, embodying their commitment to continue 
exploring their rights and responsibilities as individuals and 
participants in the process of social change.

     Most delegates felt that the very first step in creating a 
safe, sustainable world is a personal commitment to being informed 
about important global, social and scientific issues.  Students 
identified the following initiatives as ways to further educate 
themselves on the issues they find important and  to prepare 
themselves to educate others in turn:

     organize further discussion groups based on issues examined 
during the International Conference;
     join an established SPUSA chapter or create one of their own;
     cycle across the U.S., learning and writing about various 
community organizing efforts;
     explore, with organizing and lobbying groups, the possibility 
of local and regional political actions concerning Conference issues;
     learn another language;
     travel to the tropical rain forests of Africa and South America;
     live and work on an organic farm in order to gain first-hand 
knowledge of a TsustainableU way of life.

     The more than 90 Personal Plans of Action generated at SPUSAUs 
International Conference exemplify a commitment to the learning 
process and serve as a starting point  to affecting change.  Abikok 
Riak, an Economics and History major at Bluffton College, writes, 
RIUve always known that IUd go TintoU development, but now I have a 
better idea of what exactly development is and how I can make a 
difference.S

     With a solid foundation to build upon, many conference 
participants wish to direct their efforts towards outreach.  
Mentoring younger people was one educational avenue identified 
repeatedly.  Specifically, students identified the following avenues 
of outreach:

     communicate with secondary school teachers in order to discuss 
the possibility of incorporating Science, Technology and Society 
issues into the curriculum;
     organize a Rjunior PugwashS mini conference at the junior high 
school level;
     explore educational alternatives focused on building young 
peopleUs self-esteem and involvement in environmental issues;
     conduct day and overnight wilderness excursions with inner-city 
children;
     set aside time to talk about the International Conference with 
their children or younger siblings.

     While outreach to younger people is certainly a primary 
component to empowerment and education concerning the worldUs most 
pressing problems, an equally urgent need exists to focus on the 
inclusion of women and minority groups in the decision-making 
process.  The International Conference highlighted the need for 
empowerment of traditionally underrepresented groups through a 
panel discussion on access and equity in the sciences, leading many 
students to examine their roles and responsibilities with regard to 
social justice.  Spencer Geswein, a mechanical engineering student at 
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, says, R[The Conference] changed 
my outlook on people more than on issues.  I have lived my entire life 
in a homogeneous society, but now, at least I know how to begin to 
widen my perspective.S  Furthermore, several Conference participants 
have identified specific outreach objectives as being part of their 
Personal Plan of Action to work toward a sustainable future.  While 
attending medical school at Emory University, Nicolai Hinds plans to 
involve more members of the African-American community in SPUSA 
events, Rbecause the issues that SPUSA addresses are so critical in 
shaping our vision of the future, and because these issues necessitate 
having all  members of our global community included in the decision 
making-process.S

     Obviously, no single educational program or outreach initiative 
will suffice in Taddressing the worldUs most pressing problems.U 
Nonetheless, the student delegates to the 1992 SPUSA International 
Conference have developed Personal Plans of Action to explore their 
rights and responsibilities within the process of social change.  
After working together to create visions for a sustainable world, 
they have made a commitment to ensure that these visions become 
reality.  Reflecting on her conference experience, one woman writes, 
RI expected to find a great deal of discussion between students and 
professionals concerning science and technology as they relate to the 
world.  What I found instead was an incredibly enthusiastic group of 
diverse individuals devoted to making the world a better place.S