Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
promotes the
ethical
Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied e ...
practice and use of
science, design and technology. SGR is affiliated to the
(INES). It is an independent UK-based membership organisation of hundreds of natural scientists, social scientists, engineers, IT professionals and architects. In 2017 its partner organization ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) won the Nobel Peace Prize. ICAN have promoted a
Kurzgesagt
Kurzgesagt (, ; German language, German for "In a nutshell", "in short", or literally "shortly said"; ) is a German animation studio, animation and design studio founded by Philipp Dettmer. The studio is best known for its YouTube, YouTube chann ...
YouTube video endorsed by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Crescent (ICRC) showing the consequences of a single atomic weapon exploded over a city.
SGR's work is focused on four main issues: security and disarmament;
climate change and energy
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorolog ...
, including nuclear power; who controls science and technology?; emerging technologies. The main areas of concern are arms and
arms control
Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Historically, arms control may apply to melee wea ...
, including military involvement in UK universities; effect of excessive
greenhouse gas emission
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...
s on climate; the nature of war and reducing barbarity; topsoil and water shortages resulting from modern agricultural methods; depletion of species of fish due to
over-fishing
Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing Fish stocks, fish stock), resu ...
; continual spread of
nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
s, and reduction of occurrence of serious
nuclear accident
A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility." Examples include radiation poisoning, lethal effect ...
s.
In 2019 SGR launched the journal ''Responsible Science''. SGR evaluates the risk of new science and new technological solutions to older science-based problems and threats, while recognizing the enormous contribution science, design and technology has made to civilisation and human well-being.
SGR promotes science, design and technology that contribute to peace, social justice and
environmental sustainability
Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...
.
See also
*
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucl ...
*
Scientists against Nuclear Arms
Scientists against Nuclear Arms (SANA) was formed in 1981 by the physicist and peace activist Mike Pentz together with Steven Rose, both academics at the Open University, to oppose nuclear arms.
SANA was one of the forerunner organisations of S ...
, a forerunner of SGR
References
External links
SGR website*
Organizations with year of establishment missing
Non-profit organisations based in the United Kingdom
Ethics organizations
Anti-nuclear organizations
Anti–nuclear weapons movement
Science and technology in the United Kingdom
Ethics of science and technology
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