Losing Our Religion: New Documentary Explores Clergy Who Have Lost Faith

Shot across North America and the UK over two years, Losing Our Religion provides a first look inside The Clergy Project, a safe, anonymous online space for preachers who no longer believe in god. The site has grown from sixty to over six hundred members in just two years. Now, for the first time, a documentary crew has been allowed access to the members of The Clergy Project. Many members find themselves trapped, facing the dilemma of either living a lie, or losing their job, community and even home and family.

Filmmaker Leslea Mair interviewed clergy across North America, including the Deep South, who are still undercover and know they would lose their jobs and their friends should anyone find out. Leslea also talked to former clergy, Clergy Project members who are “out,” who give open and personal explanations of why they became preachers, what happened, the cost of being honest, and why they are still working to help others trapped in the pulpit.

Commissioned by Bruce Cowley, senior director of documentary Channel, Losing Our Religion will have its world broadcast premiere on documentary Channel in the fall of 2017. Public screenings are also scheduled in select locations and the film will be available for purchase in 2018.

Contributors include Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Dan Barker, and many more.

Richard Dawkins. The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Science and Reason provided funding to create the Clergy Project.

Dan Barker, Freedom from Religion Foundation.

www.losingourreligion.ca CC

DeBaptismal Certificate Offered by Freedom from Religion Foundation

Still smarting over having been dunked in a church baptismal tub at age 12? Indignant that a congregation still claims you as a believer based on baptismal records? Wishing you could formally renounce a religion that was imposed on you as a helpless babe in swaddling clothes?

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has the answer: a genuine “DeBaptismal Certificate.”

The certificate bears the tongue-in-cheek saying of 19th century freethinker Robert G. Ingersoll: “With soap, baptism is a good thing.”

To download your own free copy, visit

https://ffrf.org/publications/debaptism-certificate

FFRF also offers a variety of downloads as posters, billboards, and more.

PRRI Releases Largest Survey of American Religious and Denominational Identity Ever Conducted

09.06.2017

Survey of 101,000 Americans chronicles the country’s changing religious landscape, including the declining dominance of white Christian groups and a more diverse future

WASHINGTON—With aging white Christian groups now accounting for fewer than half of the public and non-Christian groups constituting the country’s youngest religious communities, the future of American religion will likely look strikingly different than its past. A massive new survey out today from PRRI reveals seismic shifts in the religious landscape over the last few decades, including the sharp growth of the religiously unaffiliated—a category that includes atheists, agnostics, and those who say they do not identify with any particular religion—along with racial and ethnic changes that are transforming nearly all major Christian denominations.

These are among the major findings from “America’s Changing Religious Identity,” a report released today by PRRI. The report is based on findings from PRRI’s 2016 American Values Atlas, the single largest survey of American religious and denominational identity ever conducted, based on interviews with more than 101,000 Americans from all 50 states conducted across 2016. The report includes detailed information about religious affiliation, denominational ties, political affiliation, and other important demographic characteristics.

“This report provides solid evidence of a new, second wave of white Christian decline that is occurring among white evangelical Protestants just over the last decade in the U.S.,” says Robert P. Jones, PRRI CEO and author of The End of White Christian America. “Prior to 2008, white evangelical Protestants seemed to be exempt from the waves of demographic change and disaffiliation that were eroding the membership bases of white mainline Protestants and white Catholics. We now see that these waves simply crested later for white evangelical Protestants.”

Today, only 43% of Americans identify as white Christian, and only 30% as white Protestant. In 1976, roughly eight in ten (81%) Americans identified as white and identified with a Christian denomination, and a majority (55%) were white Protestants.

Fewer than one in five (17%) Americans now identify as white evangelical Protestant, but they accounted for nearly one-quarter (23%) of the public just a decade ago in 2006. Over the same period, white Catholics dropped five percentage points from 16% to 11%, and white mainline Protestants have shed an equal number, decreasing from 18% to 13%.

The Catholic Church is also undergoing a dramatic transformation as its share of white, non-Hispanic members dwindles and its Hispanic membership rises. Twenty-five years earlier in 1991, nearly nine in ten (87%) Catholics were white, non-Hispanic, compared to 55% today. Among Catholics under the age of 30, fewer than four in ten (36%) are white, non-Hispanic, compared to 52% who are Hispanic.

More evidence that America’s future is less white and less Christian: Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and the religiously unaffiliated are all far younger than white Christian groups. At least one-third of Muslims (42%), Hindus (36%), and Buddhists (35%) are under the age of 30. Roughly one-third (34%) of religiously unaffiliated Americans are also under 30. In contrast, slightly more than one in ten white Catholics (11%), white evangelical Protestants (11%), and white mainline Protestants (14%) are under 30.

“The unprecedented growth of the religiously unaffiliated has made this group much more complex,” said PRRI Research Director Dan Cox. “For example, atheists and agnostics, two of the most known subgroups among the unaffiliated, account for just a sliver of the entire group.”

Atheists and agnostics account for only about one-quarter (27%) of all religiously unaffiliated Americans. Nearly six in ten (58%) religiously unaffiliated Americans identify as secular, or someone who is not religious; 16% of religiously unaffiliated Americans nonetheless report that they identify as a “religious person.”

Additional findings:

Non-Christian religious groups are growing, but they still represent less than one in ten Americans combined. Jews constitute 2% of all Americans while Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus each constitute only 1% of the public. All other non-Christian religions constitute an additional 1%.
There are now 20 states in which no religious group comprises a greater share of residents than the religiously unaffiliated. These states tend to be more concentrated in the western U.S., although they include a few New England states, as well. More than four in ten (41%) residents of Vermont and approximately one-third of Americans in Oregon (36%), Washington (35%), Hawaii (34%), Colorado (33%), and New Hampshire (33%) are religiously unaffiliated.
No state is less religiously diverse than Mississippi. The state is heavily Protestant and dominated by a single denomination: Baptist. Six in ten (60%) Protestants in Mississippi are Baptist. No state has a greater degree of religious diversity than New York.
The cultural center of the Catholic Church is shifting south. The Northeast is no longer the epicenter of American Catholicism—although at 41% Catholic, Rhode Island remains the most Catholic state in the country. Immigration from predominantly Catholic countries in Latin America means new Catholic populations are settling in the Southwest. In 1972, roughly seven in ten Catholics lived in either the Northeast (41%) or the Midwest (28%). Only about one-third of Catholics lived in the South (13%) or West (18%). Today, a majority of Catholics now reside in the South (29%) or West (25%). Currently, only about one-quarter (26%) of the U.S. Catholic population lives in the Northeast, and 20% live in the Midwest.
Jews, Hindus, and Unitarian-Universalists stand out as the most educated groups in the American religious landscape. More than one-third of Jews (34%), Hindus (38%), and Unitarian-Universalists (43%) hold post-graduate degrees. Notably, Muslims are significantly more likely than white evangelical Protestants to have at least a four-year college degree (33% vs. 25%, respectively).
Asian or Pacific-Islander Americans have a significantly different religious profile than other racial or ethnic groups. There are as many Asian or Pacific-Islander Americans affiliated with non-Christian religions as with Christian religious groups. And one-third (34%) are religiously unaffiliated.
Nearly half of LGBT Americans are religiously unaffiliated. Nearly half (46%) of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) are religiously unaffiliated. This is roughly twice the number of Americans overall (24%) who are religiously unaffiliated.
White Christians have become a minority in the Democratic Party. Fewer than one in three (29%) Democrats today are white Christian, compared to half (50%) one decade earlier. Only 14% of young Democrats (age 18 to 29) identify as white Christian. Forty percent identify as religiously unaffiliated.
White evangelical Protestants remain the dominant religious force in the GOP. More than one-third (35%) of all Republicans identify as white evangelical Protestant, a proportion that has remained roughly stable over the past decade. Roughly three-quarters (73%) of Republicans belong to a white Christian religious group.

The topline, full methodology, and additional findings and analysis can be found here: https://www.prri.org/research/american-religious-landscape-christian-religiously-unaffiliated/

Methodology

The 2016 American Values Atlas (AVA) is a project of PRRI. Results were based on 101,438 bilingual telephone interviews (including 60,355 cell phone interviews) conducted between January 6, 2016 and January 10, 2017 by professional interviewers under the direction of SSRS. The sample was designed to represent the total U.S. adult population from all 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska. The AVA was made possible by generous grants from The Ford Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, The Gill Foundation, and The Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock.

PRRI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization specializing in research at the intersection of religion, values, and public life.

PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research at the intersection of religion, culture, and public policy.

PRRI’s research explores and illuminates America’s changing cultural, religious, and political landscape. PRRI’s mission is to help journalists, scholars, pundits, thought leaders, clergy, and the general public better understand debates on public policy issues, and the important cultural and religious dynamics shaping American society and politics.

Richard Dawkins on free speech and Islam(ism)

Author: Nano GoleSorkh

Richard Dawkins discusses the conflict between freedom of speech and Islam(ism), and challenges the reasons why he was recently de-platformed by a KPFA radio station in Berkely, California.

Excerpt from the Blasphemy, Islamophobia, Free Expression Panel at the International Conference on Free Expression and Conscience, London, 22-24 July 2017. Full length panel discussion:

https://youtu.be/seJkIGV8urc

By Nano GoleSorkh (Blasphemy, Islamophobia, Free Expression Panel) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Open Letter from Richard Dawkins

Dear KPFA,

I used to love your station when I lived in Berkeley for two years, shortly after that beloved place had become the iconic home of free speech. I listened to KPFA almost every day during those years, and I regularly contributed to your fundraising drives, grateful for your objective reporting and humane commentary while I participated in the People’s Park and Vietnam war demonstrations. It was therefore a matter of personal sorrow to me to receive this morning your truly astonishing “justification” for de-platforming me.

My memory of KPFA is that you were unusually scrupulous about fact-checking. I especially admired your habit of always quoting sources. You conspicuously did not quote a source when accusing me of “abusive speech”. Why didn’t you check your facts – or at least have the common courtesy to alert me – before summarily cancelling my event? If you had consulted me, or if you had done even rudimentary fact-checking, you would have concluded that I have never used abusive speech against Islam. I have called IslamISM “vile” but surely you, of all people, understand that Islamism is not the same as Islam. I have criticised the ridiculous pseudoscientific claims made by Islamic apologists (“the sun sets in a marsh” etc), and the opposition of Islamic “ scholars” to evolution and other scientific truths. I have criticised the appalling misogyny and homophobia of Islam, I have criticised the murdering of apostates for no crime other than their disbelief. Far from attacking Muslims, I understand – as perhaps you do not – that Muslims themselves are the prime victims of the oppressive cruelties of Islamism, especially Muslim women.

I am known as a frequent critic of Christianity and have never been de-platformed for that. Why do you give Islam a free pass? Why is it fine to criticise Christianity but not Islam?

You say I use “abusive speech” about Islam. I would seriously – I mean it – like to hear what examples of my “abusive speech” you had in mind. When you fail to discover any, I presume you will issue a public apology, which I will of course accept in a spirit of gratitude for what KPFA once was. And could become again.

Yours sincerely,
Richard Dawkins

“American Anarchist”: Documentary Gains Relevancy as Anarchism Ideology Builds

The central idea to the book was that violence is an acceptable means to bring about political change. I no longer agree with this.–William Powell

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In 1970, William Powell wanted to help build a new society, so he taught the world how to blow up the old one. As the heady days of the late 60’s counterculture and political upheaval turned darker, Powell, at age 19, wrote one of the most infamous books ever published: The Anarchist Cookbook. Part manifesto and part bomb making manual, it went on to sell over 2 million copies. Since then, the Cookbook has been associated with decades of violent anti-government attacks, abortion clinic bombings, school shootings and homegrown domestic terrorism.

At age 65, Powell remained haunted by his own creation, struggling to make sense of the damage it has done. After writing the book, Powell left the US and led an itinerant life. He traversed the globe teaching kids with special needs – committed, ironically, to the kinds of kids who in some cases have turned to violence and the Cookbook.

American Anarchist is a cautionary tale of youthful rebellion and unforeseen consequences, a universal, all-too-human story of a man at the end of his life wrestling with his past, his identity, and coming to terms with who he really is. Powell died unexpectedly shortly after the making of the film.

The book is still available on Amazon and is listed as a bestseller. However, it is not the original book as it was published in 1971. That version may be retrieved for free on Internet Archive.

Original cover of book published in 1971

William Powell authored the following denouncement of the book on the Amazon listing:

I have recently been made aware of several websites that focus on The Anarchist Cookbook. As the author of the original publication some 30 plus years ago, it is appropriate for me to comment.

The Anarchist Cookbook was written during 1968 and part of 1969 soon after I graduated from high school. At the time, I was 19 years old and the Vietnam War and the so-called “counter culture movement” were at their height. I was involved in the anti-war movement and attended numerous peace rallies and demonstrations. The book, in many respects, was a misguided product of my adolescent anger at the prospect of being drafted and sent to Vietnam to fight in a war that I did not believe in.

I conducted the research for the manuscript on my own, primarily at the New York City Public Library. Most of the contents were gleaned from Military and Special Forces Manuals. I was not member of any radical group of either a left or right wing persuasion.

I submitted the manuscript directly to a number of publishers without the help or advice of an agent. Ultimately, it was accepted by Lyle Stuart Inc. and was published verbatim – without editing – in early 1970. Contrary to what is the normal custom, the copyright for the book was taken out in the name of the publisher rather than the author. I did not appreciate the significance of this at the time and would only come to understand it some years later when I requested that the book be taken out of print.

The central idea to the book was that violence is an acceptable means to bring about political change. I no longer agree with this.

Apparently in recent years, The Anarchist Cookbook has seen a number of ‘copy cat’ type publications, some with remarkably similar titles (Anarchist Cookbook II, III etc). I am not familiar with these publications and cannot comment upon them. I can say that the original Anarchist Cookbook has not been revised or updated in any way by me since it was first published.

During the years that followed its publication, I went to university, married, became a father and a teacher of adolescents. These developments had a profound moral and spiritual effect on me. I found that I no longer agreed with what I had written earlier and I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the ideas that I had put my name to. In 1976 I became a confirmed Anglican Christian and shortly thereafter I wrote to Lyle Stuart Inc. explaining that I no longer held the views that were expressed in the book and requested that The Anarchist Cookbook be taken out of print. The response from the publisher was that the copyright was in his name and therefore such a decision was his to make – not the author’s. In the early 1980’s, the rights for the book were sold to another publisher. I have had no contact with that publisher (other than to request that the book be taken out of print) and I receive no royalties.

Unfortunately, the book continues to be in print and with the advent of the Internet several websites dealing with it have emerged. I want to state categorically that I am not in agreement with the contents of The Anarchist Cookbook and I would be very pleased (and relieved) to see its publication discontinued. I consider it to be a misguided and potentially dangerous publication which should be taken out of print.

William Powell –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

New Documentary “EX LIBRIS – The New York Public Library” debuts September, 2017

The official trailer from Zipporah Films, Inc. EX LIBRIS premieres worldwide at the Venice Film Festival and theatrically at Film Forum on September 13, 2017.

Film Forum announces the world theatrical premiere of EX LIBRIS – The New York Public Library on Wednesday, September 13. In this, the 42nd documentary by Frederick Wiseman (recipient of an Honorary Oscar in 2016), the legendary filmmaker brings his incisive vision behind the scenes of one of the world’s greatest institutions of learning, capturing the vast programmatic scope of NYC’s library system.

EX LIBRIS is the 12th of Wiseman’s titles Film Forum has debuted, making him the most-premiered filmmaker in the cinema’s 47-year history. Following its NYC premiere, the documentary will open in numerous markets across the country this fall via Wiseman’s company, Zipporah Films. EX LIBRIS will play in select film festivals.

Visit www.zipporah.com for more infomation on EX LIBRIS and the films of Frederick Wiseman.

North Korea Seismic Data in Comparison with Previous Tests

The seismological observatory NORSAR at Kjeller, Norway, has detected the latest underground nuclear test by North Korea.

NORSAR has recorded signals from an underground nuclear test explosion conducted by North Korea at its Punggye-ri test site on 3 September 2017. NORSAR has estimated the explosive yield at 120 kilotons TNT, based on a seismic magnitude of 5.8.In comparison, the explosive yield of the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 was estimated at 15 kilotons TNT, while the bomb dropped on Nagasaki three days later was 20 kilotons TNT.

The figure above shows at the bottom the seismic recording of the latest test in North Korea made at NORSAR’s station in Hedmark, Norway. The five upper traces show recordings at the same station for the five preceding tests, conducted by North Korea in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2016 (two explosions in 2016). Today’s test is as can be seen from this figure clearly the strongest so far.

The test site in North Korea is located at a distance of 7360 km from NORSAR’s seismic station in Hedmark. Given that the seismic waves take approximately 11 minutes to propagate from North Korea to Norway, the measurements indicate that this explosion took place at 03:30 UTC.

The figure below shows the estimated locations within the Pungggye-ri test site of the five previous tests (red dots). The tests are conducted in the tunnel system inside the mountain. The area of the likely location of the most recent test is indicated in the figure. Some additional work is required in order to estimate a precise location.

North Korea claims that this was a test of a hydrogen bomb; the same claim was made for previous tests. It is not possible from the seismic data alone to determine if this was a test of a hydrogen bomb, but we can say in general that the credibility of the claim increases with increasing explosive yield. Possible leakage of radionuclides may be registered later and may indicate the type of bomb. These data may be available in a matter of weeks, if there is a leakage from the test site.

TYPES OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTS

Nuclear explosions have been detonated in all environments: above ground, underground and underwater. Bombs have been detonated on top of towers, onboard barges, suspended from balloons, on the earth’s surface, underwater to depths of 600m, underground to depths of more than 2,400m and in horizontal tunnels. Test bombs have been dropped by aircraft and fired by rockets to altitudes of over 500 kilometres.

Atmospheric testing

Atmospheric testing refers to explosions which take place in the atmosphere.

All told, of the over 2,000 nuclear explosions detonated worldwide between 16 July 1945 (United States) and 29 July 1996 (China), 25 % or over 500 bombs were exploded in the atmosphere: over 200 by the United States, over 200 by the Soviet Union, about 20 by Britain, about 50 by France and over 20 by China.

International concern over radioactive fallout resulting from atmospheric tests escalated in the mid 1950s. In March 1954, the United States tested its hydrogen bomb Castle Bravo in the Pacific’s Marshall Islands. The Bravo test created the worst radiological disaster in the United States’ testing history. By accident, local civilians on the Marshall Islands, U.S. servicemen stationed on Rongerik atoll, and the Japanese fishing trawler Lucky Dragon, were contaminated with the fallout.

Nuclear weapon tests have been carried out in all environments: above ground, underground and underwater.

: Signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty, 5 August 1963. Secretary of State Dean Rusk signing for the United States; Foreign Minister Andre Gromyko, signing for the Soviet Union; and Lord Hume signing for the United Kingdom.

Atmospheric testing was banned by the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty. Negotiations had largely responded to the international community’s grave concern over the radioactive fallout resulting from atmospheric tests. The United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom became Parties to the Treaty; France and China did not. France conducted its last atmospheric test in 1974, China in 1980.

CTBTO’s infrasound IMS stations are used to detect nuclear explosions by monitoring low-frequency sound waves in the atmosphere. CTBTO Radionuclide IMS stations are designed to detect radioactive particles emanating from an atmospheric test.

High-altitude nuclear testing

: Artificial aurora over Honolulu created by the 1962 Starfish Prime test.

Around 20 nuclear tests were conducted by the United States and the Soviet Union in high altitudes or lower outer space between 1958 and 1962. The main aim of these explosions, detonated at heights between 40 and 540 kilometres, was to determine the feasibility of nuclear weapons as anti-ballistic missile defense or anti-satellite weapons. The largest such test, the 1.4 megaton U.S. Starfish Prime test in 1962, damaged and destroyed several of the satellites in orbit at the time and led to wide-spread power outages on the ground. High-altitude or outer space nuclear testing is equally banned by the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty as well as by the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.

Underwater testing

Underwater testing refers to explosions which take place underwater or close to the surface of the water. Relatively few underwater tests have been conducted. The first underwater nuclear test – ‘Baker’ (video) – was conducted by the United States in 1946 at its Pacific Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands with the purpose of evaluating the effects of nuclear weapons used against naval vessels. Later, in 1955, the United States’ Operation Wigwam conducted a single underwater nuclear test at a depth of 600 m to determine the vulnerability of submarines to nuclear explosions.

Underwater nuclear explosions close to the surface can disperse large amounts of radioactive water and steam, contaminating nearby ships, structures and individuals.

Underwater nuclear testing was banned by the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty. The CTBTO’s hydroacoustic IMS stations are those best suited to detect nuclear explosions underwater.

Of the over 2,000 nuclear explosions detonated worldwide between 1945 and 1996, 25 % or over 500 bombs were exploded in the atmosphere.

Underground testing

Underground testing means that nuclear explosions are detonated at varying depths under the surface of the earth. These comprised the majority (i.e. about 75%) of all nuclear explosions detonated during the Cold War (1945–1989); that is, over 800 of all tests conducted by the United States and nearly 500 of all tests conducted by the Soviet Union.

When the explosion is fully contained, underground nuclear testing emits negligible fallout compared to atmospheric testing. However, if underground nuclear tests “vent” to the surface, they can produce considerable radioactive debris. Underground testing is usually evident through seismic activity related to the yield of the nuclear device.

Underground nuclear testing was banned by the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) that bans all nuclear explosions anywhere, by anyone.

75 % of all nuclear explosions have been conducted underground.

: Radionuclide station 56, Peleduy, Russian Federation

The CTBTO’s seismic IMS stations are used to detect nuclear explosions underground. The seismic data is combined with radionuclide data. Only the radionuclide technology can determine if an explosion is nuclear in origin; its stations and laboratories around the world monitor the presence of particulates and/or noble gases in the atmosphere.

https://www.ctbto.org/nuclear-testing/history-of-nuclear-testing/types-of-nuclear-weapons-tests/

COURTESY CTBTO

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans nuclear explosions by everyone, everywhere: on the Earth’s surface, in the atmosphere, underwater and underground.

Why is the CTBT important?
It makes it very difficult for countries to develop nuclear bombs for the first time, or for countries that already have them, to make more powerful bombs. It also prevents the huge damage caused by radioactivity from nuclear explosions to humans, animals and plants.

CTBTO EXECUTIVE SECRETARY LASSINA ZERBO ON THE UNUSUAL SEISMIC EVENT DETECTED IN THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Vienna, 3 September 2017

“Our monitoring stations picked up an unusual seismic event in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) today at 03:30 (UTC). So far over 100 of our stations are contributing to the analysis. The event seems to have been larger than the one our system recorded in September last year and the location is very similar to that event. Our initial location estimate shows that the event took place in the area of the DPRK’s nuclear test site. ( 03-SEP-2017 03:30:06 LAT=41.3 LON=129.1 )

Our experts are now analysing the event to establish more about its nature and we are preparing to brief our Member States today in Vienna.

“If confirmed as a nuclear test, this act would indicate that the DPRK’s nuclear programme is advancing rapidly. It constitutes yet another breach of the universally accepted norm against nuclear testing; a norm that has been respected by all countries but one since 1996. It also underlines yet again the urgent need for the international community to act on putting in place a legally binding ban on nuclear testing once and for all. I urge the DPRK to refrain from further nuclear testing and to join the 183 States Signatories who have signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). I sincerely hope that this will serve as the final wake-up call to the international community to outlaw all nuclear testing by bringing the CTBT into force,” said Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO).

Broadcast quality footage will be posted in the CTBTO Newsroom as it becomes available.

Background

The CTBT bans all nuclear explosions. The Treaty will enter into force once signed and ratified by the remaining eight nuclear technology holder countries: China, Egypt, the DPRK, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, and the United States.

A verification regime is being built to monitor compliance with the Treaty. Nearly 90 percent of the 337 facilities of the International Monitoring System (IMS) are already in place; see interactive map. The system swiftly, reliably and precisely detected all five DPRK’s declared nuclear tests. After the DPRK announced nuclear test on 12 February 2013, the CTBTO was the only organization to detect radioactivity attributable to the event.

CTBTO Member States are provided with data collected by the monitoring stations, as well as data analyses prepared by the International Data Centre in Vienna, Austria. Once the Treaty has entered into force, an on-site inspection can be invoked in case of a suspicious event.

What is the CTBT?

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans nuclear explosions by everyone, everywhere: on the Earth’s surface, in the atmosphere, underwater and underground.

Carl Sagan: Life Looks for Life

The Sagan Series is an educational project working in the hopes of promoting scientific literacy in the general population. Created by @ReidGower http://twitter.com/reidgower

CREDITS (Used with permission wherever possible)
Thomas Newman – Any Other Name – http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/amer…
Carl Sagan – The Pale Blue Dot – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blu…
BBC Wonders of the Solar System – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonders_…
When We Left Earth – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_We_…
Vimeo “Timescapes Timelapse: Mountain Light” by Tom Lowe – http://www.vimeo.com/6686768
Microcosmos – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcosmos
BBC Planet Earth – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_E…)
Vimeo “Low/Available light test for Canon 7D” by Jim Forrest – http://www.vimeo.com/10438271
NASA – http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAtelev…
National Geographic – Inside the Milky Way – http://channel.nationalgeographic.com…
BBC The Secret Life of Chaos – http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pv1c3
Baraka – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baraka_(…)
Vimeo “Time-Lapse Reel 2” by Spencer Black – http://www.blackvisual.com
YouTube “Nuclear Weapon Test Atomic Nuke Bomb Explosion” by newworldterror – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlLIxn…
Hubble IMAX 3D – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_3D