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Timmon Wallis, a lifelong peace activist, spoke at the the Sebastopol Grange at a book-signing event hosted by the Peace & Justice Center, the Grange, and Peacetown, on March 3. His focus was “Warheads to Windmills,” the transition that is needed from the age of nuclear weapons and the climate crisis to a new green economy. With his direct and honest approach to the terrors facing humanity right now, he aimed to give an upbeat message that there is still something we can do about it – if we act, and act together, now. His talk was a call to action.

Tim has a PhD in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford, UK, and a decades-long career of working in the fields of peace negotiations, community mediation, restorative justice, nonviolent direct action and unarmed civilian peace making. His book and his presentation distill his experiences, understanding and insights into an analysis of the current situation and a clear course of actions that can be taken at local, state, national and international levels.

Despite all the other problems of war, poverty, injustice, and environmental issues facing life on earth, there are two existential threats which could wipe out humanity, or even life on this planet, altogether: nuclear war, and the climate crisis. Tim addresses how we can still steer away from climate catastrophe and nuclear war, and transition to a just, green economy by transferring resources, including human skills and ingenuity and jobs, from one to the other.

He calls for the US to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. He was working with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons when they were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. He suggests a similar international treaty to phase out the use of fossil fuels. In his book, he also addresses and dismisses a range of “false solutions” including biomass energy and biofuels, carbon storage and capture, and hydrogen.

Timmon reminds us of many strategies that have been effective in changing policies in the past, from creating “nuclear free zones” to boycotts and pressures to divest. He points out that many of the companies that create
nuclear weapons also create equipment and appliances many of us use on a daily basis. Honeywell, which manufactures thermostats and medical equipment, is one example. If we band together, he suggests, we can have
an impact on manufacturers, and on policies, and turn things around, to help a transition to a green economy.

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For further analysis, explanation, and actions you can take, see: Warheads to Windmills.

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