Harvey Wasserman - The Fukushima Threat 01

Harvey Franklin Wasserman (born December 31, 1945) is an American journalist, author, democracy activist, and advocate for

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

. He has been a strategist and organizer in the

anti-nuclear movement in the United States The anti-nuclear movement in the United States consists of more than 80 anti-nuclear groups that oppose nuclear power, nuclear weapons, and/or uranium mining. These have included the Abalone Alliance, Clamshell Alliance, Committee for Nuclear ...

for over 30 years. He has been a featured speaker on ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

'', '' Nightline'',

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

Lou Dobbs Tonight ''Lou Dobbs Tonight'' was an American political and financial talk program that was hosted by Lou Dobbs. The program initially aired on CNN from its launch under the title ''Moneyline'', as its main financial news program. The program later shif ...

'' and other major media outlets. Wasserman is senior advisor to Greenpeace USA and the

Nuclear Information and Resource Service The Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit anti-nuclear group founded in 1978 to be the information and networking center for citizens and organizations concerned about nuclear power, radioactive waste, radiati ...

, an investigative reporter, and senior editor of The '' Columbus Free Press'' where his coverage, with Bob Fitrakis, has prompted Rev. Jesse Jackson to call them "the Woodward and

Bernstein Bernstein is a common surname in the German language, meaning "amber" (literally "burn stone"). The name is used by both Germans and Jews, although it is most common among people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. The German pronunciation is , but in E ...

of the 2004 election." He lives with his family in the Columbus, Ohio, area.

Education

Wasserman received a Bachelor of Arts in American History from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1967, where he was a member of both the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

and

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education ...

academic honor societies. He also earned a Public Teaching Certificate from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

in 1968, and then a Master of Arts in American History from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1974.

Anti-nuclear work

In 1973, Wasserman helped pioneer the global grassroots movement against nuclear reactors, and helped coin the phrase "No Nukes" in 1974. He was a media spokesperson for the

Clamshell Alliance The Clamshell Alliance is an anti-nuclear organization founded in 1976 to oppose the Seabrook Station nuclear power plant in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The alliance has been dormant for many years. The group was co-founded by Paul Gunter, ...

, and helped organize mass demonstrations at Seabrook, N.H. against reactors being built there. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine featured Wasserman in its 1979 cover story on the

Musicians United for Safe Energy Musicians United for Safe Energy, or MUSE, is an activist group founded in 1979 by Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, Harvey Wasserman and John Hall. The group advocates against the use of nuclear energy, forming shortly after the Th ...

(MUSE), which staged five concerts organized by Wasserman in Madison Square Garden in 1979 shortly after the

Three Mile Island accident The Three Mile Island accident was a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island, Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor in Pennsylvania, United States. It began at 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979. It is the most significant accident in U.S. commercial nuclea ...

, including New York City's 1979 "No Nukes" concerts and rally (featuring Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne,

Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

and others).

Public appearances

On behalf of Greenpeace USA, Wasserman addressed 350,000 concert-goers at the

Woodstock 1994 Woodstock '94 was an American music festival held in 1994 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival of 1969. It was promoted as "2 More Days of Peace and Music". The poster used to promote the first concert was ...

Festival. He has been a frequent speaker at both the Starwood Festival and the WinterStar Symposium (a Starwood interview is documented in the book ''People of the Earth'' by

Ellen Evert Hopman Ellen Evert Hopman (born July 31, 1952, in Salzburg, Austria) is an author of both fiction and non-fiction, an herbalist, a lay homeopath, a lecturer, and a Mental Health Counselor who lives and works in Western Massachusetts. She is the author of s ...

). According to records from the Greater Talent Network (NY), he has addressed several score campus audiences since 1982 on issues of energy, the environment, politics and history. Wasserman has been an adjunct instructor of history at

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mo ...

in Amherst, MA, and is currently on staff in Ohio at

Columbus State Community College Columbus State Community College (CSCC) is a public community college in Columbus, Ohio. Founded as Columbus Area Technician's School in 1963, it was renamed Columbus Technical Institute in 1965 and was renamed again to its current name in 19 ...

and Capital University. Based in Ohio, Wasserman works to replace the Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear power plants with renewables and efficiency, and has helped his friends shut a trash-burning power plant, a proposed

radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons r ...

dump, the two Zimmer and Perry nukes, a refuge-threatening housing development and a McDonald's restaurant. He currently works through Farmers Green Power in Ohio and elsewhere to promote farmer/community-owned wind power and other renewables.

Written works

Wasserman's articles have appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', the LA Progressive, and other newspapers and magazines. His first book, ''Harvey Wasserman's History of the United States'', was first published by Harper & Row (NY) in 1972 (introduced by

Howard Zinn Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922January 27, 2010) was an American historian, playwright, philosopher, socialist thinker and World War II veteran. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a politica ...

), with approximate sales of 30,000 copies. (The book has been republished by Four Walls, Eight Windows (NY).) In the book ''Killing Our Own: The Disaster of America's Experience with Atomic Radiation'', Wasserman relates stories about people and animals living near nuclear weapons facilities, mining and waste storage sites, uranium processing plants, and nuclear power reactors. For example, farmers in central Pennsylvania whom he spoke to reported abnormalities in their animals in the wake of the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. Farmers living near the

Rocky Flats The Rocky Flats Plant was a U.S. manufacturing complex that produced nuclear weapons parts in the western United States, near Denver, Colorado. The facility's primary mission was the fabrication of plutonium pits, which were shipped to ot ...

plutonium factory in Colorado, and near the West Valley Reprocessing Plant in upstate New York, have also complained of defects and illnesses among their animals.

References

Books

* ''Harvey Wasserman's History of the United States'' (1972) Harper & Row, * ''The Energy War: Reports From the Front'' (1979), Independent Publishers Group *
Killing our Own: the Disaster of America's Experience with Atomic Radiation
(PDF)'' (with Norman Solomon, Robert Alvarez and Elenaor Walters) (1982), Delacorte Press * ''America Born & Reborn: The Cycles of U.S. History'' (1983), Collier Books * ''The Last Energy War: the Battle over Utility Deregulation'' (2000), Open Media * ''Harvesting Wind Energy as a Cash Crop: a Guide to Local-Owned Wind Power'' (with Dan Juhl) (2002), Danmar.us * ''George W. Bush vs. The Superpower of Peace'' (with Bob Fitrakis) (2003), Columbus Alive * ''Harvey Wasserman's History of the United States'' (2004) Harveywasserman.com * ''A Glimpse of the Big Light: Losing Parents, Finding Spirit'' (2005), Harveywasserman.com * ''How the GOP Stole America's 2004 Election and is Rigging 2008'' (with Bob Fitrakis) (2005), Harveywasserman.com * ''Solartopia!: Our Green-Powered Earth AD 2030'' (2006) Harveywasserman.com

External links

Solartopia siteFree Press Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasserman, Harvey 1945 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) American people of German descent American activist journalists American anti–nuclear power activists Writers from Cambridge, Massachusetts University of Chicago alumni University of Michigan alumni Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni