A brief history & outline of our work

December 2008

The Study Group began meeting informally in the fall of 1989.  From then until early 1992 the Study Group organized public meetings large and small in Los Alamos and Santa Fe to discuss nuclear policy and related issues.  In 1992 we formalized ourselves as a staffed organization and undertook larger projects, beginning with a large alternative museum display, a statewide coalition of organizations, and a successful lawsuit that halted Los Alamos National Laboratory’s largest construction project for a year and half.  We provided technical consultation to other groups in New Mexico, California, and Washington, DC.  We subsequently won several lawsuits, conducted numerous public campaigns, generated more than 2,000 news articles, lobbied Congress, were active in national coalitions and debates, and halted or deterred at least two major nuclear weapons projects.  In 2003 we moved our office to Albuquerque.

We are primarily a research and education organization.  We also have a significant latent regional organizational base which has in recent years involved over one hundred loosely-allied nonprofits and a few thousand individuals.  In the past two years our expertise and engagement has broadened to include the full range of issues bearing on nuclear weapons policy, including energy and climate issues.  From October 2007 to April 2008 we conducted weekly public discussion series in two cities on the converging crises we face as a nation. 

The Study Group had a lot of success these past two years working on nuclear weapons appropriations issues.  We are continuing to work with Congress, its investigative agencies, and with the Department of Energy (DOE) and other parts of the Executive Branch in Washington.  One of our goals is to help these actors develop budgets and facility plans that reflect a necessary rapid transformation in DOE's mission, particularly plans that pertain to DOE's nuclear labs.  DOE planning and budgeting must include dramatically greater funding in renewable energy and allied fields while protecting the environment, bolstering our lagging economy, and providing clear signals to private investors that will engage them as partners in building a sustainable society.  These budgetary policies must be sound regional policies as well, and they must be politically practical.  Such policies do not exist for the most part.  All parties know this to one degree or another, so the need is not only real and urgent but widely apparent.  Many doors are open.

Not only are the Executive and Congress changing, but it is increasingly evident that the perceived nature of national security is changing fast as well.  In the midst of these changes, decisions involving billions of dollars of investments in new nuclear weapons infrastructure are being made.  Could the DOE prune its weapons investments in favor of investments elsewhere in society to better address security challenges in renewable energy and conservation?  Some parts of DOE itself recognize the necessity of such changes, but without "mother hens" pecking on the outside of the "shell" many of the most transformative ideas will never get out.

Since we have excellent communications with senior staff in all the relevant congressional committees as well as with many other key actors, we anticipate that our analyses, in whole or in part, will contribute to congressional and executive branch education in 2009, raising the tenor of debate and contributing to a better legislative outcome.

Please consider supporting our work through a contribution of cash or stock, and possibly recommending the same to a friend or colleague of yours.  The Los Alamos Study Group is a registered nonprofit organization and all contributions to it are tax-deductible.  These private contributions and a few small foundation grants represent the entire funding base for the Study Group.

If you have any questions or want more information about our programs, the issues, or how you might be able to help, please call our Albuquerque office at 505-265-1200 or visit our website at: http://lasg.org.  If you would like to receive our news bulletins by email please send a blank email to: lasg-subscribe@lists.riseup.net.  We will be happy to meet with you and are always ready to speak to your organization, club, class, religious group, or church.  We want to help support your own engagement and to help link people, issues, and policymakers.