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Los Alamos Study Group

Since its founding in 1989 by Greg Mello and others, the Study Group has continually worked for nuclear disarmament, environmental protection, social justice, and economic sustainability – mutually-reinforcing aims that map directly onto the converging crises we face, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Throughout this time, we have contributed thoughtful popular and policy leadership on Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) weapons laboratory and warhead issues, in which we have considerable – in some respects unparalleled – expertise. We have conducted hundreds of public meetings, and hundreds of briefings on Capitol Hill. We are strictly nonpartisan and factual, and we anchor policy details in a broad historical and technical perspective. We focus on practical outcomes. We have wide technical, legal, and public education experience as well as strong academic and work histories in science, engineering, law, and organizing. We draw on a wide range of other experts as needed. We have been quoted in thousands of newspaper articles and interviewed on hundreds of radio and TV programs. We have won environmental, civil rights, and freedom of information lawsuits. We have blocked major nuclear warhead infrastructure projects at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), in which efforts we have had to work against the arms control community and the New Mexico delegation. We were named one of the nation’s “top ten small green groups” in 2011 and one of eleven “favorite groups” in 2013 by Counterpunch. Our analyses of U.S. nuclear weapon modernization have been significant contributions at Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) review and preparatory conferences and other international fora since the 1990s. We were significant participants at and between all international fora leading to the successful creation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Greg was a Research Fellow in the Princeton Program on Science and Global Security (PSGS) in 2002 and in 2017-2020 PSGS contracted with the Study Group to produce articles for the International Panel on Fissile Materials (IPFM) blog as well as congressional workshops on plutonium warhead core (“pit”) production.

We have led dozens of public workshops on energy and climate policy and related economic issues, and in 2017 devoted much of the summer to training young people in energy and climate policy. Everything we do is informed by these concerns and our expertise in them. We seek to further leverage our knowledge, government access, and media relationships in these issues.

The Study Group’s principled and broadly-informed voice is more important than ever as our society attempts to navigate through unprecedented political, environmental, and social upheaval, including the current pandemic. As we wrote to you in 2019, upheaval has intensified and will continue to do so; the previous “normal” will not return. We began with a mission of assisting in the reordering of nuclear weapons policy after the Cold War. A new Cold War is now underway, masking the inexorable decline of the U.S. empire. New Start was extended, but anti-Russian and anti-Chinese postures and actions are intensifying. We seek to end the new Cold War in the context of preserving human society and a living planet. To do this, leadership and training from outside the present centers of power are necessary. We can help provide this.

The Study Group is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Our board of directors includes both New Mexico and national members, and the work of our staff is supplemented by the contributions of interns and volunteers. We are supported largely by individual donations. We welcome your questions, participation, and support.