Pugwash Meeting No. 244

Speech on behalf of International Pugwash, at a dinner at the Royal Society of London held to celebrate the 90th birthday of Sir Joseph Rotblat
7 November 1998, London England

Speech by John Holdren

I am speaking tonight in place of George Rathjens, secretary-general of Pugwash, who would be making these remarks on behalf of the international Pugwash organization if he could be here, but he is not able to travel at this particular time. He regrets that he is not here – so do I – but that said I immensely value the privilege of making these remarks on the occasion of Jo Rotblat's 90th birthday and in celebration of his extraordinary career in the pursuit of peace and the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Jo has of course been relentlessly, tirelessly and effectively engaged in this effort for just about exactly as long as I have been alive. I only came to this operation 25 years ago – a relative youth – in 1973 at the conference in Aulanko hosted by Jorma Miettinen, who is here tonight. That was my beginning in Pugwash – a wonderful meeting – and many other of the people in the room were there. I met at that meeting for the first time Ruth Adams, who is right in front of me, and who was also at the first meeting in 1957; I met Herb York and Dick Garwin; I met Peter Kapitza, the father of Serguei Kapitza, who is here in the room tonight; as well as a great many others who have remained Pugwash mainstays over the years: Martin Kaplan, who, of course was secretary-general for many years; Francesco Calogero, more recently secretary-general; both here tonight, and who maybe will make their own remarks later this evening.

In any case, it has been a wonderful run. It changed my life, going to that Pugwash conference and meeting this extraordinary array of personalities, committed to improving the human condition, to reducing the nuclear danger. And, of course, it was on that occasion that I first met Jo Rotblat. I told on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, ten years ago, the story of the first words he said to me. Jo had read a paper that I had submitted, and he had a problem in that one of the co-conveners of the working group that was called Radioactive Pollution of the Environment had become ill at the last moment, leaving Jo short a convener. He kind of liked the paper that I had written on that subject, so he essentially met me coming off the plane. He was a little astonished at the sight of me. I was 29 years old, and looked a little younger. I could see the shock in his eyes, then he recovered quickly and said: "Holdren, I've got a job for you ..." and, as I said ten years ago, he's had a job for me – and anybody else who would come within his reach – ever since!

Jo of course has accomplished a tremendous amount in his quest to elucidate the nature of the nuclear danger, and to describe the kinds of approaches that could substantially reduce it. He has never wavered in his vision; he has never wavered in his determination to solve this problem; he has never wavered in his optimism that it could, in fact, be solved; and he has transmitted those qualities to everybody around him. He has not quite saved the world yet, but he has persisted, and he has made more progress than most people would recognize in bringing to public understanding, and to policy-maker understanding, the nature of the predicament, the nature of the danger, and the vision of how in fact it is possible and believable to eliminate nuclear weapons from the face of this planet and ultimately eradicate this danger once and for all.

As much as Jo Rotblat has accomplished by his individual action – by the way he has thought about this problem, the way he has written about it, the way he has eloquently and persuasively talked about it before all manner of audiences – I think he has probably accomplished equally as much through the efforts of others that he has inspired, that he has energized, that he has motivated, that he propelled, that he has embarrassed(!) into doing more on this problem than they would otherwise have done, had Jo Rotblat not been there behind them, educating them, pushing them, propelling them into the arena. This room is full of such people.

It’s a terrific accomplishment. It has been a great run. I would say that Jo Rotblat has been not just a shining example but a beacon that has shown everybody the possibility and the pathway by which this immense danger to the human race can be addressed. And I am sure that ten years from now, when the survivors among us meet with Jo Rotblat on the occasion of his 100th birthday, that beacon will still be bright and clear!!

Jo – congratulations and thank you from all of us in international Pugwash.