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Peter Fedewa's Blog Posts

With experience in high-level database design and programming, graphic design and layout, and non-profit fundraising as well as education in international policy, Peter brings a broad scope of skills to Ploughshares Fund. Peter is responsible for the management of Ploughshares Fund’s donor database in addition to implementation of a variety fundraising and communications activities. He graduated with honors from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; holding a BA in Political Science: International Affairs.
World Nuclear Stockpile Analytics
This year we saw a nearly 16% decrease in the number of nuclear weapons in the world. This is great progress but there is far more work for us to do. Read more »
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Posted by Peter Fedewa on December 21, 2012
infographics, Nuclear Zero, Syria
Nuclear Weapons Spending Tops Five Major Cities
We see the same story play out in the news almost every day. Costs are rising, revenues are falling and programs and infrastructure that we use all the time are seeing their funding cut. But what’s happening to the things we don’t use and don’t need? The U.S. operates an outsized strategic nuclear force. How much is that costing taxpayers? Read more »
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Posted by Peter Fedewa on July 2, 2012
Atlanta, Chicago, infographic, Los Angeles, Nuclear Budget, San Francisco, Seattle, United States
Cutting the Nuclear Stockpile in 2012?
The ratification of New START by the U.S. and Russia set a new ceiling for deployed strategic nuclear weapons at 1,550 in each country. Given the cost of maintaining these weapons and their lack of utility on the modern battlefield, the U.S. could (and should) go even lower. Read more »
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Posted by Peter Fedewa on May 18, 2012
infographic, International security, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Zero, President, Russia, Obama, United States
Nuclear Weapons: Hero or Villain in The Avengers
With Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye and Nick Fury facing off against Loki and a horde of Chitauri from another world one would not expect that the ultimate villain in the film, typically, is a nuclear weapon threatening to vaporize New York City under the auspices of saving the planet from invaders. Read more »
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Posted by Peter Fedewa on May 7, 2012
Entertainment, Nuclear Weapons
Changing the Tune on Nuclear Weapons - VIDEO
There are plenty of songs out there that reference some kind of nuclear holocaust but few, if any, are as up-tempo and cheerful as satirist Tom Lehrer’s “We will all go Together when We Go.” This performance was recorded in 1967, in the midst of the Cold War. Read more »
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Posted by Peter Fedewa on March 5, 2012
Cold War, Entertainment, Nuclear Posture, Nuclear warfare, Nuclear Weapons, Tom Lehrer, Video, United States
Nuclear Weapons to Scale
Today, the B-2 Stealth bomber is capable of delivering 1,280 times the destructive power that the Enola Gay brought to bear on Hiroshima in 1945. On a scale, what does that look like? And, more to the point isn’t it a little excessive? Take a look below and judge for yourself. If you make it all the way, leave a comment and let us know what you think. Read more »
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Posted by Peter Fedewa on January 13, 2012
Enola Gay, infographic, judge for yourself, Nuclear Weapons, United States
Vulnerable at 2,672 Nuclear Warheads?
In a recent article, Jeffrey Lewis of Arms Control Wonk outlined what could happen to U.S. nuclear forces under a sequestration budget. He illustrates that even with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s so-called “doomsday” cuts to nuclear weapons related activities, the U.S. could still field enough warheads to greatly surpass the limits put in place by New START. What could that “doomsday” look like if the U.S. maximized its nuclear forces? (View at full size) Read more »
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Posted by Peter Fedewa on December 5, 2011
China, Hans Kristensen, infographic, Jeffrey Lewis, Leon Panetta, Mary Kraszynski, new start, Nuclear Budget, Nuclear warfare, Nuclear Weapons, Peter Fedewa, Secretary of Defense, USD, United States
Is the U.S. Ready for a Nuclear Incident?
Whether it came from accident or malice, the likely consequences of any nuclear attack are difficult to fully comprehend. Billions – maybe trillions – of dollars in damage would result, perhaps tens of thousands of lives would be lost with even more injured or sick, not to mention supply lines cut off and massive panic across the nation. In a nation that spends billions of dollars on insurance each year for natural catastrophes from fires and earthquakes to flooding, one would assume that preparing for a man-made disaster of nuclear proportions would be high up on our list of budget priorities. Sadly, this is not the case. Read more »
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Posted by Peter Fedewa on August 30, 2011
Disaster, infographic, Nuclear Budget, Nuclear Weapons, United States
A Warhead’s Life
The U.S. currently possesses nearly half of the world’s nuclear warheads. Each warhead type has its own story and takes its own path through the system. All of these warheads are born in the Department of Energy (DoE) and then reside with the Department of Defense (DoD). Many warheads eventually return to the DoE for dismantlement but some become “trapped” in the DoD through a seemingly endless cycle of upgrades, redeployments or storage in the stockpile. Below is an attempt to trace the path a warhead may take as it moves through the phases of its life-cycle (full view). Read more »
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Posted by Peter Fedewa on August 5, 2011
Department of Defense, Department of Energy, infographic, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Materials, United States
Doing the Nuclear Math: North Dakota
According to the most reliable estimates the U.S. still has over 8,000 nuclear weapons. Read more »
Posted by Peter Fedewa on July 6, 2011
Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Foreign Policy, Proliferation, U.S. Nuclear Policy, Other, United States