Interesting -
---------- Forwarded Message ----------
Date: Friday, July 18, 2003 3:43 PM +0100
From: Scientists for Global Responsibility <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Scientists Criticise Big Jump in Military R&D
Press Release
Scientists Criticise Big Jump in Military R&D
18/07/03. For Immediate Release
Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) has today criticised the major
jump in spending by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on research and
development over the last year, as revealed this week by Office of Science
and Technology statistics.
In the financial year 2002-03 spending by the MoD on R&D rose to £2.61
billion, an increase of 27% over spending in the previous year. This huge
jump has brought this spending back up, in real terms, to the average
levels of the 1990s. Military sources now account for one third of the
total public spending on scientific research and technological development
in the UK.
SGR believes that scientific and technological expertise should be directed
towards peaceful and sustainable ends, and hence that the MoD budget should
be being cut not increased.
Dr Stuart Parkinson, Director of SGR said: "Much of the MoD's research and
development is geared towards making weaponry, sometimes for export to
regimes with bad human rights records. It would be much more ethical to use
the scientific expertise to accelerate, for example, the development of
environmentally-friendly technologies."
Contact: Stuart Parkinson, Tel: 07 941 953 640 or <[log in to unmask]>
Notes
1. Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) is a UK-based organisation of
approx 600 scientists promoting ethical science and technology, ie that
which contributes to peace, social justice and environmental
sustainability. http://www.sgr.org.uk/
2. UK Government R&D statistics were announced in "The Forward Look 2003:
Government-funded science, engineering and technology" published by the
Office of Science and Technology on 16th July. The figures above were
calculated from Tables 4 & 5, and excluded the UK contribution to EU R&D.
http://www.ost.gov.uk/research/forwardlook03/
--------------end forwarded message---------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robin Rice
Data Librarian
Edinburgh University Data Library
Main Library Bldg., George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ
[log in to unmask]
0131 651 1431
http://datalib.ed.ac.uk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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