[SGRupdate] SGR Annual Appeal 2016

[Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR)]

Dear friends and colleagues

SGR has been very active recently - and it's essential we continue to be,
given the rise in nationalist, militarist and anti-renewable energy interests
in the UK, US and elsewhere - as demonstrated by the policies of Theresa May
and the election of Donald Trump.

A donation from you now would really help SGR to continue our important work.

Challenged military Your past generosity has been vital in advancing the cause
of ethical science, design and technology. For example, in recent months SGR
has:

-     Campaigned against renewal of Trident. On the run-up to the
parliamentary vote in July, we organised an open letter signed by Profs
Stephen Hawking, Peter Higgs and other leading scientists and engineers, which
was published in the Daily Telegraph and viewed online tens of thousands of
times. We also actively supported the international campaign for a nuclear ban
treaty - which will now be negotiated at the UN next year.

-     involvement in science, which included campaigning against a new EU arms
R&D budget, support for an arms conversion conference in Birmingham, inputs to
Labour's defence and security reviews, and running a workshop at an
international peace conference in Berlin.

-     Held a successful conference on the theme Universities for Sale? The
influence of the arms, fossil fuels and other industries, where we discussed
the detrimental effects of growing corporate involvement in academia, and how
we can challenge it more effectively.

-     Made the case for more sustainable energy policies, including writing to
Theresa May calling for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant to be
rejected, sending our report on shale gas and fracking to local planning
decision-makers, and continuing to make the case for energy conservation and
renewable energy.

Your donation will help us both to continue with similar activities and to
carry out much more. Our plans include:

-     Publishing a new report on the links between science and engineering
charities and arms and fossil fuel corporations.

-     Running educational activities for school children as part of our
Science4Society Week in March. We've launched a new website where teachers and
pupils alike can download materials on ethical science, design and technology
- as an alternative to those sponsored by arms and fossil fuel corporations.

-     Building on our rapidly growing audience on social media and the
internet to reach even more people with our articles, presentations and
reports. In the last year, there have been over 300,000 visits to our website.

-     Continuing our existing campaign work towards a more ethical agenda
right across science, design and technology, on issues such as weapons
technologies, cleaner and more secure energy, corporate influence on science,
and emerging technologies.

With the resurgence of nationalist and militarist agendas, it is more
important than ever that we speak out for a more ethical future. As an
organisation of professionals in key sectors, SGR has a coherent reform agenda
that unites science, design and technology with peace, social justice and
environmental sustainability. But effective campaigning costs money. To
continue to promote this agenda with like-minded professional organisations,
policy-makers, peace and environment groups, trade unions etc., we need your
support!

Make your donation go further ...

For our charitable work, we can accept support from the Martin Ryle Trust
(MRT). If you pay UK Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax, the MRT can claim from
HM Revenue and Customs 25p for every pound that you donate, out of the tax
that you have already paid. This means that a  GBP50 donation to MRT, for
example, is worth GBP62.50 at no extra cost to you and will be used entirely
to support SGR’s work. This is the route we are recommending for this appeal -
either using the enclosed form or via the MyDonate website - see:
https://mydonate.bt.com/events/sgrappeal/381351

Consider a legacy ...

If you have not already included SGR or the Martin Ryle Trust as a beneficiary
in your will, may we suggest that you consider it? For more details, please
look at this webpage - http://www.sgr.org.uk/pages/martin-ryle-trust - or if
you do not have internet access, please contact the SGR office for a copy of
the MRT legacy leaflet.

We look forward to hearing from you soon - your help is vital in keeping up
our important work and any donation you make will be very gratefully received.

Yours sincerely

Dr Philip Webber (Chair) and Dr Jan Maskell (Vice-chair)