PROJECTS

 

 Postcard Campaign of Resistance Against the F-35s

F-35s Won't Let Us Thrive.

HEALTHIER AND SAFER FUTURE—WITHOUT THE F-35 FIGHTER JETS

We, the Interfaith Peace Working Group, are inviting individuals, civic groups, and faith communities to join our Postcard Campaign of Resistance that challenges the decision to deploy a squadron of twenty F-35 fighter jets at Truax Field in Madison by 2023. These planes will jeopardize the health and safety of Wisconsin citizens and our natural environment.

Senator Tammy Baldwin is the main proponent of the F-35 basing and she has the power to stop it. We have three major concerns about the deployment of the F-35s in Wisconsin.

This project is an example of environmental racism, disproportionally affecting the multiracial and low-income neighborhoods close to the base. The F-35’s excruciating noise, four times louder than the current F-16 jets, will not only interfere with student learning, but also can result in hearing loss and cardiovascular issues for community residents.  In addition, the F-35s will further contaminate Madison’s watershed with PFAS, toxic chemicals that are linked to cancer and other serious health issues. Poor families eat fish from these waters to supplement their food supply. Children play on the river banks. Egrets, turtles, ducks, and geese drink and eat from these PFAS-contaminated streams and lakes.

But the negative health and environmental impact is also state-wide. The F-35 engine emissions release thousands of tons of deadly pollutants and climate-warming carbon dioxide into the air that we all breathe. This F-35 squadron at Truax will cost at least $2.2 billion. This project exemplifies how our bulging military budget consumes over half of the U.S. discretionary funds, thus depriving us of the necessary financial resources to meet human and environmental needs within our state and nation.

Lastly, the F-35s are designed to carry small, “useable” nuclear weapons. These so-called “low yield nuclear bombs” have an explosive force up to three times the bomb dropped on Hiroshima which killed 140,000 people. Therefore, the F-35s will make Wisconsin a potential target for nuclear retaliation!

Please join us in this critical postcard campaign. Tell Senator Tammy Baldwin that you do not want these F-35 fighter jets in Wisconsin! 

To facilitate writing postcards, you may utilize the information in this mailing. In addition, please think about all the ways that this postcard can be distributed, i.e., faith community gatherings, farmers’ markets, book clubs, coffee shops, postcard writing groups, neighborhood meetings, etc. We want to inundate Senator Baldwin’s offices with complaints about the F-35s!

Thank you for being part of our Postcard Campaign of Resistance Against the F-35s! Together we can create a healthier and safer future for Wisconsin.

For more information about the F-35s, please check out www.safeskiescleanwaterwi.org.