Environmental Effects Of Nuclear War

Superior Essays
In late 1939, Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard, two world-renowned physicists, brought to light a new technology that could change the act of war: nuclear fission. Scientists now had the ability to split an atom’s nucleus and trigger an extremely destructive explosion. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, hesitant at first, agreed to the creation of The Manhattan Project with the goal of harnessing the newly found power source and developing a nuclear weapon. The United States had finally entered the global nuclear arms race, but many still had their reservations. Joseph Rotblat, a physicist that left The Manhattan Project and Nobel Peace Prize winner for his efforts for nuclear disarmament, was one of them. He cautioned all of humanity against nuclear weapons with this statement, “I have to bring to your notice a terrifying reality: with the development of nuclear weapons Man has acquired, for the first time in history, the technical means to destroy the whole of civilization in a single act.” Nuclear weapons may pose one of the largest threats against humanity, but that threat can also ensure a country’s safety. At the beginning of World War II, Hitler and Nazi-Germany had claimed that they possessed the ability to rule the world with a single weapon. Terrified of the consequences, the rest of the world responded by preparing their own nuclear arms, thus starting a nuclear arms race. On July 16, 1945, six years after President Roosevelt approved the Manhattan Project, a team ran the first test in Alamogordo, New Mexico (Njølstad). It resulted in a gigantic explosion that amazed many. Robert Oppenheimer, the project’s leader, recited a phrase from the ancient Hindu scripture Bhagavad-Gita, "I am become death, the shatterer of worlds." Oppenheimer knew that the nuclear weapon held great power that could destroy the world. Oppenheimer and his team had accomplished their goal with astounding success, but the target had shifted from the Nazis to the Pacific War with the Japanese. Later that year, August 6, President Harry S. Truman ordered the bomb, “Little Boy”, equal to the force of 12.5 kilotons of TNT to be dropped on Hiroshima, a Japanese city. Three days later “Fat Man”, a bomb equal to 22 kilotons of TNT, was dropped onto another Japanese city, Nagasaki. Both bombs resulted in massive explosions that killed 340,000 people, 54% of the population, due to radiation sickness and flash burns (Clancey). After this massive devastation, the Japanese surrendered on August 15, 1945. The surrender not only ended the Pacific War, but it also showed how much power a country with nuclear weapons possessed. Many became wary and attempted to start a movement to ban the use of nuclear weapons, but the need for power and control prevailed. The Soviet Union was one the countries that had been tempted by this power, which …show more content…
In a study done by Richard Turco and Alan Robock, UCLA professors, they predicted environmental effects of a detonation of 50 15-kiloton bombs, only 0.03% of the world’s arsenal (Jha). Massive amounts of soot would be launched into the atmosphere, causing a climate change much worse than anything ever recorded, therefore, creating a “Nuclear Winter”. The term “Nuclear Winter” originates from the belief a large number of small nuclear explosions or one severe nuclear explosion would have enough soot to create a black carbon rain that would block out the sun, causing a severe temperature drop of 1°C for the first year, then a 1.5°C drop annually for the next five years (O’Callaghan). After the temperature fall, it would take at least 20 years to be within 0.5°C of our current temperature. A decrease in temperature and sunlight does not only mean a colder environment, but it can lead to other disastrous effects on crops as …show more content…
Flash burns, caused by the heat emitted and radiation, were among the most common injuries seen immediately following the explosion. Some were even severe enough to completely char the skin to a dark brown or black, leading to an almost immediate death (Clancey). Those farther away from the explosion may only experience burns on specific parts of their body depending on the thickness of the clothing. When the burns healed doctors observed a formation of excess scar tissue, known as a keloid, and limited mobility in joints, mainly the knee and elbows.

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