O ' Neill 's Non Fiction Piece, The Firecracker Boys

"Everyone is aware of the difficult and menacing situation in which human society - shrunk into one community with a common fate - finds itself, but only a few acts accordingly. Most people go on living their everyday life: half frightened, half indifferent, they behold the ghostly tragicomedy this is being performed on the international stage before the eyes and ears of the world. But on that stage, on which the actors under the floodlights play their ordained parts, our fate of tomorrow, life or death of the nations, is being decided. It would be different if the problem were not one of things made by man himself, such as the atomic bomb and other means of mass destruction equally

In “A Perspective on the War Crimes,” Shigetoshi Iwamatsu argues that the tragedies at Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unparalleled war crimes and unnecessary acts of cruelty. He advocates the elimination of nuclear arms and opposes nuclear energy sources. The argument for defining the use of the atomic bombs as “without parallel in world history” is largely Iwamatsu’s belief that they were an unneeded extreme, likely motivated by racism.

If nuclear weapons are used in war sustainable life on this planet will be ended. Nuclear Weapons have only been used a few times in the history of this earth. The few times nuclear weapons were used the amount of damaged they caused was devastating. The first country to use nuclear weapons was the United States during World War II. On August 6, 1945 an atomic bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima killing between 90,000 and 166,000. Then on August 6th, 1945 the second atomic bomb nicknamed “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki killing 60,000 – 80,000 people. These statistics show how devastating nuclear weapons were when they were used and how they can be if they are used again. This paper will examine the Dangerous effects of

Nuclear waste is a radioactive waste that is dangerous, and a fair percentage of people would agree on this topic. However, is it really dangerous or is it just harmful to an extent? In society, many debates are held over trying to prove to the world that this substance is harmful. In the essay, “Nuclear Waste,” Muller states clearly that he sides with the anti-nuke of the debate and how he pinpoints the facts of nuclear waste with great persuasion. Yet, it is uncertain whether Muller clearly has a good argument and/or answers the questions that many people linger to know.

Mr. Tanimoto consciously repeated to himself “‘These are human beings’”(Hersey 1946), as he attempted to save paralyzed, dying men and women, in the book “Hiroshima” by John Hersey. This nonfiction book was published on August 31 1946, a year after the atomic bombing fell on Hiroshima, Japan. This publication was raw, uncensored, and truthful. John Hersey unapologetically revealed the gruesome damages done by the bombing, while also silencing those who believed that the atomic bomb was a justified attack. Hersey’s brilliant journalism and ability to write this story without bias, is why this book was selected. The author did not want those who died to be remembered as casualties, but as mothers, fathers and children. Hersey wrote this book about the the physical, and psychological impact this bomb had on both survivors and victims of the atomic bomb. There were many historical events that contributed to the cause and effect of the atomic attack; historical events such as industrialization, the trench wars, and militarism. This was not just a simple bomb, but a complex attack on humanity.

The bombs were considered a winning weapon and blocked out painful questions about the moral consequences of this technology. They refer to America’s actions against Hiroshima pushed them into moral inversion because of their avoidance of moral and historical responsibility. Lifton and Mitchell’s remarks suggest that atomic bombs not only kill instantaneously, but it also harbours deadly generational potentials. Whereas other weapons at the time did not possess such deadly power. Hence, the reality of radiation made it hard for Americans to continue to rationalize this

The book Bomb: The Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon is a thrilling, fast-paced story that refines a great deal of history into interesting and understandable literature for practically any age reader. The author, Steve Sheinkin, writes to tell the story of the first atomic bomb, the people who made it possible, and those who challenged its progress. Any person who is interested in science, history, or would like an enjoyable, quick read could read Bomb and easily understand the basics behind the creation of the atomic bomb. Along with the science and mathematics of the atomic bomb, Sheinkin adds the suspense and intrigue from the viewpoints of espionage agents from the Soviet Union, Germany, Great Britain, and the

The United States tested nuclear bombs, “215 A- and H-bombs” (www.nukewatch.com) above ground between 1951 and 1963 in the Nevada Test Site. Fifty years later, the U.S government studies stated that over 80,000 people who lived or were born in the U.S suffered from cancer caused by radioactive fall-out from nuclear testing. Over 15,000 of them died. Many of whom were from the states close to the testing sites, called the “downwinders,” Utah, Idaho and other states. From the Nevada Test Site the winds carried nuclear radiation fallout, filled with “iodine-131” which caused “75,000 thyroid cancers, ten percent of which are estimated to have been fatal, and strontium-90 and cesium-137, which are dangerous for between 280 and 300 years,” (nukewatch) likely causes of bone and skin cancer and leukemia. Therefore, there is some strong evidence that nuclear fall-out in the 1950s did cause cancer.

Though people questioned why acts of war were committed, they found justification in rationalizing that it served the greater good. As time evolved, the world began to evolve in its thinking and view of the atomic bomb and war. In Hiroshima, John Hersey has a conversation with a survivor of the atomic bomb about the general nature of war. “She had firsthand knowledge of the cruelty of the atomic bomb, but she felt that more notice should be given to the causes than to the instruments of total war.” (Hersey, 122). In John Hersey’s book, many concepts are discussed. The most important concept for the reader to identify was how society viewed the use of the bomb. Many people, including survivors, have chosen to look past the bomb itself, into the deeper issues the bomb represents. The same should apply to us. Since WWII, we have set up many restrictions, protocols and preventions in the hope that we could spare our society from total nuclear war. The world has benefited in our perspective of the bomb because we learned, understand, and fear the use of atomic weapons.

Over the years, there has been a dispute on whether or not it was a dire necessity to bomb Hiroshima August 6, 1945. The general aspect of morality, corresponding to following the mode of ethics in experimentation, may not justify proceeding to bomb the Japanese city. Paul Fussell, however in “Thank God For Atom The Bomb” desires to put an end to the dispute of the morality of nuclear weapon evolvement in World War Two.

The nature of the Atomic Bomb created a global and theoretical set of stakeholders that few other ethical dilemmas reach. In many ways this use of nuclear technology created the Cold War and the global fear of a nuclear Armageddon. At that time every citizen of the globe feared how the use of nuclear weapons would harm them and their world. The future is also a stakeholder in this conversation. The effects of nuclear fallout were not well understood at the time. Nuclear aftermath could last for decades and even longer, effecting the health and livelihood of all living things for generations to come. The information that could be collected and research opportunities created after a nuclear weapon detonation would be studied for centuries and will change medicine and research forever. Future citizens and scientists were also stakeholders in this decision.

When President Harry S. Truman ordered the nuclear attack on Hiroshima on the 6th of August, 1945, most people were supportive of it because it ended the war before an invasion became necessary. Seventy two years since the first and last nuclear attacks, many 'traditionalist' historians still believe that Truman made the best possible decision in the given circumstances. However, in the 1960's, Truman's critics, who reinterpreted history began to believe that the bomb played no significant role in ending the war and was thus unnecessarily used. These revisionist historians have gone so far as to characterize the use of nuclear weapons as “the single greatest acts of terrorism in human history” (Awan, 16). On the other hand, traditionalists argue that the bomb was an important

The first use of nuclear weaponry in warfare occurred on the morning of August 6, 1945 when the United States dropped the atomic bomb known as “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan. The result was devastating, demonstrating the true power of nuclear warfare. Since the incident, the world has been left fearing the possible calamity of another nuclear war. Joseph Siracusa’s Nuclear Weapons: A Very Short Introduction explains aspects of nuclear weaponry from simply what a nuclear weapon is, to the growing fear from nuclear warfare advancements in an age of terrorism. The book furthered my education on nuclear weapons and the effect they place on society, physically and mentally.

Can you imagine yourself getting evaporated in a blink of an eye? I know no one wants to imagine that, but it might become reality soon if countries still keep possessing nuclear weapons. Furthermore, these weapons of mass eradication are an upcoming threat across the world because of its capacity for destruction which is why I chose to tell people my opinion on this matter. Additionally, I adopted this crisis as my essay topic because nuclear arms aren't just a domestic problem; it is a dilemma on a global scale. My aim today is to give you my two cents on why the prohibition of nuclear arsenals is the right thing to do! To stop this emergency, I will need all my readers help in protesting in peaceful ways against the arms because as Martin Luther once said: “Nothing good ever comes from violence.”

Unless an accident or in case of nuclear war, man is relatively protected from direct radioactive contamination, ie caused by breathing air contaminated by radioactive bodies. Actually, the current main danger comes from the high degree of biological concentration of radioactive along the food chain substances. Thus an indirect radioactive contamination that begins with the warehouse in soil and water of radioactive pollutants from the atmosphere fallen occurs. In animals and plants that draw their nourishment from the soil and water bodies such focus, transmitting them to their predators dangerous proportions. In the marine environment it is clearly seen this phenomenon. Algae often come to have a radioactivity specifies thousand times higher than the surrounding water, and plankton concentration factor that can become of 5000. aquatic animals that feed on such organisms can reach concentrations even more high. Radioactivity in plants focuses on the leaves and stems more than seeds. It is a factor that hurts herbivores. In the final link in the food chain, man, cross-contamination occurs via the digestive tract after taking contaminated food or food plant. Milk, for example, is one of the main vehicles for cross-contamination in some countries. This explains why the bones of children, which constitutes the main food milk containing strontium-90 more than those of adults.