Time to Reduce Nuclear Dangers by Garwin and Gronlund

Nuclear weapons are one of, if not the most dangerous weapons in the world today and they are one of the biggest issues the world faces at this current moment. They have the capability of destroying entire cities and then some that could result in millions of deaths within seconds. Radiation from the blasts would kill even more people throughout years to come. They were first used in 1945 at the end of World War II, when the United States dropped Little Boy and Fat Man in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to ‘save’ the lives of American soldiers. Since then, a nuclear arms race was born and it’s becoming more of a concern as time moves forward. Albert Einstein, who was the creator of the nuclear bomb once said “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” Countries should not have access to nuclear weapons because it destroys the environment, there is a possibility of a nuclear war that will end in mass destruction of the world, and countries could save both revenue and resources.

There have only been two instances in world history of nuclear weapons being used against another nation during a military conflict. In both instances the bombs were dropped by U.S. forces on Japanese soil during WWII in hopes that it would generate fear within the Japanese people, and finally break the government into submission. Since the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, no other nation has employed the use a nuclear weapon against another country, so why is it that the United States still possesses a stockpile of nearly 5,000 nuclear warheads if they are not being utilized? The United States has long held the strategy of deterrence, meaning that the purpose of the U.S. arsenal is intended to deter other states from attacking with their own arsenal of nuclear weapons. However, in 2008 with the election of Barack Obama, the United States’ has been taking steps towards reducing its nuclear arsenal and declaring to end developments on new warheads.

Since the invention of nuclear weapons, they have presented the world with a significant danger, one that was shown in reality during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, nuclear weapons have not only served in combat, but they have also played a role in keeping the world peaceful by the concept of deterrence. The usage of nuclear weapons would lead to mutual destruction and during the Cold War, nuclear weapons were necessary to maintain international security, as a means of deterrence. However, by the end of the Cold War, reliance on nuclear weapons for maintaining peace became increasingly difficult and less effective (Shultz, et. al, 2007). The development of technology has also provided increasing opportunities for states

The nuclear bomb has been a weapon in the United States arsenal since the end of world war two, where the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From that day on the way wars were fought has changed forever. Soon after the bomb droppings on the two Japanese cities a race began between the United States and the Soviet Union named the cold war. The two major powers of the world at that time would threaten each other with nuclear war. The cold war ended because the Soviet Union could no longer economically support communism. Then latter on the United States invaded Iran under suspicion that they had nuclear weapons. Years later may people have wondered in nuclear weapons are necessity. Is it really beneficial to whatever nation that possess it, or is it a disaster just waiting to happen? Debates continue to this day on whether nuclear weapons should be against the Geneva Convention. Does the possibility of a nuclear winter with the annihilation of all mankind outweigh the reason for keeping them for protection and military dominance?

Within America, the forces between the navy and airforce began to compete, and the stockpile of nuclear weapons began to grow. By late 1960s, there were over 31,000 nuclear weapons and 36 different types. The United States wanted to make the point of “we have more than you.”

The United States alone spends billions of dollars a year on nuclear weapons, while other countries do the same. This diverts from more important funds that could be put in effect to help those living in the country. While important human resourcing programs and groups devoted to improving people’s quality of life get less funding, billions of dollars are being used to maintain thousands of deadly weapons not in use. It is not logical for a country to carry thousands of nuclear weapons at a time, because even a couple will have enough effect to destroy countries. One would say that the United States needs to keep this power. The United States alone is the leading country with the largest military expense by a vast margin. Taking away weapons that are able to destroy the planet hundreds of times over will not weaken military power within the country.

Ever since 1945, when the first nuclear bombs were dropped on hiroshimba and nagaskia, the debate has raged about nuclear weapons. Despite no country using them since then, the tention came to a head in the 1980s, with the cold war and britain puttimg in nuclear defence plans. This panic spawned trident, the programme for procurement of nuclear weapons for the uk, and a programe thst is right next door to js. These weapoms are the barrier between us and the war, and they help us to be seen as a world power. So why would we want to get rid of them? While nuclear weapons are unlikely to be used,they still give us extra saftey and security for he uk, and i feel that that is something thag should not be compromised.

Nuclear weapons have only ever been used once in human history, and that was during World War II when The United States deployed missiles on Japanese territory, in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. At the time of bombing in 1945 only the USA had developed nuclear weapons, whilst today the pool of states consisting of nuclear weapons is still extremely small, with only nine states laying claim to nuclear technology and weaponry. This nuclear proliferation is explained by Darryl Howlett who explains this as the worldwide spread of nuclear weapons. For Howlett states are nuclear driven because of the ‘strategic, political and prestige benefits’ attached to nuclear weapons[1]. In the

The Cold War proved that nuclear weapons would set the tone for science and warfare. Both world powers were focused on building upon existing technologies, and there are many great things that have come from this production. Nuclear power, which provides energy for twenty-five percent of our country's needs today, came from the struggle during the Cold War. The fear the country felt motivated many people to do great things. Now, the United States has around 9,400 warheads and bombs combined. This is a massive arsenal capable of wiping humans, and possibly life entirely, off the face of the earth. Towards the peak of the Cold War, the United States possessed 11,000 warheads, stationed all over the world, ready to go off at a moment's notice. The number the Soviet Union had is underreported and both countries would exaggerate or diminish the number to sway public opinion. Needless to say, back then there were too many nuclear weapons for the safety of our

“The Nuclear Age,” written by Tim O’Brien, was a short story poorly known during the 1980’s. Tim O’Brien wrote this story during the late 1980’s sometime after he returned from the army. He wrote many of his stories to describe some of the things he saw and experienced in the army. “The Nuclear Age” was one of Tim O’Brien’s later stories that was not well received at the time it was published.

Even though nuclear power plants threaten the health and safety of many people, nuclear energy is being used in other ways as well, which may be even more dangerous. In 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in order to end World War II. This event was the only time a nuclear weapon was used in the history. During the first two to four months, approximately 90,000 to 166,000 people died as a result. Wilfred Burchett quoted, “When you arrive in Hiroshima, you can look around and for 25 and perhaps 30 square miles you can neither see hardly a building nor a standing human. All of them are collapsed on the ground.” Yet, having seen the destructive effects of nuclear weapons, the United States currently still owns more than 7000 nuclear weapons, in which half of them could be launched in less than ten minutes. Russia is believed to be a holder of the same number or more nuclear weapons as well. The United States and Russia are the two countries with the most nuclear weapons, but in total, the number adds up to around 19,000 worldwide. Many people do not give a thought about this dangerous situation, since these weapons are

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.”

There is a huge expense in maintaining and building the nuclear arms that we use for deterrence. Nuclear information is secret, taking great amounts of money and time, to research and keep it confidential. Power is gained from the research and development, which is definitely worth the expense. The great amounts of money spent on nuclear technology help ensure the security of the people of the United States. It takes huge amounts of money to have the edge in nuclear technology. However, nuclear deterrence is even cheaper than war. The cost of building, operating, and maintaining nuclear weapons is only $26.7 billion per year (Hellman). "This is significantly less than the cost of the 1991 [Persian Gulf] war, which came to nearly $80 billion" (Dobbs). Deterrence is economically and politically intelligent.

Eliminating all nuclear weapons from the stockpile would actually benefit the United States in more ways than one. Weapons of mass destruction are not only a threat to only our country, but our people, our environment, our economy, the global economy, and the future of mankind. As of this date, the only nuclear weapon we used in a war was in Japan, during World War II. We made the bomb for a reason, and now there is no reason to keep it. We never used a nuclear weapon in any war afterwards. The problem with the bomb is that it is "indiscriminate and uncontrollable." These characteristics of the bomb make it useless in war. We experienced a military defeat during the Vietnam War, but we never used a single

Imagine a world filled with darkness and an air filled with dust and death. It is hard to go outside without suffocating or becoming subject to radioactive disease and other complications. This is, of course, assuming that you were one of the few survivors of atomic world-destruction that somehow managed to escape the blast and reach a safe-house on time. This would be the world after a nuclear war. Desolate landscapes and hardly anything left over but Twinkies and cockroaches. Nuclear weapons provide a large problem on our beloved planet, and therefore must be deconstructed, slowly, and gotten rid of like a bad habit, never to be used or thought of again--and it has to start with America. This must be done--the extermination of nuclear weapons--because the separation of nuclear is spread too thin. According to Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What at a Glance, Russia and the United States alone carry over nine-thousand nuclear warheads, a mix of both deployed and undeployed weapons, on battleships, submarines, missiles and even more deadly carriers. There are dozens of counties in the world, and, when the fact that these two powerhouses, Russia and the United States, carry well over eighty percent of these destructive weapons, it is plain to see that there is an unbalanced ration of population per nuclear warhead--China and India, the two most populous countries in the world, carry just about three-hundred to four-hundred