Nuclear Warfare
The Effects of Nuclear Warfare
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/devastating-effects-of-nuclear-weapons-war/
With everything going on recently with Russia invading Ukraine, there has been a lot of uncertainty in the air about whether there will be another world war. If this does occur, there is no certainty that a country won’t use nuclear weapons in a desperate or last attempt situation of victory. For that reason, I’m going to look into the effects and aftermath of nuclear warfare in the world.
To start off, Russia just recently invaded Ukraine on February 21, 2022. This is a big deal because there are some powerful countries backing both sides. Since other countries have a likely chance of starting another war. The last time there was a world war, nuclear weapons were involved. Those weapons made a massive impact on the world even after the war. The two major attacks in World War II. were Nagaski and Hiroshima. Between those two attacks, 150,000 to 215,000 people died. What is more worrisome is the fact those two bombings were 77 years ago. Over time many more countries have developed nuclear weapons even more powerful than World War II. Obviously, if there were nuclear weapons used in this possible war, there would be longer-lasting effects than the total destruction of cities and areas.
One major concern would be multiple countries wanting revenge after 1 nuclear attack. This would cause something called radioactive fallout. “The term fallout generally applies to those isotopes whose half-lives exceed the time scale of the blast and other short-term effects.”(Wolfson & Veress). This is dangerous because the fallout could last for decades but the lethal effect would last for a few weeks. Now on a massive scale in multiple countries, this would destroy the economy as well. This would make it near impossible to be able to rebuild the trade. Not having access to trade with other countries would be detrimental to economies for all nations. For example, since China is backing up Russia and the United States is backing up Ukraine we would most likely lose access to trading with China. This would impact the economy since China is the United State’s biggest trading partner.
A nuclear war wouldn’t just affect land or the economy, but it would also have an effect on the climate of the world. The chemicals from the nuclear bombs would be put into the upper atmosphere. These chemicals would eat away the Ozone layer of the earth causing a multitude of effects on the planet. Also, from the nuclear attacks, the fires of houses and buildings should emit soot into the atmosphere as well. It could be devastating because of the fact that this soot can block out the sun. Although this is unlikely to happen, the soot could block the sun and cause what is known as a nuclear winter. “The result would be a drop in global temperature of some 8°C (more than the difference between today’s temperature and the depths of the last ice age), and even after a decade the temperature would have recovered only 4°C.”(Wolfson & Veress).
All these situations are very much possible and could be detrimental to the world. With the current state of Russia and Ukraine, there is very much a possibility of a third world war. Also, with how unpredictable Russia is, there is a possibility that nuclear attacks could occur.
Logan, you do a good job of describing devastating effects of nuclear war. In reading your piece and doing my own research, it seems as though an exchange of nuclear weapons would be totally catastrophic for everyone. Why then do you think we are so comfortable talking about the use of nuclear weapons as if it were an okay possibility? If everyone is aware that the world would collapse in on itself metaphorically and financially following the use of nuclear weapons, what makes world leaders bold enough to talk about using them with regularity?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post. I think it is very important to be aware of the threat of nuclear warfare in the world. It is evident from the prior use of nuclear weapons that the effects are detrimental and everlasting. It is clear that in the event of nuclear warfare, many countries would be involved and all aspects of life would be affected. I like how you touched on all the detrimental effects of nuclear weapons including the economy, environment, and land. I think it would also be powerful to speak on the impact nuclear weapons would have on people's lives, and even daily life, if such a war were to occur.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your approach at analyzing the irreversible and destructive forces of nuclear weapons. Given these consequences, do you think that Russia would go so far as using nuclear weapons when the possibility of other states attacking and using nuclear weapons could also occur? Perhaps the talk of nuclear weapons was a tactic in spurring debate about the invasion and possibly fear in people? Or perhaps this might be a genuine course of action for Russia. But, do you think the consequences you outlines would be enough to stop Russia from engaging in nuclear warfare?
ReplyDelete