Nuclear war: the safety paradox

Nuclear Weapons and the Second World War

Since the obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons have captured the attention of social scientists and the public alike. Some argue that the world benefits from nuclear weapons, claiming that they prevent war. Skeptics do not share this view and worry that nuclear weapons will only intensify conflict. Unfortunately, most theories about the benefits of nuclear weapons await judge...

Environmental consequences of nuclear war

groups made valuable contributions to elaborating the consequences of nuclear warfare.1 Paul Crutzen and John Birks proposed that massive fires and smoke emissions in the lower atmosphere after a global nuclear exchange would create severe short-term environmental aftereffects. Extending their work, two of us (Toon and Turco) and colleagues discovered “nuclear winter,” which posited that worldw...

Worldwide Effects of Nuclear War

Accidental nuclear war--a post-cold war assessment.

BACKGROUND In the 1980s, many medical organizations identified the prevention of nuclear war as one of the medical profession's most important goals. An assessment of the current danger is warranted given the radically changed context of the post-Cold War era. METHODS We reviewed the recent literature on the status of nuclear arsenals and the risk of nuclear war. We then estimated the likely ...

Gulf War illnesses: complex medical, scientific and political paradox.

Gulf War illnesses are a collection of disorders that for the most part can be diagnosed and treated, if effective programmes exist to assist veterans, and in some cases their immediate family members. Although these illnesses are complex and have multi-organ signs and symptoms, a proportion of these patients can be identified as having Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME...