Arguments for Nuclear Ban
Once again, Carlton Chruch International Movement to Abolish Nuclear Reactors and Nuclear Weapons,
a non-profit organization working for the cause to ban the use of anything nuclear in every nation
across the globe is continuously seeking reasons to convince everyone that nuclear reactors and nuclear
weapons are not in any way profitable to any sector of our system. We implore the government, private
owners, businessmen, public institutions, fellow non-profit organizations and ordinary citizens and
individuals to take a look on the following complaints and arguments and review as well as delve deep
to the truth it brings:
- The humanitarian case
The abolition of nuclear weapons is an urgent humanitarian necessity. Any use of nuclear weapon would
have catastrophic consequences. No effective humanitarian response would be possible, and the effects
of radiation on human beings would cause suffering and death many years after the initial explosion.
Eliminating nuclear weapons – via a comprehensive treaty – is the only guarantee against their use.
- The security case
Nuclear weapons pose a direct and constant threat to people everywhere. Far from keeping the peace,
they breed fear and mistrust among nations. These ultimate instruments of terror and mass destruction
have no legitimate military or strategic utility, and are useless in addressing any of today’s real
security threats, such as terrorism, climate change, extreme poverty, overpopulation and disease.
While more than 40,000 nuclear weapons have been dismantled since the end of the cold war, the
justifications for maintaining them remain largely unchanged. Nations still cling to the misguided
idea of “nuclear deterrence”, when it is clear that nuclear weapons only cause national and global
insecurity. There have been dozens of documented instances of the near-use of nuclear weapons as a
result of miscalculation or accidents.
- The environmental case
Nuclear weapons are the only devices ever created that have the capacity to destroy all complex life
forms on Earth. It would take less than 0.1% of the explosive yield of the current global nuclear
arsenal to bring about devastating agricultural collapse and widespread famine. The smoke and dust
from fewer than 100 Hiroshima-sized nuclear explosions would cause an abrupt drop in global
temperatures and rainfall without warning. Take for example Tokyo, Japan, a land of wealth and
civilization which is also known to have some nuclear sites hidden beneath its ground. Despite the
industrialization of the country, simple earthquakes can already destroy thousands of lives and
cost billions of dollars.
- The economic case
Despite renewed commitments by nations to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world, all of the nuclear
powers continue to invest exorbitant sums of money in their nuclear forces. Funding allocated to
national disarmament efforts is minuscule by comparison, and the principal UN body responsible for
advancing nuclear abolition has an annual budget of just over $10 million. It is time to redirect
money towards meeting human needs.
