Nuclear Weapons Be Shut Down By Eric Shlosser

1211 Words5 Pages

Nuclear weaponry and its uses are more relevant in today’s world than ever before. Nuclear technologies that are capable of creating mass destruction to both nations’ lands and civilians have become a commonly owned resource in almost every nation’s arsenal. The main issue surrounding nuclear weapons and perhaps the reason why none of these technologies have been used is due to the inevitable outcome of global ruin. The one and only nuclear attack to date was performed by the USA military on Japan which killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima and caused mass destruction that took several decades to recover from. One of the largest global controversies is whether or not nuclear weaponry should …show more content…

The facts used in the article show why nuclear weapons are faulty and why using them will only have negative outcomes. When arguments were made about the benefits of nuclear power, they were quickly shut down by Eric Schlosser by weighing the benefits with drawbacks. The author’s first expression was made by contesting Vladimir Putin’s idea of nuclear power being a symbol for national power. The author shut down this idea by stating that nuclear weapons are more than just a symbol: they are machines. He went on to say how machines have faults and can often malfunction. An example was used of when a nuclear weapon was accidentally deployed in the USA during the Cold War and if hadn’t malfunctioned, would have destroyed large areas of the United States. After touching on other events of technology malfunctions, the topic of what could go wrong is brought up again. Words such as accidents, mistakes, false alarms, blackmail, theft, and sabotage were all used to describe the possible occurrences when using nuclear weapons. When the author speaks about humans being imperfect and making errors as a normal person would, he applied it to the nuclear weapon creation also. The author chose to cite a source that said that the Trident submarines are obsolete and poorly managed, and how industrial accidents are common in India and Korea. Concern was expressed regarding this issue and it was stated that there are faulty operators managing what is said to be the world’s most lethal technological system. Finally, the author chose to quotations to include in his article. The first comes from former President John F. Kennedy’s national security advisor that nuclear weapons could have the opposite effect to what is supposedly a peacemaker. The other quote is from the Atomic Scientists of Chicago which says that any prosperity is useless if the threat of nuclear attack is still