A new study in the journal Energy & Environmental Science says that nearly 700m tons of CO2 would be released into the Earth’s atmosphere by even the smallest nuclear conflict, comparatively measured as more than UK’s annual emission. But there are some benefits of a nuclear war, too. It will also send up 313m tons of soot to block sunlight in the sky to cool the earth after the catastrophe. Though the CO2 will persist, at least the earth cooled down a bit. Do you feel better now?
I bet you wouldn’t even bother nor have the chance to worry about global warming during a nuclear holocaust. You wouldn’t be alive to do that in the first place. The smallest nuclear war can immediately kill 17 million people according to estimates. The scientists have their reasons for conducting the study, though. They want to show that materials on earth have a carbon content that are incendiary in nature, making a nuclear exchange even worse that it already is. But this is just for starters. These scientists aren’t brilliant for nothing.
The whole idea is to show that the benefits of nuclear energy, touted to be the most efficient and environmentally sound energy resource over the long haul, is uninformed propaganda from supporters of nuclear power. The logic is very clear: places that can afford to generate nuclear energy are also the places where nuclear power can potentially exist and proliferate. So, it isn’t much about nuclear as an alternative to carbon but the long-range, overarching adverse effect of choosing to convert to nuclear energy.
Via guardian.co.uk
