On August 6, 1945, the United States used a massive, atomic weapon against Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. Within the first two months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000-166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000-80,000 people in Nagasaki. During the following months and years, very painful effects of these days in history still lingered. Any humans that survived the blast were suffering radiation exposure. Roughly forty-five percent of 280,000 people who survived the exposure were still alive sixty years later. This brought to light the significant damage that radiation exposure could emit on people. Once it was known that a type of radiation exposure this colossal could under-develop children, increase the long-term risks of cancer, and exponentially deteriorate cities and forests, environmentalism evolved from a simple concept to an active movement. With Japan surrendering and closure at arms-reach, Americans welcomed peace while Robert Oppenheimer and others worried about the consequences of unleashing atomic power. Shortly after the war, Oppenheimer warned: “We have made a thing, a most terrible weapon that has altered abruptly and profoundly the nature of the world…a thing that by all the standards of the world we grew up in is an evil thin.” Almost every American, including him, believed that the “evil thing” had brought peace in 1945, but nobody knew what it would bring in the future, although everybody knew it would inevitably shape the world to come, as in fact it did. This catastrophic event during WWII undoubtedly marked the point at which environmentalism truly started to emerge, and thereafter, several political, economic, and ecological factors molde...
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...minant factor in human affairs, and the nation as a whole has done a superb job at keeping the green movement alive. The fact that we are now far more likely to call upon scientific data and experimental research to support arguments in favor of protecting the wilderness or against polluting industries, provides us with more power to properly brainstorm and implement ecologically assisting systems. Politicians record the work of several researchers and use automated climate models to battle global warming, and medical researchers rely on public health statistics to argue against mercury pollution as well as other harmful elements. Whether these arguments succeed or fail, however, the vast accomplishments of the green movement still depend on the vision, the passion and the commitment of not only environmentalists, but the majority of people living on planet Earth.
The atomic bombs “Little Boy” and “Fat man” killed 150,0000 people and furthermore left 125,000 impaired. 60,000 more people had died from sustained injuries as well as radiation illness. (Sullivan)
Americans had knowledge of the events taking place during the war, but Carson shed a light on the ripple effects that the environment was experiencing. Silent Spring brings the focus to different threats that had arisen because of the war. In a way, Carson places the blame for the deterioration of the environment on mankind as a whole. In the past, wars had been fought without any use of nuclear weaponry. Carson’s writing really emphasizes the fault of mankind’s decision to hurt the environment. “Along with the possibility of extinction of mankind by nuclear war, the central problem of our age has therefore become the contamination of man’s total environment with such substances of incredible potential for harm – substances that accumulate in the tissues of plants and animals and even penetrate the germ cells to shatter or alter the very material of heredity upon which the shape of the future depends.” (Carson, 181). The writing technique Carson uses in Silent Spring has a way of making the reader feel guilty, especially considering that at the time of publication there was so much environmental destruction occurring. Carson’s writing helped to educate the American population of the harm to the environment caused by the Cold War. Because the war’s dangerous strategies provided such a strong backbone for Carson’s argument, the American public was very receptive of the content and themes presented in Silent
In August of 1945, the world changed forever with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The lives of millions were shattered in a few seconds as the bombs demolished their homes and murdered their family members. Never has one incident in history affected such a great number of people for so many years. Today, the Japanese are still feeling the effects of the dropping of the atomic bombs. With the marking of the fifty-year anniversary in 1995, the dreadful scars still remain in the bodies and the hearts of those who were present in 1945. The radiation emitted from the atomic bombs caused numerous growth disorders, many psychological and social effects along with a drastic increase in leukemia and breast cancer that affected many innocent civilians.
The development of the atomic bomb and chemical warfare forever changed the way people saw the world. It was a landmark in time for which there was no turning back. The constant balancing of the nuclear super powers kept the whole of humankind on the brink of atomic Armageddon. Fear of nuclear winter and the uncertainty of radiation created its own form of a cultural epidemic in the United States. During these tense times in human history officials made controversial decisions such as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Dangerous biological experiments and bombs tests were carried out in the name of the greater good and national defense. Some historians and scientists argue that the decisions and acts carried out by the U.S. during World War II and the Cold War were unethical because of the direct damage they did. The United States' decisions were moral because it can be proven their actions were aimed at achieving a greater good and those that were put in potential danger volunteered and were informed of the risk.
In complete honesty the article "Forgot Shorter Showers," written by Derrick Jenson brought a weird sense of relief to me personally. Everything that the author explained in his work was my common thoughts on issues related to environmental issues. It's not that I don't care about my environment, and this world as a whole, but no matter how "green" I myself am it won't matter in the long run. An individual will not change the overall outcome of everything bad going on in the environmental world. It takes a movement to even start any type of momentum related to not just environmental issues, but any global issue that presents itself. The author couldn't have possibly said it better for me in relation to my own personal opinion surrounding these
The United States has earned the reputation of a rebellious country since its birth in the revolution against Britain. Over the course of history, Americans have repeatedly confronted oppression, both foreign and national, through various wars and rights movements. Unfortunately, when it comes to environmental issues the average American has grown increasingly complacent. With a renewed urgency, government is working to combat global warming, but lacks the necessary social backing. This social support could be supplied through a new environmental movement that differs from past efforts. Throughout American history there have been three categories of environmental movements: preservation, conservation, and modern reform, all of which have failed to bring a ubiquitous social change and substantial impact on the overall environmental health.
Barnes illustrates the devastating effects the atomic bomb caused the Japanese civilians by saying hundreds of thousands of civilians with no political ability to oppose their militarist government. Innocent women and children were vaporized, covered with radiation, horrendously burned, buried in wreckage, pierced with flying debris, and turned into burnt blobs of carbon. Neighborhoods filled with entire families were merely destroyed. The survivors confronted radiation sickness, famishment, and crippling mutilations. Survivors were also left with spiritual, emotional damage. The citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were treated as if they had a transmittable disease. Other citizens that had trouble handling the trauma caused by the bombs committed suicide. The survivors were continuously haunted by radiation. Not only did the radiation bring a lifetime of sickness, but also increased the rates of various cancers. The birth defects for pregnant women at the time jumped considerably, and although it is still unknown if birth defects are passed down through generations, survivors of the bomb and their children will continue to face anxiety over the possibilities (7). It is devastating to know the atomic bombs caused those unable to live with the negative impact of the atom bombs to commit suicide, and other innocent Japanese civilians to have to live with life-long health issues from the negative effects of radiation that will undoubtedly last for several generations. The atomic weapons were not dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to harm innocent Japanese civilians, even though this is what many people see when they look into the atomic bombs. The bombs were dropped to end World War II in the most efficient way possible at the time. Gar Alperovitz, a professor at The University of Maryland, states, “He believes United States policy makers used the weapon mainly for
As cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead once said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” In an excerpt from an essay published in the New York Times Magazine, American public intellectual Michael Pollan reveals his goal to convince the ordinary of citizens America that they are capable of saving the world from climate change and to answer the unappeasable question of “Why bother?”. This inquiry stems from the belief that one person is not capable of making a difference in relation to the larger spectrum of Americans who continue to emit a large amount of C02, increasing the effects of climate change, and destroying the environment. Through the exploration of behavior change, and other personal alternatives aimed to reduce America 's carbon footprint, Pollan aspires to have
"Then a tremendous flash of light cut across the sky . Mr. Tanimoto has a distinct recollection that it traveled from east to west, from the city toward the hills. It seemed like a sheet of sun. John Hersey, from Hiroshima, pp8 On August 6, 1945, the world changed forever. On that day the United States of America detonated an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. Never before had mankind seen anything like. Here was something that was slightly bigger than an ordinary bomb, yet could cause infinitely more destruction. It could rip through walls and tear down houses like the devils wrecking ball. In Hiroshima it killed 100,000 people, most non-military civilians. Three days later in Nagasaki it killed roughly 40,000 . The immediate effects of these bombings were simple. The Japanese government surrendered, unconditionally, to the United States. The rest of the world rejoiced as the most destructive war in the history of mankind came to an end . All while the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki tried to piece together what was left of their lives, families and homes. Over the course of the next forty years, these two bombings, and the nuclear arms race that followed them, would come to have a direct or indirect effect on almost every man, woman and child on this Earth, including people in the United States. The atomic bomb would penetrate every fabric of American existence. From our politics to our educational system. Our industry and our art. Historians have gone so far as to call this period in our history the Òatomic ageÓ for the way it has shaped and guided world politics, relations and culture.
“On July 16, 1945, a six-kilogram sphere of plutonium exploded over the New Mexico desert with a force equal to 20,000 tons of dynamite” (Stoll 1). Shortly after, “on August 6 and 9, the United States dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” (Stoll 1). The levels of radiation released caused a lot of damage to humans and the environment .
Listwa, Dan. “Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The Long Term Health Effects.” 8/9/2012. www.k1project.columbia.edu/news/hiroshima-and-nagasaki. Accessed 23 October 2017.
In 1945, the United States released a nuclear bomb that destroyed the city of Hiroshima. Nagasaki was also bombed. Thousands of people died and a quarter of a million more perished of radiation poisoning (“There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)”). With the development of nuclear weapons in the world the possibility of a nuclear war was a daily fear within people (“There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)”).
“Carson used the era’s hysteria about radiation to snap her readers to attention, drawing a parallel between nuclear fallout and a new, invisible chemical threat of pesticides throughout Silent Spring,” (Griswold 21). She described radiation as the creation of human’s tampering with nature, and warned that similar dangers would become inevitable with the continued use of pesticides (Carson 7). Carson also knew that a large percent of her audience would be housewives, who she could use as example of those who found poisoned birds and squirrels in their gardens. She angled much of Silent Spring towards this audience, which helped her book become the catalyst for environmental change (Griswold
The devastation brought about by the atomic bomb has caused fear among all the people that have realized the potential destructive power of its invention. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945 completely obliterated both cities (Lanouette 30). “Little Boy,” the bomb dropped on Hiroshima killed 70,000 people with an additional 66,000 injured (30-39). “Fat Man,” the bomb dropped on Nagasaki also carried its “share of America’s duty” by killing 40,000 people and injuring another 25,000 (30-39). The bombs also killed an estimated 230,000 more people from the after effects of the two explosions (30). The two bombings had opened the world’s eyes to the destructive power that could be unleashed by man.
New inventions are created daily; however, it is those that truly change the world that are remembered. The use and discovery of atomic energy negatively impacts the world because of the danger it entails. Many people across the world believe that the use of atomic energy is a mistake based off of past events that have occurred such as the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The abuse of atomic energy has been proven to damage society’s morale, population and could potentially destroy entire populations.