The International Effects of Technology
The International Effects of Technology Nuclear technology has been around since the middle of the Twentieth Century; masterminded under intense global military pressures, nuclear technology raises many questions about the value of a technology that has the capability to render the planet unfit for human occupation. The secret race to divide nature into its most miniscule components the result of which created a tremendous source of previously unknown energy, has characterized our short history with this dangerous knowledge. Created with short-term goals in mind, nuclear technology has wrought human and environmental devastation as well as the political dilemmas we find ourselves in today. The production and use of nuclear technology are matters of not just national or regional, but international concern; our global population lives in a global ecosystem, the destruction of which affects us all. The race to develop nuclear technology was a secret effort spearheaded by the United States in order to decisively end World War II by means of weapons of mass destruction. This effort was characterized by the myopic views of society embroiled in a war of global dimensions. Therefore, the goal to win the war t
"Until 1989, Chelyabinsk health officials were prohibited from even acknowledging the existence of radiation sickness much less admitting that it had been killing local people for forty years" (Hertsgaard 128). While affordable electrical power was in high demand, not much was known or published about the effects of nuclear testing and accidents at the nuclear power plants. While nuclear accidents and the irresponsible disposal of nuclear waste causes contamination of nightmarish consequence, the production and testing of nuclear weapons and use of nuclear power threatens the environment also. The 1945 venting of gases was not made public until 1986 . Lake Karachay in Russia received nearly a billion gallons of nuclear waste since 1953, could be "the most contaminated spot on earth" (Hertsgaard 135). Soils once contaminated by radiation are unusable by humans for agricultural purposes for centuries. The fate of the world could be in the hands of a very small group of very dangerous individuals who do not flinch when asked to sacrifice their lives to further their cause. The production and use of technology are matters of international concern due to the related issues of environmental protection and moral and ethical accountability that eventually affect all of us. Contamination of soils leeches into the water table to spread toxins into drinking water, air pollution causes acid rain and poisonous gases are transported great distances by wind patterns in the atmosphere. The end justified the means; the short-term solution was technically successful, the weapons deployed as expected, the enemy was devastated and the world has never quite been the same. This, however, is a decision that must come by way of international consensus and a commitment to eradicate weapons of mass destruction. International political alliances and oppositions are strengthened or weakened by threats of nuclear retaliation, as nations with long histories of unstable leadership and human rights violations possess nuclear weapons sufficient to destroy the world. Even after the war according to Mark Hertsgaard in Earth Odyssey, (Broadway Books, NY 1999) "production took precedence over safety" when in Hanford, Washington radioactive gases were released into the atmosphere and wastes were intentionally dumped into the Columbia River.
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Acceptance Essays
