By John Mecklin, October 31, 2019
Former US Defense Secretary and current Bulletin Board of Sponsors chair William Perry
In this interview, former Defense Secretary William Perry – chair of the Bulletin’s Board of Sponsors and an emeritus director of the Nuclear Threat Initiative – explains why he believes that public dissemination of realistic (and therefore horrifying) scenarios of nuclear war can help reduce the likelihood it will occur. “What we’re really trying to do is find ways of averting doom,” Perry says. “But we think the first step in that is recognizing that these are very real possibilities.”
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I agree with William Perry's proposal. When I was growing up in the 50's and 60's, I was keenly aware of how destructive and sinister nuclear weapons were. By the time I started first grade. I was frightened by the sight of mushroom clouds on the television and had to leave the room. It took several years to overcome that fear. Nowadays, many individuals just don't get it, and/or do not care at all or feel a sense of helplessness.
Perhaps the education should start by comparing nuclear destruction with the West Coast wild fires. It will not be an apples to apples comparison but the thermal radiation radius, firestorm effects, high winds, blast radius etc., can provide an interesting comparison for discussion. Last year, I performed a qualitative analysis of the Paradise California Wildfire (Campfire) and found it to compare to a nuclear weapon yield of 250 kilotons.