Nuclear Zero

  • Obama administration pursues arms control at great gain to United States

    It is already bad enough that Russia is invading its neighbors and destabilizing European security—last thing you want is for Russia to throw out U.S. nuclear inspectors, which is precisely what some critics of arms control propose to do. Rebecca Heinrichs argues in “Obama administration pursues arms control at great loss,” that the United States should suspend implementation of the New START Treaty in reaction to Russia’s violation of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

    September 16, 2014 - By Blake Narendra

  • Hiroshima – An Ominous Anniversary

    69 years ago the world fundamentally changed. With a single bomb, an atom bomb, the entire city of Hiroshima was wiped out and and more than 100,000 people were killed. Nagasaki was similarly bombed three days later and again, a single bomb killed 50,000 people.

    A new era had begun, one in which all humanity was just minutes from destruction.

    August 4, 2014 - By Eric Sutphin

  • Are You Angry Yet?

    Last Week Tonight with John Oliver put the spotlight on the absurdity of the US nuclear weapons complex. It was a comic spin on a very serious issue. But, it also made me angry. The fear of mutually assured destruction is supposed to be a thing of the past. I shouldn’t have to worry that one miscalculation could mean the end of life as we know it. I shouldn’t have to worry that my child will live under the same quiet fear. But I do. I do because policymakers continue to fail to recognize what John Oliver makes so evident – nuclear weapons are only good for one thing – terror.

    August 1, 2014 - By Peter Fedewa

  • Rolling Back the Nuclear Weapons Tide – What You Can Do

    One trillion dollars. That is what the United States is planning to spend over the next 30 years as it refurbishes and maintains its aging Cold War nuclear arsenal. Your share as an average taxpayer: $6,789. These weapons do nothing to protect the United States in a post-9/11 world. But they still present catastrophic risk due to accident, miscalculation or (shudder) deliberate use. What can you do to help roll back the nuclear weapons tide?

    July 16, 2014 - By Eric Sutphin

  • 5 Steps to a Safer World - Rolling Back the Nuclear Tide, Part II

    Browsing the headlines, the world looks a dangerous place. Boko Haram is bombing its way across Nigeria, civil war in Syria, transnational terrorism and more. But the biggest danger is...

    July 11, 2014 - By Eric Sutphin

  • 3 Reasons We Still Need to Roll Back the Tide of Nuclear Weapons

    As the P5+1 negotiations with Iran continue, there are grounds for optimism that an agreement can be reached by the July 20th deadline. A deal would be a significant achievement in the ongoing battle against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. But this raises the question: what...

    July 2, 2014 - By Eric Sutphin

  • Rolling Back the Tide

    It started with one explosion in 1945. An explosion unlike any the world had ever seen. The first nuclear weapon, detonated by the United States, launched an era of nuclear proliferation that persists to this day. With the end of the Cold War, nuclear weapons are increasingly irrelevant, but the threat they represent is still very real. The tide of proliferation has ebbed. Now we have the chance to roll it back to end the threat of nuclear weapons forever.

    July 1, 2014 - By Peter Fedewa
  • New Generation of Arms Control

    New Generation of Arms Control

    I first learned about the inaugural Hale Fellowship from a former member of the Ploughshares Fund team who raved about her tenure on staff. I served as a presidential appointee at the Department of Energy during the debate on ratification of the New START Treaty in 2010. That debate introduced me to Ploughshares Fund’s mission and the vital role that members of the peace and security community play in shaping US foreign policy.

    May 5, 2014 - By Blake Narendra

  • Dark Skies. Safe Skies

    In 2007, a high school student by the name of Jennifer Barlow created the global phenomenon known as Dark Sky Week, urging people to reduce human-produced light pollution and to preserve the brilliance of the Milky Way. As we celebrate the end of this year’s Dark Sky Week, we couldn’t help but wish that nuclear testing hasn’t been lighting the skies ablaze with thermal radiation for 69 years.

    April 25, 2014 - By Amanda Waldron

  • The Staying Power of Vinyl… And Nukes

    Tomorrow, April 19, marks the eighth consecutive international Record Store Day, a tribute to the over 1000 independently-owned businesses that continue to sell good ole phonograph discs. In an age of instant downloading and the digital revolution, the world is making an effort to revive a unique technology of the past. At the same time, the topic of many vinyl records, nuclear weapons, is being forgotten.

    April 18, 2014 - By Amanda Waldron