Over the weekend, I read Annie Jacobson’s new book Nuclear War: A Scenario. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a dramatized scenario of a general nuclear war. The book walks through a timeline starting with the launch of the first missile to the (practical) end of the war — 58 minutes later. At risk of spoiling elements of the book: the war is started by North Korea in a “Bolt from the Blue” (surprise) attack against the United States that destroys Washington, D.C. The scenario goes minute-by-minute through the American chain of command’s responses and jumps between them, Russian, North and South Korean, and NATO actors over the next hour.
I enjoyed your notes Zack. This reflects many of my own thoughts on Nuclear Arms and Nuclear Power. I am an advocate for Nuclear Power and I think one of the great tragedies of the 20th century technology is the lack of follow up on the molten salt reactor and breeder reactors. Our current nuclear energy technology is basically stuck in the 1950’s and much of it is because of an incredibly burdensome regulatory environment which makes private investment prohibitively expensive and risky. Government investment is largely focused on nuclear arms instead of nuclear energy. This is one reason the Milton Salt Reactor was shut down.
I enjoyed your notes Zack. This reflects many of my own thoughts on Nuclear Arms and Nuclear Power. I am an advocate for Nuclear Power and I think one of the great tragedies of the 20th century technology is the lack of follow up on the molten salt reactor and breeder reactors. Our current nuclear energy technology is basically stuck in the 1950’s and much of it is because of an incredibly burdensome regulatory environment which makes private investment prohibitively expensive and risky. Government investment is largely focused on nuclear arms instead of nuclear energy. This is one reason the Milton Salt Reactor was shut down.