69 years ago today, Pandora's Box was opened

There has been much debate about the amount of lives saved due to Truman's decision about the invasion of Japan, but one thing is for certain: Humans now have the capacity to end life on this planet with immediate swiftness.

Whether or not we agree on the use of the atomic mechanisms, we should come together in unison and universally state that there should be an enormous reduction in the real weapons of mass destruction.


Nuke arsenal

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We calculate that more than 125,000 nuclear warheads have been built since 1945, with 53 percent of those weapons belonging to the United States, 44 percent to the Soviet Union and Russia—and only 3 percent to the other seven countries with nuclear arsenals. After peaking in 1986, global nuclear weapon levels have declined, as illustrated in Figure 2.

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The United States possesses an estimated 7,700 intact warheads. This includes approximately 4,650 warheads in the Pentagon’s stockpile: 2,150 of these weapons are considered deployed on missiles or bases with operational launchers; the other 2,500 are spares centrally stored in reserve. We estimate that the Energy Department stores approximately 3,000 intact but retired warheads that are slated for dismantlement by 2022 at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

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We have an opportunity to lead the world with a reduction of our nuclear capacity.