FREEDOM FROM THE FALLOUT
There were times in recent American history when we believed that humanity would cause the end of itself through nuclear warfare. The world anxiously watched for 13 days as the United States and Soviet Union inched to the brink of nuclear devastation during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. As the world’s superpowers developed increasing supplies of nuclear warheads at alarming rates, American families took actions to prepare for the worst-case scenario. While terms like “nuclear winter” nestled in the recesses of our psyches for five decades, the world’s geopolitical landscape has changed, leaving us questioning our world’s future, especially for the generations to come.
The facts of nuclear warfare are unsettling to say the least. However, there are a plethora of myths surrounding nuclear war, many of which may lead to further confusion amongst the populace. To separate truth from fiction, RECOIL OFFGRID picked the brains of a few experts to get a little more insight on what to expect if a nuclear holocaust befell us.
Joining us are Dave Jones, Army Chemical Officer (retired), who has a background in nuclear/biological/chemical warfare (NBC); Al Venter, a writer on nuclear warfare whose works include Iran’s Nuclear Option and How South Africa Built Six Atom Bombs and Then Abandoned its Nuclear Weapons P+Ωrogram; and Dr. Irwin Redlener, who directs the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at the Earth Institute of Columbia University.
RECOIL OFFGRID: What do you think the biggest myths are that people cling to about surviving a nuclear war?
Irwin Redlener: The biggest myth is a fundamental one, and that’s when people hear “nuclear” or “atomic,” they assume that it’s the apocalypse and there is no survival. It’s a very unhelpful, if not dangerous myth, because people get very philosophical about it, and believe that there’s nothing that they can do. That actually demotivates people for preparing for this type of disaster, and I believe that preparing for it is very important.
Dave Jones: There’s this notion
