Nuclear Weapons and the Environment

Last week as the United States and Russia were signing the New START Treaty, I was reading Steven Cohen's book for class. I was thinking of nuclear weapons and whether they could be considered an environmental policy issue, separate from foreign policy. As I thought about this, I re-read the Preface of Understanding Environmental Policy. Cohen uses a quote from one of President Kennedy's speeches on the danger of nuclear war (2006):

For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.

John Kennedy, American University, June 10, 1963

I thought this quote was appropriate for the nuclear arms issue and nuclear summit currently taking place. So often, economic policy is tied to environmental policy. It is interesting to see such a pronounced foreign policy issue as an environmental policy issue. The fall-out from nuclear weapons would have an absolutely devastating effect on the environment. Below are two links that I found regarding the White House and the nuclear arms issues.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/04/12/effort-achieve-nuclear-security-0

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/world/14summit.html