The international community can abandon fear of nuclear weapons by harnessing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes instead, Charles Oppenheimer wrote in Times magazine Aug. 17.
Charles Oppenheimer is the grandson of the first director of Los Alamos National Laboratory during the Manhattan Project and the widely-called “father of the atomic bomb,” J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Charles cited Robert’s letter to then-Secretary of War Henry Stimson Aug. 17, 1945, mere days after the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 80 years ago, in which Robert said “no nation can achieve absolute security through nuclear dominance,” thereby global leaders must resolve any tensions now to avoid future wars.
“During the war [World War II], scientists like Niels Bohr and my grandfather hoped the atomic bomb’s terrible power might end all wars between great powers,” Charles Oppenheimer wrote. “In one respect, that hope has been realized. Since 1945, there has not been another direct confrontation between great powers such as the two world wars. In another respect, we failed. We did not prevent the arms race, and we have lived under the shadow of nuclear armageddon for nearly eight decades.”
Charles continued, “despite our survival thus far, the latent danger from nuclear weapons remains. We must address and reduce the issue head-on.”
Charles said he believes nuclear energy is the answer, a “source of hope for international cooperation,” especially with 191 countries involved in the Nonproliferation Treaty that binds parties to a promise to use nuclear energy for peaceful uses in exchange for eliminating nuclear weapons use.
Charles then suggested three ways to involve the international community in advancing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes: have international finance institutions finance reactor technology, get private fundors and philanthropic institutions involved, and have global collaboration, including between adversaries, on “peaceful applications of nuclear energy.”
“We know nuclear superpowers such as the U.S., China and Russia do not and will not agree on everything,” Charles said. “The three have a mutual interest to prevent nuclear annihilation together. It doesn’t require a perfect peace to begin the discussion about reducing nuclear threats and increasing abundance—it is something we must talk about despite the tensions and other conflicts—for our very survival.”
