Regional nuclear war could trigger mass starvation

Regional nuclear war could trigger mass starvation - being-human - 03 October 2007 - New Scientist: “The global death toll from a nuclear war in Asia ‘could exceed one billion from starvation alone’, Helfand concludes. Food shortages could also trigger epidemics of cholera, typhus and other diseases, as well as armed conflicts, which together could kill ‘hundreds of millions’.

Another study being unveiled at today’s conference suggests that the smoke unleashed by 100, small, 15 kiloton nuclear warheads could destroy 30-40% of the world’s ozone layer. This would kill off some food crops, according to the study’s author, Brian Toon, an atmospheric scientist from the University of Colorado in Boulder, US. The smoke would warm the stratosphere by up to 50°C, accelerating the natural reactions that attack ozone, he says. ‘No-one has ever thought about this before,’ he adds, ‘I think there is a potential for mass starvation.’”

No one has thought of it before? It sounds much like what will happen when the four horsemen of the Apocalypse ride. India and Pakistan could go at it at any time, as could others. So how close is the world to those biblical events? Just one major miscalculation or one sneak attack away.