D'oh!
During the Cold War, there was a lot of discussion around the potential "survivability" of a nuclear conflict. Everyone knew that if the US and USSR threw all their nukes at each other, there wouldn't be much left but charcoal and cockroaches, but there was an underlying assumption that a "limited" nuclear war wouldn't be too much of a problem unless you happened to be caught in the middle of it.
Now a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says that even a regional nuclear exchange would have devastating effects on the earth's atmosphere and everything that lives in it. According to the researchers, even a few dozen blown-up cities would send enought soot into the air to seriously damage the ozone layer, sending incidences of skin cancer and genetic mutation skyrocketing, as well as destroying crops and eco-systems around the world.
Could it happen? The most likely scenario would be a war between long-time enemies Pakistan and India, both of which are nuclear armed. However, as nations like North Korea and Iran threaten to join the nuke club, we're going to have to work harder to keep the mushroom clouds off the horizon.
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