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All youth organizations believe that environmental issues stand high on the priority' list of global problems. However, their solution depends on the preservation of peace on our planet. The quest of solutions to ecological problems is impossible without the curbing of the arms race, for the arms race absorbs tremendous intellectual and material resources of mankind. The solution of ecological problems also depends on the way of life of young people and their value orientation.
Dr. I. I. Russin
Moscow State University
WCED Public Hearing
Moscow, 8 Dec 1986
20. The theory contends that the smoke and dust ejected into the atmosphere by a nuclear war could absorb enough solar radiation to remain aloft for some time, preventing sunlight from reaching the surface of the earth, causing a widespread and prolonged cooling of land area. There could be severe repercussions for plant life generally and for agriculture in particular, disrupting the production of food to sustain survivors of the war. Great uncertainties remain about the scale and linkages determining environmental effects, but large-scale environmental perturbations are considered probable. A nuclear war cannot be won, and must never be fought. In the aftermath, there would be no difference between so-called victor and vanquished. The nuclear-weapon states must spare no effort to conclude a verifiable agreement on banning all nuclear weapon tests.
21. The findings on nuclear winter are vitally important too for non-aligned nations, predominantly in the found which are no parties to the East-West conflict. They cannot expect to avoid the potentially disastrous environmental consequences of nuclear war in the northern hemisphere. The aftermath of such war would envelop the world. There is a danger that nuclear weapons will spread to more and more countries and be used what begins as a limited regional conflict. Beyond the five recognized nuclear-weapon states, at least six others have widely acknowledged potential nuclear weapons capability; a dozen others are not far behind. The nuclear-weapon states cannot expect the non-nuclear-weapon states to abstain from exercising the nuclear option in the absence of real progress on the road to nuclear disarmament. It is imperative therefore, that the probable consequence of nuclear war be recognized universally and that all states become involved in efforts to prevent the proliferation – and above all the use of nuclear weapons.
2. Other Weapons of Mass Destruction
22. Other forms of war and other weapons of mass destruction have large scale efforts of both human societies and the human environment. Biological warfare could release new agents of disease that would prove difficult to control. Recent advances
