There are nearly 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world today and the smallest of these are more than six time as destructive as the one which destroyed the city of Hiroshima. Just one nuclear weapon going off in a modern city – even by accident – would cause a humanitarian catastrophe of unparalleled proportions. A full-scale nuclear war involving just a fraction of these weapons would almost certain spell the end of human civilisation as we know it.
Understanding some of the facts and figures associated with nuclear weapons, their history, and the arguments both for and against them, enables us to engage with policy-makers, academics and armchair generals who continue to claim that these weapons are a necessary evil.
Having the facts about nuclear weapons is not enough, because people do not generally base their opinions on fact. We are complex beings, who are influenced by body language, by tone of voice, by the integrity or likability of the speaker as much as by what they say. There are lots of tools available for fine-tuning our conversations about nuclear weapons so that they are more likely to be heard.