The Chances of Surviving a Nuclear War

The sugarcoated palliative dispensed by Edward Cornish via his Your Changing World column on Aug. 9 (“Mankind Likely to Survive Nuclear War”) should have carried a caveat: This is not to be taken seriously or it may induce a state of paralytic euphoria.

Cornish assures us that a “nuclear winter” following an all-out nuclear war is “extremely unlikely.” Then in a humble about-face he admits that an unremitting nuclear arms race, however, does make this worldwide cataclysm an increasing possibility.

But not to worry. Cornish believes there would be some survivors “here and there,” namely Australian opal miners and scientists at remote outposts in Antarctica. Bully for them!

Cornish winds up his contorted logic by hyping the need for developing places in space where some earthlings could carry on after our globe is turned into a radioactive glob by thermonuclear war.

Question: What are Cornish’s credentials for being a voice of authority on the chances of the human race surviving a nuclear holocaust? Or is it a case of his being a shill for those people Sen. J. W. Fulbright warned us about 15 years ago in his book, “The Pentagon Propaganda Machine”?

ED MITCHELL

Eagle Rock