The Cold and the Dark; The World after Nuclear War

New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1984. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Good/Good. xxxv, [1], 229, [7] pages. illustrations (some in color). Notes. Index. DJ has some wear, tears and soiling. Some endpaper discoloration. Foreword by Lewis Thomas. The Cold and the Dark is the record of the Conference on the Long-Term Worldwide Biological Consequences of Nuclear War, held in Washington, D.C., on October 31 to November 1, 1983. The conference involved over 200 scientists from many nations and drew together the best available scientific information. Its central finding was the phenomenon of nuclear winter: a much more profound and long-lasting devastation of the earth and atmosphere than had been believed possible before. In the two principal papers, Carl Sagan presents the atmospheric and climatic consequences of nuclear war and Paul Ehrlich summarizes its biological implications. Also included is the text of the "Moscow Link" , a dialogue between Soviet and American scientists on nuclear winter and the technical papers providing the scientific evidence for the book's conclusions. This work makes dramatic long lasting climate predictions of the effect a nuclear winter would have on the Earth, an event that is suggested by the authors to follow both a city countervalue strike during a nuclear war, and especially following strikes on oil refineries and fuel depots. Two workshops were held during 22-6 April 1983 at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, Massachusetts—one to examine the long- term world-wide climatic consequences of nuclear war, and the other to assess the likely biological repercussions. Following the total of five days of intensive analyses at the workshops, the background papers were subjected to rigorous and widespread appraisal during the course of the summer, leading to various refinements. A summarized account of the main findings was then presented at a two-days' 'media conference' *, at which two principal papers were reviewed—the first by Professor Carl Sagan, of Cornell University, dealing with the atmospheric and climatic dimensions of the issue, and the second by Professor Paul R. Erhlich, of Stanford University, covering the biological repercussions. In support were several dozen other distinguished scientists, representing a broad spectrum of opinion, both within the United States and beyond. The aim of the gathering was to present the scientific findings to the media, and also to Congressional leaders and other key officials in the Federal Government. The climax of the conference was a 90-minutes' television hook-up with Moscow. The panel of Soviet scientists entered into dialogue with their American counterparts—and indicated that their own research efforts have come up with a very similar set of conclusions. Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 - December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator in astronomy and other natural sciences. Sagan published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books. Sagan's deep concern regarding the potential destruction of human civilization in a nuclear holocaust was conveyed in a memorable cinematic sequence in the final episode of Cosmos, called "Who Speaks for Earth?" Sagan resigned from the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board's Condon Committee and surrendered his top secret clearance in protest. Paul Ralph Ehrlich (born May 29, 1932) is an American biologist, best known for his warnings about the consequences of population growth and limited resources. He is the Bing Professor Emeritus of Population Studies of the Department of Biology of Stanford University and President of Stanford's Center for Conservation Biology. Ehrlich has acknowledged that some of what he predicted has not occurred, but maintains that his predictions about disease and climate change were essentially correct and that human overpopulation is a major problem. Donald Kennedy (August 18, 1931 - April 21, 2020) was an American scientist, public administrator, and academic. He served as Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (1977-1979), President of Stanford University (1980-1992), and Editor-in-Chief of Science (2000-2008). Following this, he was named president emeritus of Stanford University; Bing Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, emeritus; and senior fellow of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Walter Orr Roberts (August 20, 1915 - March 12, 1990) was an American astronomer and atmospheric physicist, as well as an educator, philanthropist, and builder. He founded the National Center for Atmospheric Research and took a personal research interest for many years in the study of influences of the Sun on weather and climate.