Biological Warefare
Anna Nordseth
Block 3
Biological Warfare During WWII the United States took part in a new method of fighting the enemy: biological warfare. This way of fighting proved to be effective in both monetary cost and the toll taken in human lives. The United States and Great Britain developed the technology to make bombs out of the deadly anthrax virus. These were to be shot at enemy territory which would cause a widespread outbreak of anthrax virus. It was thought that the leftover anthrax spores would die after a given amount of time and the bombed area would once again become inhabitable. This turned out to not be true, and the island turned into a biological wasteland. A treaty was signed between 143 countries in 1972 to curb the use of biological warfare. This banned all development, use, and possession of biological weapons. Banning biological weapons is the best move that could have been made in that situation. While they can be very effective, their full effects are not fully understood enough for them to be legal. Like in the case of anthrax testing during World War II, many biological weapons have the capacity to have a severe negative effect on the environment. Developing biological weapons has the potential to be very dangerous- not only to the environment but to the human population as a whole. Just a few small changes to a virus can go out of control and threaten the wellbeing of an entire area. Biological weapons are developed to be destructive, and with them comes too much uncertainty of whether or not they will be able to be contained or if their damage will spiral out of their manufacturers’
Block 3
Biological Warfare During WWII the United States took part in a new method of fighting the enemy: biological warfare. This way of fighting proved to be effective in both monetary cost and the toll taken in human lives. The United States and Great Britain developed the technology to make bombs out of the deadly anthrax virus. These were to be shot at enemy territory which would cause a widespread outbreak of anthrax virus. It was thought that the leftover anthrax spores would die after a given amount of time and the bombed area would once again become inhabitable. This turned out to not be true, and the island turned into a biological wasteland. A treaty was signed between 143 countries in 1972 to curb the use of biological warfare. This banned all development, use, and possession of biological weapons. Banning biological weapons is the best move that could have been made in that situation. While they can be very effective, their full effects are not fully understood enough for them to be legal. Like in the case of anthrax testing during World War II, many biological weapons have the capacity to have a severe negative effect on the environment. Developing biological weapons has the potential to be very dangerous- not only to the environment but to the human population as a whole. Just a few small changes to a virus can go out of control and threaten the wellbeing of an entire area. Biological weapons are developed to be destructive, and with them comes too much uncertainty of whether or not they will be able to be contained or if their damage will spiral out of their manufacturers’