What were the effects of biological weapons?

Bioweapons, Biodiversity, and Ecocide: Potential Effects of Biological Weapons on Biological Diversity: Bioweapon disease outbreaks could cause the extinction of endangered wildlife species, the erosion of genetic diversity in domesticated plants and animals, the destruction of traditional human livelihoods, and the …

Is biological weapon effective?

Like some chemical weapons, biological weapons may also be useful as area denial weapons. These agents may be lethal or non-lethal, and may be targeted against a single individual, a group of people, or even an entire population.

What is bad about biological warfare?

In effect, biological warfare is using non-human life to disrupt — or end — human life. Because living organisms can be unpredictable and incredibly resilient, biological weapons are difficult to control, potentially devastating on a global scale, and prohibited globally under numerous treaties.

What are the effects of weapons of mass destruction?

Its immediate effect would be the catastrophic destruction of lives and cities, and debilitation, illness and deaths from radiation, but another concern is the risk that the dust released from nuclear explosions could plunge the planet into a mini ice-age, with dramatic ecological consequences, severe agricultural …

How do weapons affect the environment?

The use of explosive weapons in urban areas creates vast quantities of debris and rubble, which can cause air and soil pollution. Pollution can also be caused by damage to light industry and environmentally sensitive infrastructure such as water treatment plants.

What are the health effects of biological weapons?

The health impact of a biological attack depends critically on: Biological weapons can be directed against crops and livestock, in addition to humans. The CDC separates potential bioterrorism agents that cause infections in humans into three categories, designated as A, B, and C [source: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/Agent/agentlist.asp, accessed 4/7/03].

Are there any biological weapons in the world?

Biological weapons are a subset of a larger class of weapons referred to as weapons of mass destruction (WMD), which also includes chemical, nuclear, and radiological weapons.

How are weapons of mass destruction affecting the environment?

The ecological effects of each are described. Geophysical and environmental weapons are covered more briefly; fire and rain-making are taken as examples. The book concludes that it is an urgent necessity to reach a universal accord on a comprehensive ban on the use or possession of weapons of mass destruction.

Is the term ” weapons of mass destruction ” misleading?

The term “ Weapons of Mass Destruction ” (WMD), used to encompass nuclear (NW), biological (BW), and chemical weapons (CW), is misleading, politically dangerous, and cannot be justified on grounds of military efficiency. This had been pointed out previously by the author [1] and discussed in considerable detail in ref. [2].