Bombs Away:

The Path to the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons

Miranda Kennedy Senior Division Individual Web Site

Process Paper

The topic of alternative energy sources have always captured my attention since I participated in an energy scholar program at the Alexander Dawson School over the summers of 2012 and 2013, and this past year, my dad, who works at the Nevada Test Site, was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, which was caused by wild land fire smoke and burning debris and bushes in contaminated areas. I was so stunned when I learned the effects that nuclear technology had on the environment and its people, that I decided it was the best fit for my topic for this years NHD theme Rights and Responsibilities. I then narrowed my topic down to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The summer program introduced me to the down sides of having the capability to use nuclear technology. My dad works at the Nevada Test Site as a firefighter, so he has had first hand experience with the nuclear work that has been done at the Site. My research led me to various primary documents, such as speeches made during the time the Treaty was signed. These documents included speeches created by political figures of high stature and several treaties complying with the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, such as the Limited Test Ban Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. I found the actual text of the Treaties. I also went to the University of Las Vegas library and the National Atomic Testing Museum, which allowed me to access both primary and secondary sources. At the Museum I met with and interviewed experts on the nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site, and I also email interviewed experts on nonproliferation from the universities UNLV and Stanford, along with experts from the Federation of American Scientists. I also went onto the White House website and emailed and received a response from the current president, Barack Obama, with his viewpoint. I chose the website format because I felt like it was the best type of media to portray my topic. Photographs are an important aspect of the website I created. They allowed me to emphasize my topic in a shocking manner, which makes it easier for the viewer to digest the content. Having experience with code, I was able to implant iframes of the Nonproliferation Treaty and the Signatories and Parties of the Treaty to reveal the actual text. To make my website easy to use, I used buttons and basic, clean formatting so the reader would be able to absorb the content without the hassle of technology. My topic relates to the NHD theme, Rights and Responsibilities, because the Treaty allows its signatories certain rights to peaceful uses of nuclear technologies, but also makes them responsible for preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. I believe that this Treaty is crucial to controlling the worlds safety, and the fact that the world is more trustful with this Treaty because of the rights and responsibilities entailed shows that it would not be as safe without it. (Word count: 497)