Kill the Bomb, Power the World
How Nuclear Energy Can Unlock a Future Beyond War
Nuclear weapons are the ultimate symbol of existential destruction. The mushroom cloud, burned into our collective memory 80 years ago, continues to cast an immovable shadow over discussions about our future. Though the scars of Hiroshima and the Cold War have faded for younger generations, the threat looms large today in the open conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, sowing seeds of nihilism across humanity’s collective efforts toward coexistence and sustainable development. Nuclear technology, long synonymous with devastation, remains a taboo across generations.
What if this same technology could be sanctified as a force for peace and prosperity? What if, instead of destruction, the goodness of nuclear fission could eclipse the paradim of nuclear weapons once and for all?
The idea of using nuclear energy for peace is not new. The United Nations has long held that the peaceful expansion of nuclear energy, under strict regulation, can play a key role in combatting the spread of nuclear weapons. This vision was formalized through the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), signed in 1968. The NPT is one of the most widely accepted treaties in history, now with over 190 nations participating. It rests on three pillars: non-proliferation, disarmament, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The premise is intuitive: by expanding access to peaceful nuclear energy, nations will have less incentive to seek nuclear weapons.
Historically, beneath social dynamics, wars have been driven by competition for strategic resources—whether oil, land, or water. Nuclear energy, however, offers a transformative solution: abundant, low-cost energy for all. Beyond electricity, it can power industrial processes, provide heat for ocean desalination, fuel advanced medical technologies, and serve as hydrogen feedstock for recycled materials and synthetic fuels. With the rise of advanced nuclear technologies, we can ensure that every nation has access to these vital resources, creating overlapping markets that drive economic growth while reducing our impact on the planet. This irresistible potential could shift our consciousness away from a symbol of conflict toward a global future built on peace and shared prosperity.
We know this approach works. From 1993 to 2013, the United States and Russia implemented the Megatons to Megawatts program, a groundbreaking agreement that took highly enriched uranium (HEU) from dismantled Soviet-era nuclear warheads and downblended it into low-enriched uranium (LEU) for civilian nuclear power plants. Over the span of two decades, more than 20,000 nuclear warheads were decommissioned and their weapons-grade material was repurposed for peaceful use. This nuclear fuel was then used to generate approximately 10% of America’s electricity for 20 years—powering homes, industries, and cities across the U.S. while simultaneously reducing the global nuclear weapons stockpile.
The tremendous success of the Megatons to Megawatts program was rooted in the Acheson-Lilienthal Plan of 1946, developed just after World War II by a group of experts led by Dean Acheson, Undersecretary of State, and David E. Lilienthal, chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority. The plan, which included significant contributions from J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientific director of the Manhattan Project, argued that nuclear energy should be globally shared under strict international controls, ensuring that no nation could divert nuclear technology for military purposes. The committee proposed that atomic energy be placed under an international authority, balancing civilian nuclear power development with robust safeguards against nuclear weapons proliferation.
In 1953, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his famous Atoms for Peace speech to the United Nations General Assembly. Eisenhower’s vision was clear: the same nuclear technology that posed such a grave threat could be harnessed for good. He proposed that nations come together to share the peaceful applications of nuclear energy for development and progress. This speech laid the groundwork for global nuclear cooperation and led to the formation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which continues to regulate nuclear safety and proliferation risks today. Eisenhower recognized that sharing the benefits of nuclear energy would create a global cooperative framework of science and technology, diverting us from spiraling into arms races.
“So my country's purpose is to help us move out of the dark chamber of horrors into the light, to find a way by which the minds of men, the hopes of men, the souls of men everywhere, can move forward toward peace and happiness and well-being”
—President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Atoms for Peace, 1953
However, as the Cold War escalated, the peaceful expansion of nuclear technology was outpaced by geopolitical tensions. Instead of becoming a tool for development, nuclear technology was locked in an arms race. Yet, the frameworks proposed by the Acheson-Lilienthal Plan and Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace still serve as waypoints. They reveal that international cooperation in nuclear energy can lead to both energy sovereignty and a reduction in the incentives for war.
Fast forward to the present. At COP28 this year, 25 countries boldly signed a pledge to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050. Just last month, at Climate Week NYC, 14 of the world’s largest banks committed to financing a global buildout of reactors to achieve this monumental industrial ambition. Leaning on the strong foundations of global oversight frameworks established by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the world’s leaders can cooperate in good faith, ensuring that nuclear energy is developed responsibly and securely. As President Eisenhower famously concluded in front of the UN General Assembly, “The miraculous inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his death, but consecrated to his life.”
Amid the tectonic collision of climate change and global unrest, nuclear energy has emerged as aa sanctuary of rationalism, stability, optimism and mutual respect. As the latest Liftoff Report emphasizes, nuclear energy delivers the reliable, round-the-clock power essential to sustaining modern grids. This is why global leaders are increasingly turning to nuclear energy, not only as a critical tool for decarbonization but also as a pathway to peace. By fostering international cooperation in nuclear development, nations can reduce dependence on fossil fuels while expanding energy resources to combat poverty and curtail the unsustainable extraction of our planet’s finite resources. Nuclear energy offers the promise of a future where progress, prosperity, and peace are inextricably linked.
In our pursuit of a sustainable future, a new and compelling conclusion has emerged in favor of nuclear energy. The road to lasting peace is not just about disarmament; it’s about guaranteeing that every nation has access to the energy it needs to support its people, free from the pressures that drive conflict. Nuclear energy is the key we must collectively turn to unlock a world beyond war. This new paradigm, where energy is abundant, clean, and a force for peace, is within reach in our lifetimes. It begins by reorienting our efforts toward a future built on a global cooperative framework of science and technology.
“The United States knows that peaceful power from atomic energy is no dream of the future. That capability, already proved, is here - now - today.”
—President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Atoms for Peace, 1953
Thank you for this informative article, Ryan. The principles in your article inform my advocacy for nuclear power. The foundation is the fact that nuclear power plants built for civilian power production are constructed so the fuel remains in the reactor for 18 months or more. The well-irradiated fuel is rendered impractical for weapons use. OTOH, weapons productions reactors expose Uranium-238 for only brief periods and quickly remove it. This requires a different construction.
Interesting, I always had a different interpretation of the NPT. For me it is a very simple deal: We don´t want the bomb to proliferate so in exchange for you giving up your sovereign right to develop it we will give you access to our civil nuclear technology. The reason why basically everyone took that deal is that at the time everyone knew that nuclear power would be taking over the world and be so cheap that you cant afford not to have it.