Steven Weinberg Quotes

In the past, scientists could disclaim direct responsibility for the use to which mankind had put their disinterested discoveries. We cannot take the same attitude now because the success which we have achieved in the development of nuclear power is fraught with infinitely greater dangers than were all the inventions of the past.

Nuclear arms and atomic power represent a technology in which coexistence with man is extremely difficult.

Now that the threat against which we need nuclear weapons is no longer clear, all that is clear is the threat of the nuclear weapons themselves—to the environment and the human race.

The whole nuclear thing is a terrible mess and it's hard for me to understand why it is that we, the United States, seem to be the only ones that are really particularly concerned about it and prepared to do something.

I wouldn't call myself anti-nuclear.

The risk of just one terrorist with just one nuclear weapon is a risk we simply cannot afford to take.

The real abhorrent consequence of the invention of atomic bombs is the fact that we still have them and they're spreading.

Nuclear weapons continue to occupy a unique place in global security affairs. No other weapons, in my opinion, anyway, match their potential for prompt and long-term damage and their strategic impact.

The Atomic Age is here to stay - but are we?

Every dollar spent on nuclear is one less dollar spent on clean renewable energy and one more dollar spent on making the world a comparatively dirtier and a more dangerous place, because nuclear power and nuclear weapons go hand in hand.

In terms of weapons, the best disarmament tool so far is nuclear energy. We have been taking down the Russian warheads, turning it into electricity. 10 percent of American electricity comes from decommissioned warheads.

'Nuclear' is nothing but trouble. Do you say 'new-clear' or do you say 'nuke-you-ler'? Whoever invented that word had obviously never studied the human mouth. We don't have enough muscles in our face to make that group of letters come out smoothly. The word is missing a middle syllable, for cryin' out loud.

The only reason to treat nuclear power differently from all the other developments in the field of physics is its staggering possibilities as a means of political pressure in peace and sudden destruction in war.

You might ask me why do I have nuclear powered ships. That is a necessary evil. I would sink them all (if they were not absolutely necessary).

No nuclear weapon has detonated. Some nuclear weapons have exploded and spread radioactive plutonium…. The nuclear weapons of today are much safer than those of the 1980s. I worry about the way they are managed however.

I have no hope that a nuclear disaster can be avoided.

The human and environmental devastation caused by nuclear weapons - whether by testing, mistake or malice - is the very reason we need to eliminate them altogether.

Our nuclear scientists and engineers have done a splendid job, and naturally, the entire nation has risen to salute their professional excellence, discipline, and patriotism. They have had the benefit of having been led in the past by great men like Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai.

Our immediate striving must be aimed at preventing what, in the present situation, is the greatest threat to the very survival of mankind, the nuclear threat.

The biggest problem that the world has is nuclear weapons. Global warming is not our big problem. Our big problem is the maniacs that are controlling weaponry that has never been like it is today.

Nuclear is the single greatest threat.

There are nine countries in the world that have nuclear weapons. There are about 27,000 nuclear weapons total on the planet. The countries that have nuclear weapons deploy them ready for use and have doctrines saying that they would use them in certain circumstances.

It is not viable for one country to demand a right to increase and upgrade its nuclear weapons capabilities while asking others to eliminate theirs.

Satellite images suggest North Korea is building a light-water reactor and working on uranium enrichment. This is troubling.

What are the implications of a China that may be on nuclear parity with the United States?