There are 5113 nuclear weapons in the US right now, Mother Jones reports. That’s enough to destroy the entire planet many, many, many, many times over. And then there are the country’s ageing nuclear plants.
This terrific map by MoJo shows how littered the US is with nuclear stuff — active weapons ready to be tossed should the whole “Soviet Union collapsing” thing turn out to be a mistake, dormant weapons awaiting disposal and active nuclear reactors. Although most of the weapons are locked away inside the country’s interior, tucked into sleepy silos, there’s plenty out there — and maybe closer than you think.
What can you do about it? Nothing. Should you care? Probably — the US has a superabundance of warheads it doesn’t need and a nuclear power grid we have reason to be cautious about. And none of it’s going anywhere. [Mother Jones]