I'm not talking dollars here, but rather something much more valuable. As the United States prepares to develop new nuclear weapons we should look at the cost past development forced the nation to pay. An informative study was conducted which looked into the development cost, in terms of lives, for Cold War nuclear weapons. The conclusion, based on an insightful means of measuring, came to a dramatic conclusion. Well worth checking this out. Here is a good article putting the study in context.

What do you think the next round of development will cost America? How about the rest of humanity?