Dust in the Wind

I remember a dust storm about four years ago that came through my town.  The sky got dark, the wind was fast, and the dirt in the air stung your face and coated the breast of your coat.  The dust was horrible while it lasted, but when it passed before too long and life resumed as normal.

For my research I study the effects of all out nuclear war.  Without a doubt the most interesting aspect of my findings in the notion of a “nuclear winter”.  The sky would go dark and cold, and the particles in the air would burn flesh and poison the lungs.  It is not yet certain how long these effects would last or how severe they would be.  In time, though, it would pass.  But to what?  What manner of life would be left?  Crops would be decimated, lives lost, and buildings destroyed by the initial blast.