Chemical weapons: Dangerous, but ineffective in combat
Chemical weapons have been in the news a lot lately: The New York Times recently reported that 24 tons of Qaddafi-era mustard gas were incinerated in a joint US-Libyan undercover effort in the Libyan...
View ArticleNuclear terrorism: An old worry made new
At the Sochi Olympics, the prospect of terrorists setting off a conventional bomb laced with radioactive materials has been a real security concern and a focus of media reportage.Language English
View ArticleHistory seldom repeats itself but sometimes rhymes—with Crimea
“‘Protecting the country from Russia’ is not an inspiring mission for Ukrainian officers, most of whom are ethnic Russians ... No one knows what kind of a war Ukraine would fight. But the soldiers do...
View ArticleThe Bulletin's authoritative climate change coverage—from 1978
With one of the toughest winters on the East Coast barely over—thousands of airline flights were canceled due to a single massive storm in mid-February, and there was a 10-inch blizzard on the outer...
View ArticleThe hubris of Fukushima and Chernobyl
A new, 300-page UN report says that the Fukushima nuclear disaster is unlikely to cause radiation-related cancers on anything comparable to the scale of what followed the Chernobyl meltdown.Language...
View ArticleThe rising cost of decommissioning a nuclear power plant
“The most reliable estimate of the cost of decommissioning [a nuclear power plant] is 10-15 percent of the construction cost, contrary to some highly inflated estimates ...Language Undefined
View ArticleChernobyl’s sarcophagus, redux
On April 26, 1986, technicians at Unit 4 in Chernobyl, Ukraine, were conducting a test of their RBMK nuclear reactor when they inadvertently started a runaway reaction. Excess, superheated steam built...
View ArticleThe historic debate about Iran’s nuclear program
“A relentless drumbeat of public doubt about Iranian compliance with arms control commitments could lead to missed opportunities at a time when Iran may be heading toward reform, greater openness, and...
View ArticleThe Clean Air Act's second act
In an effort to bypass a stalemate in Congress, the Obama administration has announced a new rule that aims to cut US carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants by 30 percent over 2005...
View ArticleNo one builds bases like Americans
“The American military base in the Philippines was a frequent source of tension between the countries, who are treaty allies,” the New York Times’ Mark Landler wrote in April.“We have a long history as...
View ArticleThe money behind the Islamic State
Recent articles about the nature of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (since renamed simply the Islamic State, or ISIS) are harrowing in their description of the group's ferocity, viz.Language...
View ArticleHiroshima and Nagasaki: The many retrospectives
Sixty-nine years ago, at 8:15 in the morning on August 6, the first atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima. Three days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Estimates vary as to the number of...
View ArticleBlinding them with science: Is development of a banned laser weapon continuing?
The subject gets little publicity nowadays, but until the mid-1990s, the US Air Force openly funded research on how to destroy human eyeballs at a distance with lasers. At the time, the justification...
View ArticleEnvironmental disaster, revisited
“As the public becomes more concerned with the fundamental threat to human existence posed by the continuing degradation of the environment that sustains us, it will follow that judges, reading the...
View ArticleFlashpoint in the South China Sea
“Considerably more dangerous internationally than Hong Kong or Tibet is the problem of the South China Sea… The Seventh Fleet needs to be strengthened sufficiently to guarantee continued free passage...
View ArticleUsing naval logbooks to reconstruct past weather—and predict future climate
Pity the poor navigator who fell asleep on watch and failed to update his ship’s logbook every four hours with details about its geographic position, time, date, wind direction, barometric readings,...
View ArticleWhen the wall fell
“This is a historic day. East Germany has announced that, starting immediately, its borders are open to everyone.” So said anchorman Hanns Friedrichs on the most popular television newscast in West...
View ArticleInterview: Paul Bracken on American nuclear forces in the 21st century
Yale University professor Paul Bracken has written numerous books on strategic thinking, including The Second Nuclear Age: Strategy, Danger and the New Power Politics; Fire in the East: The Rise of...
View ArticleLooking back at US-Cuba relations
With the recent stunning, unexpected, and—in most quarters—largely welcome news that the United States will be restoring full diplomatic ties with Cuba, another Cold War flashpoint has...
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