Expert opinions of 2013

The Bulletin’s columnists are expert in a range of disciplines, and they approach the puzzle of column writing with different strategies. Their writing and thinking styles vary, and they are often months and even years ahead in introducing the general public to looming danger. To rank their offerings would be a truly subjective exercise. 

Below are five columns from the last year that Bulletin columns editor Elisabeth Eaves and I think definitely worth a read, or, for Bulletin regulars, a re-read. Here is where you can encounter more of the insight our columnists produce so regularly.

• Not all secrets are alike by Hugh Gusterson. Why there will be more Bradley Mannings and Edward Snowdens.

• How big is your carbon debt? By Dawn Stover. If you’re thinking about energy savings only from the moment you buy a machine, you’re missing half the picture. 

• Zombie lessons by Laura H. Kahn. Watching the spread of a deadly pandemic like the one in World War Z can promote better public health.

• Pandora’s false promise by Kennette Benedict. A documentary film that cheers for nuclear energy is simplistic and misleading.

• The chemical weapons of Syria by Charles P. Blair. A multimedia presentation on the five chemical weapons that Syria has been accused of using, two of which are non-lethal and one of which, technically speaking, is not a chemical weapon.