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Making the best of Europe’s dwindling options

As two parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—the United States and Iran—are now openly and willfully violating the nuclear accord, it is becoming more difficult by the day for Europeans to pursue their policy of preserving the JCPOA.

How to counter alternative “facts”

A new psychological study shows a way to stop the spread of misinformation, on climate change or anything else.

Climate Change: If we pretend it isn’t happening, will it go away?

The US House of Representatives tries to defund scientific research on climate change so the government can't learn what some House Republicans don't want to believe.

Question for the candidates: Do you agree with other world leaders that the use of—or threat to use—nuclear weapons is “inadmissible”?

Daryl Kimball, director of the Arms Control Association, suggests four questions about the use of nuclear weapons, US-Russia arms control, and Iran that journalists and citizens should ask the 2024 presidential candidates.
Graphic for Get Inside, Stay Inside, Stay Tuned

This is not a drill: Lessons from the false Hawaiian missile alert

Modern eyes can see problems with the upbeat “Duck and Cover” civil defense materials from the 1950s. But how should you stay safe in the event of a nuclear explosion today? If you don’t know, you’re not the only one, finds a new study.

After midnight: The July/August issue is available!

Over the decades since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the worldwide taboo against the use of nuclear weapons drove agreements such as SALT, START and the INF Treaty. Over the last year, however, the taboo seems to be weakening: North Korea continues to test nuclear weapons, Russia is apparently re-thinking its commitment to the INF … Continued

Iran’s missile tests: What exactly did they use, and what does it mean?

A review of the possible types of missiles that Iran launched in January 2017.

Brian Schmidt: Climate change is a real, existential threat that should be dealt with immediately

The behind-the-scenes story of the appeal for action on climate change, issued by 71 Nobel Prize-winners.

France wants to extend its nuclear umbrella to Europe. But is Macron ready to trade Paris for Helsinki?

Before France can extend its nuclear umbrella to the rest of the Union, Macron first needs to answer some critical questions.
anti-war signs on Russian Embassy in London

Building a nuclear off-ramp following the war in Ukraine

In the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, European security architecture must be rebuilt. This requires improving political relations between Russia and an expanded NATO, establishing stable military-to-military relations at reduced force levels ,and reliably reducing the threat of nuclear war.
The windenergy park "Schneebergerhof" in Germany (Rhineland-Palatinate), with thin film solar cells in the forground. Photo credit: Armin Kübelbeck, CC-BY-SA, Wikimedia Commons

In Germany, the energy transition continues

in the equivalent of a come-from-behind goal just before the final whistle, it looks like Germany did reach its carbon dioxide emissions target. According to a new analysis by the German energy think tank Agora Energiewende, it cut overall emissions by 42 percent from 1990 levels.
industrial landscape, smoke, high tension wires

“We’re Number… 24.” US near back of pack among developed nations on environment

A new analysis by researchers at Yale and Columbia universities shows the US lags far behind other industrialized countries in a range of categories.
Collage of Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos

Is the reign of tech titans coming to an end?

Are tech titans more powerful than ever before and holding nation-states subservient to their whims? Or is their influence exaggerated?
Artist's concept shows future ICBM blasting into sky

Rethinking the US strategic triad: When it comes to nuclear platforms, how many are enough?

Current modernization plans for the US strategic nuclear triad may not have sufficiently considered the range of available options made possible by new technology, or adequately considered whether a more streamlined and less expensive force structure would suffice for deterrence.
Playing downwind of the Trinity test site on the day of the explosion, July 16, 1945

Collateral damage: American civilian survivors of the 1945 Trinity test

The Trinity test site was chosen, in part, for its supposed remove from human inhabitation. Yet nearly half-a-million people were living within a 150-mile radius of the explosion, with some as close as 12 miles away. None were warned or evacuated by the US government ahead of time.

To reassure Taiwan and deter China, the US should learn from history

The intricate history between the US and Taiwan suggests that a new and effective US policy toward Taiwan needs to include both credible military deterrence of China and clear reassurances for Taiwan.
Then-US President Barack Obama and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issue a joint statement announcing their pursuit of a New START treaty in London in April 2009. (White House photo by Pete Souza.)

Reviving arms control, post-Ukraine: Why New START still matters

Any post-war attempt to revive arms control will face four major challenges: the rise of China as a major nuclear power; new technology, including hypersonic missiles and drone swarms; US military budgetary constraints; and the possibility of increased nuclear proliferation. The new challenges will require new approaches, including, at the least, including China in any efforts to further extend New START limits on strategic nuclear weapons.

Bulletin experts in the news on North Korea

As the security situation ratcheted up on the Korean Peninsula over the last week, the  Bulletin’s staff, leadership, and columnists quickly jumped into action, providing a trusted source of information to help track and make sense of unfolding events. Here is a summary of what we’ve been up to, in case you missed it: Los … Continued

Best of 2018: New voices on nuclear weapons, climate change, and more

Young people had something to say in 2018. On the issue of school shootings and gun control, for example, Americans heard the voices of student activists like Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. On climate change, 21 young Americans continued in their legal quest to hold the … Continued
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice.

Another state tries to weaken school vaccine rules

Anti-vaccine arguments have gained traction in legislatures across the United States. The governor of West Virginia recently had to veto a measure that would have allowed private and parochial schools to set their own requirements.