Protecting oil companies instead of the climate-vulnerable is elitist
What’s really elitist is protecting a massively profitable industry rather than those who are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
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Washington sparks a space spat at the United Nations
Uncle Sam plays Comrade “Nyet” at the UN General Assembly, saying “no” to measures to keep the peace in outer space.
Why North Korea may use nuclear weapons first, and why current US policy toward Pyongyang is unsustainable
Because it will face an intense "use-it-or-lose-it" dilemma, North Korea will likely employ nuclear weapons early if war erupts on the Korean peninsula. At the time of attack, the allies should respond with nonnuclear arms as long as politically feasible. And ahead of any attack, the United States should deconcentrate its northeast Asian footprint, to reduce North Korean opportunities to engage in nuclear blackmail.
Another victim of the pandemic: trust in the government
The US federal response to the pandemic has been weak at best and dangerous at worst. The situation is reminiscent of what Japan experienced in the aftermath of the Fukushima accident. In both cases, the government provided information that could not be trusted. In both cases, the result has been detrimental to public health and safety and democracy.
Watch the Doomsday Clock announcement
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will host a live international news conference at 10 a.m. EST/1500 GMT on January 26, 2017, to announce whether the minute hand of the historic “Doomsday Clock” will be adjusted. The decision is made by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists‘ Science and Security Board in consultation with the … Continued
Interview with Graham Allison: Are the United States and China charging into Thucydides’s trap?
In his classic History of the Peloponnesian War, Greek historian Thucydides wrote: “It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable.” In his critically acclaimed 2017 book, Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?, eminent international security analyst Graham Allison explored this phenomenon today when, as in ancient Greece, a rising power threatens to displace a ruling one.
How Russia, China, and other governments use coronavirus disinformation to reshape geopolitics
The internet is awash in politically motivated COVID-19 disinformation. One category of pandemic lies seeks to affect the near-term, to denigrate one politician or faction. Another category is of the lies that seek to set the conditions for arguments over the long-term, to change the shape of the geopolitics.
Climate change: The national security threat
Three bipartisan groups of US military and national security experts urge the country to adopt a new approach to climate change, because it poses such a daunting array of significant risks to US national security.
What the development of penicillin tells us about developing a coronavirus vaccine
In the 1940s, the number two item on the US War Department’s wishlist was the mass production of an antibiotic like penicillin. (Number one was the atomic bomb.) What can we learn about developing a coronavirus vaccine from the penicillin experience?
Everyman Joe Biden catches COVID, just like everybody else
President Joe Biden's COVID diagnosis highlights that although COVID may be less of a threat than it was a couple years ago, the United States is still facing an immense struggle with the virus.
However the pandemic unfolds, it’s time for oil use to peak—and society to prepare for the fallout
The enormous complexities of the pandemic’s impacts on the global petroleum system make it impossible to offer definitive answers to questions about the future of oil. But under almost any scenario, one factor deserves much more attention than it has received so far: a peak in oil demand after decades of growth.
A brief field guide to the internet’s tools for repression
A short, technical rundown of some of the more common practices that governments—and big corporations, advertisers, and bad actors—use to manipulate internet access and censor, surveil, and suppress citizens.
Russian nuclear weapons, 2024
Russia is modernizing all its Soviet-era nuclear-capable systems. We estimate that Russia now possesses about 4,380 nuclear warheads.
China’s strategic arsenals in a new era
China’s military is pursuing rapid innovation across a range of emerging technologies. The result could be a shift in strategic balance across the Asia-Pacific—and beyond.
A clarifying moment in American history
Banning interpreters who served with our armed forces in Iraq from entering the United States, as part of a political attack on selected groups of Muslims. Kicking the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff out of meetings of the Principals’ Committee—the senior foreign-policy decision-making group below the president. A visit to the CIA that … Continued
The Ukraine invasion highlights why Biden’s Nuclear Posture Review should endorse bold new vision for nuclear security
As the world’s eyes focus on Russia's invasion of Ukraine in coming days, the Biden administration will likely also be rolling out key nuclear policy documents, including a Nuclear Posture Review. There will be many issues to consider, but one that shouldn’t be missed—the urgency of which has been highlighted by recent developments in Ukraine, and particularly around the Chernobyl site—is the security of nuclear materials.
2018 Doomsday Clock Statement
Overview Current Time FAQ Timeline Dashboard Multimedia Exhibit Full Statement It is now two minutes to midnight 2018 Doomsday Clock Statement Science and Security Board Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Editor, John Mecklin Statement from the President and CEO The year just past proved perilous and chaotic, a year in which many of the … Continued
Fukushima Earth
Nuclear plants and the planet are complex systems, and both can melt down due to human error.
Introduction: Advice for a new administration facing difficult times
For this issue, which publishes just ahead of the Biden inauguration, I asked top experts to offer their pinpoint-focus suggestions to the president at shorter-than-usual, memo-like length.
What it means when COVID-19 antibodies fade
There isn’t any reason to really agonize over your antibodies—at least, not yet.