What the EPA’s Clean Power Plan means for nuclear energy
The final version of the Clean Power Plan doesn’t deliver what the US nuclear energy industry really needs: massive subsidy and protection from competition.
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Sudan’s conflict escalates, endangering millions
By | With war crimes rampant throughout the country and little hope for a resolution in sight, the two warlords that have been fighting for national control of Sudan since April show no signs of stopping. Sudan is already one of the most vulnerable and least prepared nations in the world to respond to the … Continued
Aceptemos la realidad: un enfoque pragmático sobre Pyongyang
Ahora que Corea del Norte llevó a cabo su cuarto ensayo nuclear en enero, la península coreana parece estar más lejos que nunca de la desnuclearización. Dada esta realidad, ¿cuál es la forma más eficaz de abordar el problema nuclear? Los obstáculos para los avances son enormes. Las inclinaciones de Pyongyang son sumamente realistas, y … Continued
We must take responsibility for the entire nuclear fuel cycle
Nuclear energy is very exciting: It’s going to solve the energy crisis, end U.S. reliance on oil and the rogue states that sell it, and help developing nations meet their doubling energy demands. This is all possible, we’re told, because the U.S. Energy Department, industry, and the national laboratories will develop new technologies, new policies, … Continued
Don’t judge the nuclear industry or NRC by standards and incidents from 30 years ago
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is facing a significant challenge as it seeks to fulfill its responsibilities to ensure the safe and secure use of commercial nuclear technology. For the first time in decades, the NRC will soon conduct the licensing review of several new applications to build and operate nuclear power plants, as well … Continued
GNEP’s true success–restarting the nuclear power debate
A valid criticism of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), at least as it was originally conceived, is that it focused too much on preferred technologies, without first obtaining an international or domestic consensus on the basis for their selection. Miles Pomper made an invaluable contribution to this discussion when he advised that we “focus … Continued
Beyond our imagination: Fukushima and the problem of assessing risk
The risk-assessment method that engineers currently use to predict the probability of a severe nuclear accident is unreliable and creates a false sense of security.
What would happen if a military group took over Russia’s nuclear arsenal?
Experts explain how the Wagner Group could have taken control of some Russian nuclear weapons and caused strategic instability.
H5N1: Bungling dual-use governance
Recent months have seen an increasingly confusing debate about new research on the adaptability and transmissibility of avian influenza A/H5N1, which was undertaken by groups in the Netherlands and the United States. Both studies were funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), and research results were sent for publication to Science and Nature, respectively.
Nuclear Notebook: How many nuclear weapons does the United Kingdom have in 2021?
Of all the nuclear weapon states, the United Kingdom has moved the furthest toward establishing a minimum nuclear deterrent. The United Kingdom has a stockpile of approximately 225 nuclear warheads, of which up to 120 are operationally available for deployment on four Vanguard-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). This estimate is based on publicly available … Continued
Las lecciones de 1945 que no aprendimos
En mayo de 1945, un comité integrado por oficiales militares, físicos y matemáticos, incluyendo figuras destacadas como Robert Oppenheimer, John von Neumann y Norman Ramsey, se reunió para hablar sobre los posibles blancos en Japón para la bomba. Los registros del comité revelan las motivaciones y actitudes de estos influyentes consejeros. Recomendaron que "el uso … Continued
Looking back at US-Cuba relations
Reflecting on a US-Cuba relationship of such enduring tension that Bulletin authors felt compelled to revisit it repeatedly through the decades
Incentivos insuficientes para mejorar la seguridad
Ahora que Siria ha adherido a la Convención sobre Armas Químicas y el arsenal químico de Bashar al-Assad se está destruyendo, es el pueblo sirio el que se beneficiará, pues es este el que descaradamente ha sido objeto de ataques con armas químicas por parte de su propio liderazgo político. Del mismo modo, la población … Continued
El problema va más allá de la tecnología
Los seres humanos tienen la capacidad excepcional de desarrollar tecnología que lleva a la conversión de energía. Cuando los cazadores-recolectores adoptaron la agricultura, aumentaron gradualmente su consumo de energía, que llegó a multiplicarse por 1000, a través de desarrollos tecnológicos, como la domesticación de animales de tiro y el uso del fuego para limpiar la … Continued
China, el actor nuclear con cada vez mayor responsabilidad
El espectacular crecimiento económico de China de las últimas tres décadas junto con el creciente estatus internacional del país han generado grandes expectativas sobre la contribución que Pekín puede hacer a los programas globales y regionales para el desarme y la no proliferación nucleares. En algunos momentos estas grandes expectativas han causado insatisfacción con la … Continued
Old hatreds fuel online misinformation about COVID-19 in South Asia
From old videos repurposed to make it seem Muslims were spreading COVID-19 in India to the assertions of Pakistani clerics that Muslims were immune to coronavirus infection, coronavirus misinformation was easily incorporated into old animosities in South Asia.
Florence and the 5 stages of climate change acceptance
Now that we’ve gotten through Hurricane Florence, Americans should be completely up to speed when it comes to dealing with disasters that have been amplified by anthropogenic climate change, right?
Not so fast.
Nerds, ninjas, and neutrons: The story of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team
Recently declassified material and other information that has never before appeared in the public domain allow a glimpse into the workings of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team —often one of the first agencies to respond whenever there is an incident involving a nuclear weapon or a nuclear reactor.
High camp and soft power: How Eurovision explains modern Europe—and more
By | On May 9, the first semi-final of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) will be broadcast from Liverpool in the United Kingdom. It is one of the largest non-sporting broadcast events in the world, with more than 160 million viewers expected to tune in. While some less familiar viewers may be tempted to … Continued
The rising cost of decommissioning a nuclear power plant
Even without ongoing monitoring and security costs, the average reactor now costs about $500 million to deactivate.