Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists December 12th 2022
Posted: 12th December 2022
Dec. 12, 2022
Many Americans are invested in corrosive lies and conspiratorial thinking that undermines democracy, ushering in an era of civic confusion, chaos, and coercion, says Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Alan C. Miller. Read more.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Americans want climate change taught in schools. Political parties aren’t so surePolitical party platforms can indirectly impact whether public school students learn about climate change’s causes and consequences, writes Glenn Branch, deputy director of the National Center for Science Education. Read more.
NUCLEAR RISK
If Finland joins NATO, it needs a new nuclear weapons policyFinland must engage head-on in a policy debate about nuclear weapons to avoid a political backlash at home after it joins NATO, write three experts. Read more.
What’s next for Russia: Does Putin Matter?
Tomorrow, join Ukraine expert Melinda Haring and psychoanalyst Charles Strozier in conversation with Professor Daniel Drezner for a Bulletin virtual program focused on discussing what the Russian political landscape might look like in a post-Putin world.
NUCLEAR RISK
Why a new convention to protect nuclear installations in war is a bad ideaDespite the risks posed by Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian nuclear facilities, there is no need for a new legal framework to address their protection during wartime, argue two international law experts. Read more.
CLIMATE CHANGE
The world just got serious about dealing with climate damage“Loss and damage” was the underdog at COP27. It ended up being the summit’s crowning achievement, argues climate expert Taylor Dimsdale. Read more.
SPONSORED
Open position: The William P. and Hazel B. White Center Professor of the Ethics of New Weapons TechnologyThe Notre Dame Department of Political Science, the Notre Dame International Security Center, and the ND Technology Ethics Center are searching for a senior scholar who combines substantive knowledge of, and continuing interest in, the development and empirical and theoretical analysis of militarily relevant technologies (broadly defined) with a deep knowledge of the ethical dimensions (broadly construed) of technology, war, and statecraft. Learn more and apply here.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Twenty years ago, culling for avian flu was acceptable because it was rare and it made sense to cull birds because you also stopped the virus. Now we have the disease in wild birds so you can cull, but that’s not going to help stop the spread of the virus.”
— Arjan Stegeman, professor of veterinary medicine and epidemiologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, “Avian flu has led to the killing of 140m farmed birds since last October,” The Guardian
Read the Bulletin’s recent feature on Avian Flu here.
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