Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, October 23, 2023
Posted: 23rd October 2023
The US Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District announces the new timeline for the saltwater intrusion at a press conference on October 5, 2023. (Team New Orleans, US Army Corps of Engineers/Flickr)
CLIMATE CHANGE
The saltwater wedge may spare New Orleans, but it’s still a crisis
Saltwater that was advancing up the Mississippi River has stalled, staving off a drinking water crisis for the time being, writes Bulletin climate editor Jessica McKenzie. “Even if the city is spared—this year at least—it has revealed some crucial vulnerabilities in the region.” Read more.
NUCLEAR RISK
Oppenheimer envisioned the tactical use of nuclear weapons. Putin now threatens it
Worries about Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons to alter the course of the war in Ukraine are linked to Oppenheimer’s promotion of what became known as “nuclear plenty,” argues historian and political scientist Matthew Evangelista. Read more.
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CLIMATE CHANGE
Experts fear drought and wildfires will push Amazon to irreversible tipping point
An unusually dry season, worsened by an El Niño and human-driven global heating, has threatened the Amazonian capital of Manaus, the wellbeing of its residents and the survival prospects for the entire Amazon basin, reports Guardian’s global environment editor Jonathan Watts. Read more.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Using three models that track positive feedbacks, we project that solar PV will dominate the global energy mix by the middle of this century.”
— Femke Nijsse from the University of Exeter, “Solar energy set to eclipse fossil fuels as world passes ‘tipping point’, study reveals,” Independent
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