Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, October 30, 2023
Posted: 30th October 2023
Edited by Erik English, under license via Casoalfonso / Adobe.
DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
Why you should prepare for the zombie apocalypse
Despite their unlikelihood, zombie threats can be more than just a fictional device, writes Bulletin multimedia editor Erik English. They can serve as a useful metaphor for the challenges that could arise in a future catastrophe—be it a pandemic or a horde of reanimated corpses feasting on the living. Read more.
NUCLEAR RISK
US fixation on increased nuclear capability won’t deter China but could lead to instability and nuclear war
If the US continues to aggressively pursue nuclear capability increases, it may end up on the wrong side of the stability-instability paradox, risking escalation to nuclear war, writes Andrew Facini, a senior fellow at the Janne Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons at the Council on Strategic Risks. Read more.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Otis teaches a terrifying lesson in rapid hurricane intensification
For a region of Mexico that has never experienced anything stronger than a category 1 hurricane, getting hit by a cat-5 with little to no warning has led to severe consequences. This is a scary new pattern in the tropics, says meteorologist John Morales. “And we all need to worry.” Read more.
Register now to join a Q&A with Christopher Nolan, director of Oppenheimer
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IN THE NEWS
As extremists dial up fear, Doomsday Clock ticks closer to midnight
Preoccupied with the world’s problems, we often miss something very worrisome, writes columnist Donald Morrison in The Berkshire Eagle. “People in authority sometimes use fear—and its byproduct, hate—to divide and manipulate us.” Read more.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I hope this book is a way to allow folks [...] to feel it’s possible to hold both the urgency and the stakes of this crisis, with also an insistence on solutions that won’t stop short of building a world that is more just and liberated and abundant for all.”
— Author Kylie Flanagan, “Meet the author of ‘Climate Resilience: How We Keep Each Other Safe, Care for Our Communities, and Fight Back Against Climate Change’ ,” Yale Climate Connections
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