The winter-safe deterrence debate, biological weapons, effects of a nuclear detonation above Manhattan, and more

 

 

Friday, March 20, 2015

 

 

Dear Readers: Seth Baum's suggestion that non-contagious bioweapons could replace nuclear weapons as a deterrent and help to avoid a global nuclear winter generated considerable debate. We've started a roundtable to hear various viewpoints. In this issue, Gregory D. Koblentz and Gigi Kwik Gronvall share their opinions on winter-safe deterrence. The sobering aftermath of a nuclear warhead detonation over Manhattan, outlined in a multimedia presentation that we posted three weeks ago, continues to attract strong traffic to the website, as does the interactive Nuclear Notebook. We will release a new interactive feature next week that shows some of the considerations that drive the Doomsday Clock decisions--so stay tuned.   As always, I welcome your feedback.   John Mecklin, Editor

GREGORY D. KOBLENTZ The myth of biological weapons as the poor man’s atomic bomb Although biological and nuclear weapons are both considered weapons of mass destruction, biological weapons differ from nuclear weapons in three important ways that undermine the utility of biological weapons for deterrence: uncertainty of effects, availability of defenses, and the need for secrecy and surprise.   GIGI KWIK GRONVALL The biological weapons ban increases US security Biological weapons development is within the technical capability of most countries, so a revocation of the bioweapons ban could lead to a rapid proliferation of highly dangerous weapons.   SETH BAUM Deterrence, without nuclear winter The biggest danger posed by today’s large nuclear arsenals is nuclear winter.

Voices of Tomorrow and the Leonard M. Rieser Award

In its Voices of Tomorrow feature, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists invites graduate students, undergraduates, and high school scholars to submit essays, opinion pieces, and multimedia presentations addressing at least one of the Bulletin's core issues: nuclear weapons, nuclear energy, climate change, biosecurity, and threats from emerging technologies.

 

Editors will select one Voices of Tomorrow feature each year as winner of the Leonard M. Rieser Award; the author will receive a $1,000 check plus travel and accommodation expenses to attend the Bulletin’s subsequent Doomsday Clock symposium and dinner.