Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Friday, October 7, 2016

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Friday, October 7, 2016

'We'd have to finish one new facility every working day for the next 70 years'--Why carbon capture is no panacea   Andy Skuce Carbon capture and storage, or CCS, has been touted as a way to reduce atmospheric CO2. But how realistic is it to build CCS facilities on a scale large enough to combat climate change?   When neuroscience leads to neuroweapons   Perry World House   While international law strongly proscribes the use of neuroweapons, loopholes exist. Governments should use an upcoming conference to curb the spread of arms that target the central nervous system.     South Asian dilomacy must rest on trust   Jayita Sarkar, Rabia Akhtar, Mario E. Carranza   India and Pakistan are going to have to figure out how to trust each other, which is hard to do when they’re always depending on Washington to settle their fights. Rabia Akhtar posts her second entry in our debate on reducing South Asia’s nuclear dangers. How many nuclear warheads does the United States need? Frank von Hippel Bulletin Board of Sponsors member Frank von Hippel has a single, central question about nuclear weapons that journalists and citizens should consider asking the 2016 presidential candidates. A free-access article in the September/October digital journal   The Nuclear Roundup moves to the Bulletin   Jodi Lieberman   The Roundup is an indispensable daily listing of nuclear-related news. Read it on the website or sign up to have it delivered to your inbox!   Chemical weapons in Syria: Will there be justice for a serial offender?   Amy E. Smithson   International inspectors have now put the capstone on previous reports implicating the Syrian government in gross violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention. How will the nations of the world react?   The continuing danger of Semipalatinsk   Magdalena Stawkowski   Kazakhstan’s leadership has done little to address pressing humanitarian issues at Semipalatinsk, failing to provide adequate funding for environmental clean up and adequate security for the former Soviet nuclear testing site.     Timeline: Earth's average temperature   xkcd webcomic   A history of Earth’s average temperature, from the webcomic xkcd. ‘Nuff said.     US no-first-use: The view from Asia   Ta Minh Tuan, Parris H. Chang, Raymond Jose Quilop   Barack Obama is reportedly considering a no-first-use policy for the US nuclear arsenal. Proponents of the move say it would de-escalate potential nuclear crises but, in much of Asia, the idea has thrown Washington's security guarantees into doubt. The debate continues.     What We're Reading What We’re Reading is a new blog at the Bulletin featuring short posts about articles you’ll want to see. This week we look at how hydropower, long thought of as "clean energy," emits more greenhouse gases than anyone realized, and at Russia's nuclear rhetoric: is it alarming or just ridiculous?   2016 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Annual Dinner   In Chicago in November? You still have time to reserve a place or a whole table at the Bulletin's 2016 Annual Dinner, set for Monday, November 14, at the Chicago Cultural Center. We are expecting another sold-out event, so make your reservations today!     Listen to our teleconference: Nuclear instability in Northeast Asia   A Bulletin podcast   Join Julian Borger of the Guardian, as he moderates a conversation with Suzanne DiMaggio and Mark Fitzpatrick about the implications of North Korea’s most recent nuclear test.     Command and Control In Chicago Eric Schlosser's film Command and Control, based on his 2013 book of the same title, opens today at the Gene Siskel Film Center.  After the 8 p.m. show, join the MacArthur Foundation in a special discussion with the Bulletin's Rachel Bronson and Eric Schlosser, both of whom will be in attendance.   North Korean missile tests, tensions with Russia, and our own expensive plans to modernize the US nuclear arsenal have escalated public concern about nuclear security.   The consequences of climate change threaten people, crops, and domestic stability--yet through it all the Bulletin steadily focuses on facts, reasoned arguments, and viable solutions. To keep it up, we need your support. Every dollar sustains a growing network--and we are counting on your engagement and support. Please give today.   About the Bulletin   For more than 70 years the Bulletin has engaged science leaders, policy makers, and the interested public on topics of nuclear weapons and disarmament, the changing energy landscape, climate change, and emerging technologies.