Special Topics | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Solutions for Copenhagen

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:15:50 -0800

As the climate change meetings kick off in Copenhagen today, many skeptics suggest little progress can be made in the next two weeks. This isn't for lack of solutions. In fact, for months, Bulletin authors have been proposing ways in which to build and support international strategies toward slowing climate change. Are the world's politicians and diplomats listening?

Semipalatinsk: 60 years later

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:32:25 -0700

Between 1949 and 1989, the Soviet Union conducted 456 nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in what is today Kazakhstan. It did so with little regard for the local population's safety or health. Sixty years have gone by since the first test, but for the Kazakh people, the Soviet testing program still presents a complicated legacy.

European missile defense reversed

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:37:35 -0700

It's official. The Obama administration announced today that the contentious Bush-era missile defense system proposed for Eastern Europe is no more. Russia welcomed the news; Poland and the Czech Republic were dismayed. But it's clear that administration officials agree with what Bulletin experts have said all along--the plan was rife with technical and political problems.

The evolution of ElBaradei

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:09:26 -0700

Expected to be a conventional bureaucrat when he took office, Mohamed ElBaradei led the International Atomic Energy Agency through 12 years of tumult and set an ambitious course for the agency that some worry can never be realized. In a one-on-one interview and in interviews with those close to him, the Bulletin takes a look at the ElBaradei era and beyond.

The North Korean nuclear test

Wed, 27 May 2009 10:40:56 -0700

Once again, North Korea has managed to capture the world's attention with its nuclear weapons program--this time by conducting its second nuclear test. Not surprisingly, the action drew scorn from Pyongyang's allies (e.g., China) and adversaries (e.g., the United States) alike. A technical and political look at Monday's test.

The legacy of Iraq's nuclear weapons program

Tue, 19 May 2009 10:52:54 -0700

Saddam's nuclear weapons program is destroyed, but its impact on Iraq and its people persists. For years independent experts and international monitors tried to piece together the facts. Now a new report by a U.S.-led research team offers the most complete accounting to date of the condition of Al Tuwaitha, the country's largest former nuclear weapons site.

Inside the Iranian nuclear program

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:36:18 -0700

Using the occasion of his country's "Nuclear Technology Day," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced two breakthroughs in Tehran's nuclear program. Iran is getting closer to its stated goal of a peaceful nuclear energy program--or according to its doubters, a nuclear weapon. An examination of Iran's quest to master the atom.

North Korea's satellite launch

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:02:17 -0700

Pyongyang claims its imminent satellite launch is benign. Other governments are less sanguine, accusing North Korea of preparing for a long-range ballistic missile test. We've been here before. A brief history of the secretive regime's missile and nuclear weapons programs.

Thirty years after TMI

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:07:47 -0700

Three decades have passed since the morning of March 28, 1979, when the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history took place at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. Those harrowing days are long gone, yet renewed interest in nuclear energy makes the lessons learned from the accident as relevant as ever.

Advice for the new president

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:29:04 -0800

After taking the oath of office this morning, President Barack Obama immediately will face a host of pressing national security challenges--namely, nuclear proliferation, climate change, and bioterrorism. Here are some salient suggestions as to how he can thoughtfully and carefully ameliorate these threats.