Iran’s dangerous uranium gambit

Extreme weather | Nuclear secrecy | Hot vax summer

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July 15, 2021

Badwater Basin in Death Valley, California. In the past few days, temperatures at Death Valley soared to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, matching — or possibly even exceeding — Earth’s highest recorded temperatures in 90 years. Image courtesy of Pixabay

CLIMATE CHANGE
Extreme weather no guarantee of climate action support
Many people simply aren’t making the connection between global warming and weather disasters. Political affiliation plays a role in perception, a Yale study finds. Read more.

As COVID-19 case counts began to decline and the vaccination rate increased, state and local governments have been lifting mask requirements and other public health restrictions. Credit: Pixabay.

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
COVID booster complicates vaccination strategy​​​​​
Pfizer and BioNTech, the makers of one of the most powerful COVID-19 vaccines, floated the need for a third shot, causing turmoil in the fight against coronavirus. Read more.

Iranian President Rouhani in April visiting the exhibition of nuclear achievements. Credit: Official website of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. https://president.ir/en/120598.

NUCLEAR RISK
Iran’s uranium gambit a dangerous negotiating tactic
Nuclear talks with Iran seemed to be making progress after three years of steady attrition. Will Iran’s stepped-up uranium metal production be a final blow to an international agreement? Read more.

Sunrise on the power grid in San Mateo, California. Image courtesy of Sterling Lanier/Unsplash

CLIMATE CHANGE
Cutting emissions could save 317,000 lives
A new report says adopting a federal standard that calls on renewable sources to produce more electrical power could save hundreds of thousands of lives from air pollution. Read more.

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Modified illustrations by Zdenek Sasek / Ints Vikmanis

SPECIAL TOPICS
The A1 Verse: The illusion of choice
Bulletin multimedia editor Thomas Gaulkin’s newest verse is inspired by the July 12, 2021, New York Times front-page story US Confronts Critical Choices on Power Lines. ​​​​​Read more.

Alex Wellerstein, left, and Lynn Eden

NUCLEAR RISK
Virtual program: History of nuclear secrecy
The Atomic Age was born in secrecy, an unusual environment for science where information is meant to be shared. Hear nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein and nuclear policy sociologist Lynn Eden discuss Wellerstein’s recent book Restricted Data: The History of Nuclear Secrecy in the United States and the implications for the future of science. ​​​​​Join us July 21.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Companies go out of their way to say we’re not liable for any consequences of this type of attack,”

— Herb Lin, cybersecurity expert and Bulletin Science & Security Board member, Software as a Disservice? Security Shortcuts Are Exposing Computers to Hackers, Barron’s

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