GCRI, in partnership with Robert de Neufville, is trying out a new project on global catastrophic risk news. The basic idea of the project is to compile various news items related to GCR, and then periodically (probably once or twice per month) summarize them on the GCRI blog. The aim is to help keep people informed with what’s going on in the GCR world. We’re using ‘news’ in the broadest sense of the word, to include anything new: current events, commentaries, announcements, etc, related to any GCR topics, in particular GCRI’s topics of research interest.
We invite you to help us compile news items. If you know of something that may be worth including, please post it in the comment thread to this blog, or send it via email to Grant Wilson (grant [at] gcrinstitute.org). If you’re not sure if it’s appropriate, please include it anyway. At this time we’d like to err on the side of being too inclusive for this. And be sure to include a working link or other citation information so we can follow through on it.
*The Office of Science and Technology Policy released for public review and comment a proposed policy for oversight of dual use research (only applies to federally funded projects). Read the text and submit comments through 23 April 2013 at this link: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/02/22/2013-04127/united-states-government-policy-for-institutional-oversight-of-life-sciences-dual-use-research-of
*Here is the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013, approved by Congress and presented to the President on 03 March 2013: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d113:4:./temp/~bdFQDs::|/home/LegislativeData.php|
*This reauthorizes and tweaks the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act, which became law in 2006: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/109/s3678/text
Steven Umbrello, who has done some GCRI volunteer work, sent me an article from Big Think that is worth checking out.
“DA14: A Wake Up Call from Space,” by Ed Lu. A piece about risks from asteroids and the potential to deflect them. bigthink.com/experts-corner/da14-a-wake-up-call-from-space
New ‘four horsemen’ op-ed:
Next Steps in Reducing Nuclear Risks: The Pace of Nonproliferation Work Today Doesn’t Match the Urgency of the Threat
March 5, 2013, The Wall Street Journal
George P. Shultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger and Sam Nunn
http://www.nuclearsecurityproject.rsvp1.com/publications/next-steps-in-reducing-nuclear-risks-the-pace-of-nonproliferation-work-today-doesnt-match-the-urgency-of-the-threat
Denial of Catastrophic Risks – Martin Rees
Science 8 March 2013, Vol. 339 no. 6124 p. 1123, DOI: 10.1126/science.1236756
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6124/1123.full
This is interesting, on a US Congress group working on EMPs:
Electromagnetic Pulse Caucus Battles Skeptics in Push to Protect the Planet
http://www.nti.rsvp1.com/gsn/article/electromagnetic-pulse-caucus-battles-skeptics-push-protect-planet/
Bruce Schneier opinion piece in Wired recommends: Instead of trying to continually restrict dangerous technologies, building societal resilience as a strategy to keep ahead of technological development hazards (or at least to buy time while working on other strategies):
http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/03/security-when-the-bad-guys-have-technology-too-how-do-we-survive/
NY Times:
U.S. Cancels Part of Missile Defense That Russia Opposed
“The United States has effectively canceled the final phase of a Europe-based missile defense system that was fiercely opposed by Russia and cited repeatedly by the Kremlin as a major obstacle to cooperation on nuclear arms reductions and other issues.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/world/europe/with-eye-on-north-korea-us-cancels-missile-defense-russia-opposed.html
White House Picks New WMD Czar:
http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/white-house-picks-new-wmd-czar/
Scientific American:
Insurance for Global Catastrophes, Wether Asteroids or Climate Change
A report by David Biello
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=insurance-for-global-catastrophes-w-13-02-20
This quick snippet asks, do we invest in insurance policies for global catastrophe threats, and if so do we do so by spending more or less on the observation tools that can potentially spot these risks?
What role do insurance companies play in global catastrophes?
Scientific American:
“Would-Be Geoengineers Call for Research Guidelines”
By Umair Irfan and ClimateWire
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=would-be-geoengineers-call-for-research-guidelines
Do we need governments to step into geoengineering research? What would a global framework for these experiments look like?