Browsing by Author "Schelling, Thomas"

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    Managing Nuclear Proliferation
    (Indiana University William T. Patten Foundation, 2008-09-23) Schelling, Thomas
    For more than sixty years, since Nagasaki in 1945, no nuclear weapons have been exploded in anger, despite several wars in which one side possessed nuclear weapons. The taboo is an asset to be preserved. New nuclear weapon states should recognize that the weapons have proven useful for deterrence; any other use will almost certainly bring universal opprobrium. Certain responsibilities will accrue to any new nuclear-weapon states: security against accident, sabotage, or unauthorized use. The United States was slow to recognize the need for such security, as it was slow to recognize the crucial importance of designing weapons safe from attack. Perhaps China, a mature nuclear-weapon state, is in a strong position to provide guidance to any nations contemplating nuclear weapons.
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    Managing the Greenhouse Problem
    (Indiana University William T. Patten Foundation, 2008-09-25) Schelling, Thomas
    The uncertainties are great but so are the certainties. Venus and Mars show what too much, or too little, greenhouse gas can do to the possibility of life. Carbon dioxides ability to absorb infra-red radiation can be measured. But the analysis of how much warming, what changes in climate, what impact on agriculture, on health and comfort, how well different countries can adapt, is still in progress; too little is known to predict what concentration will be too much, so no global rationing scheme is likely. Certainly the worst climate impacts will be on the rural poor; economic development is an important defense. An ambitious program of research, development, and exploration for new economical energy sources and locations for carbon sequestration is urgently needed. The already-developed nations will have to provide financial and technological assistance to the less developed.