Risk Mitigation

Risk Mitigation

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.
More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
a drawing of a green and pink object with a sailboat in the background.
While many imagine terrifying futures run by AI, Rohit Krishnan is quietly identifying real problems and solutions.
a close up of the sun with a black background showing a solar flare.
Recasting the iconic Carrington Event as just one of many superstorms in Earth’s past, scientists reveal the potential for even more massive eruptions from the sun.
a group of wooden buildings sitting on top of a lush green hillside.
Stone buildings in northern India reveal secrets of old structures that could save lives.
a group of people sitting around a conference table.
As AI evolves — and more robotic warfare systems are deployed — the nature of conflict could change beyond recognition.
stack of shipping containers
Without modularization, many epic projects simply would be impossible.
Mount Vesuvius 1760-1761 eruption
Nearly 2000 years ago, Mt. Vesuvius erupted, burying Pompeii but incinerating Herculaneum. The most lethal volcanic phenomenon is at fault.
The nature of civilizational threats has changed in a mere decade.
Why can’t more rainwater be collected for the long, dry spring and summer when it’s needed?
As far as we know, it's only happened once to one unlucky person in Oklahoma.
In the future, driving an app across a bridge could let engineers know how safe it is.
Researchers use fluid dynamics to spot artificial imposter voices.
Sooner or later, Earth is going to be hit by a large enough space object to cause significant damage to humanity. Stopping them isn't easy.
When you don’t know what you’re looking for, it’s easier to miss it.
Certain cancers are striking earlier than they used to.
circumcision
"Our risk-benefit analysis showed that benefits exceeded procedural risks... by up to 200 to 1."
On the morning of June 30, 1908, an explosion of more than 10 megatons occurred above the sparsely populated Siberian Taiga. What caused the so-called Tunguska event?
Spaceguard shows that we can manage risks to the extinction of humanity — if only we put our mind to it.
NASA was dangerously cavalier about the dangers of the shuttle launches.
As technology advances, the use of laser weapons in space becomes more likely.
A marine scientist explains the threat of the Loop Current, a 800-pound gorilla of Gulf hurricane risks.
Sick of remembering a random string of letters, numbers, and special characters?
solar geoengineering
An out-of-this-world idea could help reduce some of the risk of solar geoengineering.
Fire-retardant gels and slimes combine the best attributes of water and foam.
crashes
Morbid fatality statistics on digital highway signs seem to distract drivers, thus increasing the number of car crashes.
nuclear power plant attack
U.S. nuclear power plants are built to survive external attacks. Even missiles or a commercial aircraft strike would not cause a meltdown or radiation leak.