1. Climate Change Spurs Insecurity

In its fourth assessment report, released on April 6, 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change focuses on the likely impact of human-induced climate change on global populations. The report sees millions of people affected by land loss, water shortage, and new disease vectors, consequently greatly increasing the potential for conflict.

2. Detecting Nuclear Materials

The latest bulletin from the International Network of Scientists and Engineers Against Nonproliferation (INESAP) includes a series of essays resulting from a study on the detection of clandestine nuclear weapons processing conducted by the independent Group of Scientific Experts (iGSE). The project brought together 22 experts from nine countries to study the problems and possible solutions to detecting secret nuclear weapons programs.

3. Dealing with Excess Plutonium

Writing in the April 2007 edition of Arms Control Today, Matthew Bunn ("Troubled Disposition: Next Steps in Dealing With Excess Plutonium") notes that the projected schedules for Russia and the United States to get rid of their excess plutonium have slipped by more than seven years while costs have increased dramatically. He argues that to bring the security benefits of disposition in line with the mounting costs, it should be applied to far greater quantities of plutonium than thus far, as part of a broader pursuit of deep and irreversible nuclear arms reductions.

4. International Oil and Gas Markets

The Energy Charter Secretariat released a report on "International Pricing Mechanisms for Oil and Gas." The study notes that while oil has developed all the features of a global commodity market, strong variations remain in the pricing mechanisms for natural gas in different regional and national markets. The study explores reasons for these difference, and also examines the role of liquefied natural gas in providing a link between different markets.

5. Japanese Energy Consumption and Supply

Writing in Japan Focus, Vaclav Smil ("Light Behind the Fall: Japan's Electricity Consumption, the Environment, and Economic Growth") notes that despite averaging only 1.1% annual growth over the past 15 years, Japan's primary energy consumption actually increased by 17%. The article explores several factors that contributed to the growth in energy intensity in Japan over that period, including increasing use of electricity in the home.

6. Security Implications of Population Changes

Jack Goldstone, George Mason University Hazel Professor of Public Policy, at a conference hosted by the Environmental Change and Security Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center on Feb. 27, 2007, warned that if current demographic trends of high population growth in developing countries and imminent population decline in developed ones hold, it could pose significant security challenges. But Goldstone said that governments that adopt immigration policies reflecting demographic realities can overcome the challenges of global population changes. The website includes Goldstone's paper and presentation, and a video of the event.

7. Greenhouse Gas Detection

SwissInfo ("Greenhouse gas makes its presence felt," 3/28/07) reported that, from a monitoring station high up in the Swiss Alps, Swiss scientists have been able to detect the presence of Hydroflourocarbons (HFCs) as far away as Tasmania. While HFCs are considered less harmful than CFCs, since they don't attack the ozone layer, the scientists warn that they could cause problems for global warming in the future.