THE VINE MAY 28, 2008
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Scientists in Germany have figured out a way to detonate "green" bombs--explosives that, unlike TNT, don't release quite as many environmentally toxic chemicals, since the energy comes from nitrogen instead of from carbon; they're also safer to handle and less likely to blow up in your face. As far as military technology goes, this is an improvement on the legendary "gay bomb," I suppose, but it always seems weird to see scientists working to make war less ... warlike.
Still, given how seriously bad war is for the environment (it sounds obvious to say it, but this Sierra Club report has a long accounting of just how bad, from the Romans salting crops to Agent Orange to the Kuwait oil fields), it's a realistic and positive development. And maybe, just maybe, it'll bring us one step closer to the ultimate in casualty-free warfare ....
--Britt Peterson
3 comments
Fascinating, Britt. "Green" bombs are the 21st century equivalent of the neutron bomb. What next, Trident submarines armed with projectiles made of packing peanuts to soften the potential impact?
- liberal reformer
May 28, 2008 at 5:21pm
Yes, environmentally-friendly bombs. America's liberal but respected The New Republic magazine noticed this one, too. But Hermann the Germann, our well-read man in Berlin, doesn't think it's that big a deal : "Well all the people that get bombed are.
- Anonymous
June 7, 2008 at 11:31pm
Yes, environmentally-friendly bombs. America's liberal but respected The New Republic magazine noticed this one, too. But Hermann the German, our well-read man in Berlin, doesn't think it's that big a deal : "Well all the people that get bombed are..
- Anonymous
June 7, 2008 at 11:32pm