Stephen Young
@atomicwonk.bsky.social
Advocate for more sensible nuclear weapons policies, firm believer that we should not live in a world where hundreds of millions could be dead in an hour. Associate Director for Government Affairs, Global Security Program, Union of Concerned Scientists
Reposted by Stephen Young
As week one of #COP30 comes to a close, UCS's Rachel Cleetus highlights key issues our staff in Belém, Brazil, are closely watching. "The negotiations are at a stage now where glimmers of progress are emerging, but there’s a long way to go..."
As Week One Winds Down at COP30 in Brazil, What’s at Stake and What’s Ahead
“While climate disasters decimate the lives of millions, when we already have the solutions—this will never, ever be forgiven.”
blog.ucs.org
November 14, 2025 at 9:44 PM
As week one of #COP30 comes to a close, UCS's Rachel Cleetus highlights key issues our staff in Belém, Brazil, are closely watching. "The negotiations are at a stage now where glimmers of progress are emerging, but there’s a long way to go..."
Prefer Youtube video's to podcasts? Your wish is my command: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ILF...
Here @ucs.org expert @lauraegrego.bsky.social review the disastrous Golden Dome anti-missile program.
Here @ucs.org expert @lauraegrego.bsky.social review the disastrous Golden Dome anti-missile program.
November 14, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Prefer Youtube video's to podcasts? Your wish is my command: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ILF...
Here @ucs.org expert @lauraegrego.bsky.social review the disastrous Golden Dome anti-missile program.
Here @ucs.org expert @lauraegrego.bsky.social review the disastrous Golden Dome anti-missile program.
Reposted by Stephen Young
📢Scientists unite!📢 You have a critical role to play in speaking truth to power. Please join us November 20 for a virtual training on how the scientific community can stand up for our democracy and push back against the growing authoritarian threat in the US.
Register: act.ucsusa.org/44007SY
Register: act.ucsusa.org/44007SY
November 13, 2025 at 9:42 PM
📢Scientists unite!📢 You have a critical role to play in speaking truth to power. Please join us November 20 for a virtual training on how the scientific community can stand up for our democracy and push back against the growing authoritarian threat in the US.
Register: act.ucsusa.org/44007SY
Register: act.ucsusa.org/44007SY
Reposted by Stephen Young
Just in time for your evening commute: @ucs.org's @lauraegrego.bsky.social on the ins, outs, and myths of missile defense on the Burn Bag podcast ⬇️ 🎙️
Want to hear the bottom-line on why Golden Dome - & all long-range missile defenses - might _sound_ good but in reality are technically unrealistic, wildly expensive, and deeply destabilizing? My super smart @ucs.org colleague @lauraegrego.bsky.social has all that & more in this Burn Bag podcast.
The Nuclear Threshold: Will Missile Defense Systems Really Save Us? featuring Dr. Laura Grego - The Burn Bag Podcast
The Nuclear Threshold is a three-part Burn Bag mini-series exploring how deterrence, defense, and diplomacy shape nuclear risk in the 21st century. Across three conversations with leading experts, we ...
burnbag.buzzsprout.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Just in time for your evening commute: @ucs.org's @lauraegrego.bsky.social on the ins, outs, and myths of missile defense on the Burn Bag podcast ⬇️ 🎙️
Reposted by Stephen Young
Cyber warfare and misinformation propaganda is so much more effective than nuclear weapons.
November 13, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Cyber warfare and misinformation propaganda is so much more effective than nuclear weapons.
Reposted by Stephen Young
Didn't we already go through all this with SDI/Star Wars 40 years ago?
November 13, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Didn't we already go through all this with SDI/Star Wars 40 years ago?
Want to hear the bottom-line on why Golden Dome - & all long-range missile defenses - might _sound_ good but in reality are technically unrealistic, wildly expensive, and deeply destabilizing? My super smart @ucs.org colleague @lauraegrego.bsky.social has all that & more in this Burn Bag podcast.
The Nuclear Threshold: Will Missile Defense Systems Really Save Us? featuring Dr. Laura Grego - The Burn Bag Podcast
The Nuclear Threshold is a three-part Burn Bag mini-series exploring how deterrence, defense, and diplomacy shape nuclear risk in the 21st century. Across three conversations with leading experts, we ...
burnbag.buzzsprout.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Want to hear the bottom-line on why Golden Dome - & all long-range missile defenses - might _sound_ good but in reality are technically unrealistic, wildly expensive, and deeply destabilizing? My super smart @ucs.org colleague @lauraegrego.bsky.social has all that & more in this Burn Bag podcast.
Too many people seem to disregard the fact that it takes at a minimum 400 SBIs for each missile you want to intercept - and that assumes that the system works perfectly and each interceptor hits its intended target. China can easily overwhelm any SBI system.
SBIs will require defensive capabilities to help protect them from adversary ASATS -- and that is a cost factor/tech challenge that is not often included in ongoing discussions about investment requirements. breakingdefense.com/2025/11/gold...
Golden Dome SBIs will need to be defended from adversary attack: Experts - Breaking Defense
The satellites will need to be defended "not only from adversary kinetic or local orbital issues, but also from cyber attacks, electronic jamming and laser attacks," said Patrick Binning, a professor ...
breakingdefense.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Too many people seem to disregard the fact that it takes at a minimum 400 SBIs for each missile you want to intercept - and that assumes that the system works perfectly and each interceptor hits its intended target. China can easily overwhelm any SBI system.
Reposted by Stephen Young
SBIs will require defensive capabilities to help protect them from adversary ASATS -- and that is a cost factor/tech challenge that is not often included in ongoing discussions about investment requirements. breakingdefense.com/2025/11/gold...
Golden Dome SBIs will need to be defended from adversary attack: Experts - Breaking Defense
The satellites will need to be defended "not only from adversary kinetic or local orbital issues, but also from cyber attacks, electronic jamming and laser attacks," said Patrick Binning, a professor ...
breakingdefense.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:46 PM
SBIs will require defensive capabilities to help protect them from adversary ASATS -- and that is a cost factor/tech challenge that is not often included in ongoing discussions about investment requirements. breakingdefense.com/2025/11/gold...
Reposted by Stephen Young
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 9, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
Reposted by Stephen Young
🚨 JUST IN: A newly declassified cable reinforces proliferation concerns about high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel, and reveals an urgent need for an international review of #HALEU use, writes Ed Lyman (@nucsafetyucs.bsky.social).
#uranium #enrichment #proliferation #IAEA #safeguards #nukesky
#uranium #enrichment #proliferation #IAEA #safeguards #nukesky
Declassified cable reinforces proliferation concerns about high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel
The declassified document reveals an urgent need for an international review of the proliferation risks of HALEU.
thebulletin.org
November 7, 2025 at 11:28 AM
🚨 JUST IN: A newly declassified cable reinforces proliferation concerns about high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel, and reveals an urgent need for an international review of #HALEU use, writes Ed Lyman (@nucsafetyucs.bsky.social).
#uranium #enrichment #proliferation #IAEA #safeguards #nukesky
#uranium #enrichment #proliferation #IAEA #safeguards #nukesky
My colleague @lauraegrego.bsky.social is doing a Reddit "Ask Me Anything (AMA) on #AHouseofDynamite. She is answering a house-full of compelling questions with aplomb. You can take a gander - and add your own questions - here:
From the askscience community on Reddit: AskScience AMA Series: A House of Dynamite, ask a nuclear weapons expert anything!
Explore this post and more from the askscience community
nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:22 PM
My colleague @lauraegrego.bsky.social is doing a Reddit "Ask Me Anything (AMA) on #AHouseofDynamite. She is answering a house-full of compelling questions with aplomb. You can take a gander - and add your own questions - here:
My brilliant @ucs.org colleague Chanese Forté interviews two other brilliant folks, Dr. Jan Beyea, and @nucsafetyucs.bsky.social, on the Trump administration's moves to undermine sensible, science-based limits on radiation exposure. Team Trump seems to wants to promote nuclear power at any cost.
Will Politics Put More People’s Health at Risk from Radiation Exposure?
The Trump administration's attack on the science underlying regulations that protect the public from the health risks of radiation exposure could affect many government rules.
blog.ucs.org
November 6, 2025 at 7:18 PM
My brilliant @ucs.org colleague Chanese Forté interviews two other brilliant folks, Dr. Jan Beyea, and @nucsafetyucs.bsky.social, on the Trump administration's moves to undermine sensible, science-based limits on radiation exposure. Team Trump seems to wants to promote nuclear power at any cost.
Reposted by Stephen Young
The end of the Oil Age won’t come from scarcity — it’ll come from irrelevance. Solar, wind, and batteries aren’t waiting for permission; they’re simply better.
When the new paradigm outperforms the old on cost, speed, and resilience, history doesn’t argue — it moves on. #EnergyTransition #BESS #EV
When the new paradigm outperforms the old on cost, speed, and resilience, history doesn’t argue — it moves on. #EnergyTransition #BESS #EV
November 4, 2025 at 4:50 AM
The end of the Oil Age won’t come from scarcity — it’ll come from irrelevance. Solar, wind, and batteries aren’t waiting for permission; they’re simply better.
When the new paradigm outperforms the old on cost, speed, and resilience, history doesn’t argue — it moves on. #EnergyTransition #BESS #EV
When the new paradigm outperforms the old on cost, speed, and resilience, history doesn’t argue — it moves on. #EnergyTransition #BESS #EV
Reposted by Stephen Young
1 in 8 Americans did not receive their monthly food benefits on Saturday, despite evidence and two judicial rulings affirming that the Trump administration can and should use the contingency funds for these benefits. Tell them to put politics aside and fund SNAP now. act.ucsusa.org/47y8Hta
Tell Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to Fund SNAP Now
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has the power to stop needless suffering. She can use contingency funds to ensure no American experiences a lapse in benefits just trying to buy food for their fam...
act.ucsusa.org
November 3, 2025 at 4:26 PM
1 in 8 Americans did not receive their monthly food benefits on Saturday, despite evidence and two judicial rulings affirming that the Trump administration can and should use the contingency funds for these benefits. Tell them to put politics aside and fund SNAP now. act.ucsusa.org/47y8Hta
Reposted by Stephen Young
At a time when the Trump administration is marketing its so-called “Golden Dome,” a proposed “impenetrable” missile shield around the US, the energy created by A House of Dynamite could be directed to a plan that not only won’t work but will make the problem worse.
Don't Get the Wrong Takeaway from 'A House of Dynamite'
Director Kathryn Bigelow's new nuclear thriller 'A House of Dynamite' hinges on the failure of the US anti-missile system.
inkstickmedia.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:15 PM
At a time when the Trump administration is marketing its so-called “Golden Dome,” a proposed “impenetrable” missile shield around the US, the energy created by A House of Dynamite could be directed to a plan that not only won’t work but will make the problem worse.
Excellent piece on Trump's call to resume nuclear testing in The Independent (and not just because is cites me & my @ucs.org colleague @dkspaulding.bsky.social).
BLUF for Trump, as duly noted by our @nuclearban.bsky.social colleague: Melissa Park: "This is no way to win the Nobel Peace Prize."
BLUF for Trump, as duly noted by our @nuclearban.bsky.social colleague: Melissa Park: "This is no way to win the Nobel Peace Prize."
What Trump’s nuclear weapons tests could mean for America and the world
Trump’s command risks a global arms race while the Doomsday clock ticks closer than ever to midnight, experts say
www.the-independent.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Excellent piece on Trump's call to resume nuclear testing in The Independent (and not just because is cites me & my @ucs.org colleague @dkspaulding.bsky.social).
BLUF for Trump, as duly noted by our @nuclearban.bsky.social colleague: Melissa Park: "This is no way to win the Nobel Peace Prize."
BLUF for Trump, as duly noted by our @nuclearban.bsky.social colleague: Melissa Park: "This is no way to win the Nobel Peace Prize."
Reposted by Stephen Young
Yesterday Trump posted a baffling message on his Truth Social site, claiming the U.S. would “immediately” resume the testing of nuclear weapons.
No one knew what he meant or why he was saying it.
My analysis of Trump’s nuclear confusion now up @MSNBC Daily.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
No one knew what he meant or why he was saying it.
My analysis of Trump’s nuclear confusion now up @MSNBC Daily.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Opinion | Trump is bringing back nuclear testing — and maybe an arms race
The U.S. stopped testing nuclear weapons over three decades ago and all other countries followed suit. If we resume testing, so will they.
www.msnbc.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Yesterday Trump posted a baffling message on his Truth Social site, claiming the U.S. would “immediately” resume the testing of nuclear weapons.
No one knew what he meant or why he was saying it.
My analysis of Trump’s nuclear confusion now up @MSNBC Daily.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
No one knew what he meant or why he was saying it.
My analysis of Trump’s nuclear confusion now up @MSNBC Daily.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
My @ucs.org colleague @gkucs.bsky.social has this deeply insightful piece on who would benefit most from a return to full-scale nuclear weapons testing, as Trump _seems_ to have said he has ordered. Bottom-line: China has the most to gain from new nuclear tests.
China Has the Most to Gain from New Nuclear Tests
President Trump announced the United States will resume nuclear testing, but if China follows suit, he may regret this decision.
blog.ucs.org
October 31, 2025 at 6:56 PM
My @ucs.org colleague @gkucs.bsky.social has this deeply insightful piece on who would benefit most from a return to full-scale nuclear weapons testing, as Trump _seems_ to have said he has ordered. Bottom-line: China has the most to gain from new nuclear tests.
Reposted by Stephen Young
The Union of Concerned Scientists (@ucs.org) is leading the charge to "Call out the Harm! Sound The Alarm!" regarding the Trump administration's relentless and harmful attack on scientific research & knowledge.
Here is a starter pack of scientists sounding that alarm.
go.bsky.app/RMo1iWM
Here is a starter pack of scientists sounding that alarm.
go.bsky.app/RMo1iWM
October 31, 2025 at 6:19 PM
The Union of Concerned Scientists (@ucs.org) is leading the charge to "Call out the Harm! Sound The Alarm!" regarding the Trump administration's relentless and harmful attack on scientific research & knowledge.
Here is a starter pack of scientists sounding that alarm.
go.bsky.app/RMo1iWM
Here is a starter pack of scientists sounding that alarm.
go.bsky.app/RMo1iWM
Reposted by Stephen Young
UCS staff had the opportunity to see A House of Dynamite in theaters and attend a talk-back with director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Noah Oppenheim. Hear their reactions and learn more about the real-life implications of the film:
🔗 act.ucsusa.org/3JzHFJQ
🔗 act.ucsusa.org/3JzHFJQ
October 30, 2025 at 3:38 PM
UCS staff had the opportunity to see A House of Dynamite in theaters and attend a talk-back with director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Noah Oppenheim. Hear their reactions and learn more about the real-life implications of the film:
🔗 act.ucsusa.org/3JzHFJQ
🔗 act.ucsusa.org/3JzHFJQ
My @ucs.org colleague @lauraegrego.bsky.social explains how #AHouseofDynamite has the better take on the flawed US anti-missile system than the Pentagon's inaccurate claims that it works. Bottom line: the system has not been shown to work under realistic conditions.
A House of Dynamite Gets It Right—But Here’s the Full Picture
The Pentagon is wrong to attack the movie for being inaccurate. We cannot rely on missile defense systems to protect us from nuclear destruction.
blog.ucs.org
October 31, 2025 at 1:49 PM
My @ucs.org colleague @lauraegrego.bsky.social explains how #AHouseofDynamite has the better take on the flawed US anti-missile system than the Pentagon's inaccurate claims that it works. Bottom line: the system has not been shown to work under realistic conditions.
Reposted by Stephen Young
Earlier this year, Nevada passed a (bipartisan!) resolution, AJR 13, opposing the resumption of nuclear testing. Nuclear testing comes with potential harms to people and the environment and NV doesn't want it. Here's what I told the state legislature about why any return to testing is a bad idea:
Putting Science to Work for Security: A Call to Prevent Nuclear Testing
Scientists have a role to play in protecting our collective future by speaking in opposition to a resumption of nuclear weapons testing.
blog.ucs.org
October 30, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Earlier this year, Nevada passed a (bipartisan!) resolution, AJR 13, opposing the resumption of nuclear testing. Nuclear testing comes with potential harms to people and the environment and NV doesn't want it. Here's what I told the state legislature about why any return to testing is a bad idea:
Reposted by Stephen Young
Murmurs from this admin about nuclear testing are not new, which is why earlier this year, we published this piece in the @thebulletin.org on why a rapid test as a show of force is a BAD, BAD idea.
Donald Trump has reportedly told the Pentagon to resume nuclear tests (though it's unclear if he refers to explosive or missile tests).
Here's a thread of relevant Bulletin articles, beginning with this 2025 piece by Sulgiye Park, Jennifer Knox, and @dkspaulding.bsky.social. ⬇️
Here's a thread of relevant Bulletin articles, beginning with this 2025 piece by Sulgiye Park, Jennifer Knox, and @dkspaulding.bsky.social. ⬇️
Why it would be a bad idea for the Trump administration to conduct a "rapid" nuclear test
The goal of conducting a fast-tracked nuclear test can only be political, not scientific. The United States has much to lose and little to gain from a new test.
thebulletin.org
October 30, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Murmurs from this admin about nuclear testing are not new, which is why earlier this year, we published this piece in the @thebulletin.org on why a rapid test as a show of force is a BAD, BAD idea.
Reposted by Stephen Young
Actually soon to be available for free for a limited time. Check back soon!
And finally my amazing former colleague Sulgi Park produced this important piece in @thebulletin.org with Rod Ewing on the environmental impacts of underground nuclear weapons testing. Well worth your time to read (but paywalled):
Environmental impacts of underground nuclear weapons testing
Between 1945 and 1996, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were conducted, three-quarters of which were underground. What is their environmental legacy?
thebulletin.org
October 30, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Actually soon to be available for free for a limited time. Check back soon!