Word: threats
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...There is some prudence in this approach. Any warning system that only responded to true emergencies would clearly be too conservative. But media messages about a potential threat must be put in context, and authorities must take pains to be specific...
...fact, we likely face a bigger threat from viruses today than ever before. For nearly all of human history, the fastest way to travel was by horseback, and contagious diseases could only spread from town to town by piggybacking on migratory animals or unlucky travelers. Despite these difficulties, the Black Death in Europe was still able to kill between 30 and 60 percent of Europe’s population. The forward march of science around the globe has helped keep disease at bay through vaccinations, good hygiene, and quarantines, but international air travel gives upstart pathogens hoping...
...With stakes this high, no agency, from the WHO to Harvard’s administration, wants to understate a hazard or withhold any information that could potentially save lives. And, after the intelligence failure surrounding 9/11, there is added pressure to ensure that every threat, no matter how obscure, is identified and contained...
With swine flu frenzy gripping the U.S., the threat coming from south of the Mexico border may seem more real to many Americans than ever before. But the U.S. border authorities who patrol that 1,969 mile long border have another stealth threat to worry about. This month, they will begin installing the first small, 50 mile segment of a "virtual fence" on the dividing line with Mexico. By 2014 most of the border will be home to sensor-equipped towers that are linked to a central communications network. But while proponents argue that the system will help stem...
...technical means to reliably detect tunnels. The Department of Homeland Security started spending research money on detection technologies two years ago. But even the most promising ones - primarily adapted from mining and petroleum exploration industries - are several years from proving reliable. "We see this as one of those frontier threat areas that have to be mitigated but it is a very, very difficult problem area," says Rick Miller, a leading expert at the Kansas Geological Survey...