Word: tinder
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...reduce the danger of ambushes, the Rhodesians burn the tinder-dry brush, but heavy rains have fallen lately, and the foliage is defying their efforts. Between burnt-out patches, we caught occasional glimpses of soldiers in full battle gear breasting through deep elephant grass, rifles at the ready. Small contingents behind sandbagged revetments guarded scores of bridges over rivers now swelling with muddy water. Scanning the road ahead, the lead truck's driver strained to see road patches that might be innocent potholes or pressure mines embedded in the highway. So far, no mines have turned...
...UNITED STATES has also been hit by drought. In California, forests and canyons are tinder dry, and the fire danger is high. Reservoirs in Colorado are down. Drought-caused crop losses in Wisconsin are estimated at $400 million. Despite drought in some areas, however, American growers are expected to harvest more than 2 billion bu. of wheat...
...Majority Leader Thomas ("Tip") O'Neill believes there is good reason for the changed mood. Says he: "There's an overall feeling that the world is a tinder box. We all know that we are not as strong as we used to be. The Navy is obsolete. We've neglected conventional weaponry. The feeling in Congress is that our equipment is worn out, and we better get it ready...
...More Tinder. Plutonium (Pu-239) is not found in nature, but will become increasingly abundant. It is the artificial byproduct of the fission that takes place within nuclear power generators. After complicated processing, it can be converted into a warhead, and that is what worries experts. As the soaring price of fossil fuels encourages an increasing number of nations to buy nuclear plants to generate electricity, substantial amounts of Pu-239 will become available. "There will simply be more and more tinder lying around," observes Francois Duchene, the director of London's International Institute for Strategic Studies...
...reactor that the U.S. is planning to help Egypt build could produce enough Pu-239 tinder annually for about ten bombs. If Israel goes ahead with its ambitious plans for a Nuplex sea water desalination plant, the Pu-239 byproduct could be used for more than 50 bombs each year. Already there are 562 power-producing or research reactors in operation or under construction in 33 nations. By 1980, it is estimated, up to 1 million lbs. of Pu-239 will have been accumulated in the world's civilian nuclear power industry; a warhead with less than...