Federation of American Scientists

There are more than 1.2 million pieces of space debris larger than one centimeter in orbit today; under the right circumstances, any of them could cause catastrophic damage to a nation’s space economy, its communications technology, and even its nuclear command and control infrastructure. And yet, the amount of debris in space is increasing rapidly, while countries continue to scale up their space programs.

These days, data centers are the hot-button topic in policy circles everywhere. Between the explosion of AI and the sheer scale of some of these facilities, it seems like people cannot go a single day without hearing them come up in some capacity. Communities weighing a data center project are considering real opportunities: construction jobs, new tax revenue, and the promise of economic development that comes with a major capital investment landing in town.

Federal data benefit American lives and livelihoods in ways most people never see, touching every corner of our lives. This includes a farmer pricing a crop, a county planning a hospital, a business siting a warehouse — all of these decisions use federal data. Other data save patients money by identifying generic drugs that can replace more expensive brand names, help airplanes avoid deadly bird strikes, and warn consumers about recalls of dangerous products.

[Update: On July 31st, following significant backlash, Google announced that it was temporarily “rolling back” this feature “while we work on implementing stronger guardrails.”] Google’s motto famously used to be “don’t be evil.” However, its latest feature has just made being evil a whole lot easier.

The vision outlined in Science: A New Golden Age is a serious reimagining of the structure of the scientific enterprise and its relationship to society. Michael Kratsios, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), ambitiously frames the report as an update to Vannevar Bush’s pivotal Science: The Endless Frontier, which set the general tone of federal R&D post-war.

In October 2015, an underground gas storage well at the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility in southern California failed. Over the course of four months, it released more than 100,000 metric tons of methane into the atmosphere, setting the record for the nation’s largest known methane emissions event. In the days following, people in Porter Ranch began to experience bloody noses, headaches, nausea, rashes, and respiratory problems.

The Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project (NIP), with generous support from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, recently hosted its second annual Open Source Nuclear Analysis Bootcamp in Montreal, Quebec, in partnership with the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.

America’s energy innovation ambitions are only as strong as the federal workforce responsible for delivering them. Yet, over the past year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has suffered massive losses of staff capacity and skills, largely due to the Trump administration’s Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), which slashed headcounts across the federal government. Occupations with skills essential to making and managing awards were among the hardest hit.

Position on the Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2026 (WEPA) The Federation of American Scientists supports the Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2026 (WEPA). The Act would amend Section 319(b) of the Clean Air Act so that it addresses prescribed burns as a standalone activity. If passed, this bill would support wildfire resilience by reducing administrative barriers to getting needed prescribed burns on the ground.

Despite most people not being able to name a single one, critical minerals are fundamental to the advanced technologies that underpin U.S. economic competitiveness and national security. Think microchips, electric vehicles, and life-saving medical devices. However, as well-documented by FAS, the United States remains dependent on exports from a limited number of countries that mine and process them.