The Pentagon says China hopes to double its nuclear arsenal to over 1,000 operational warheads by 2030. / BBC News
In all likelihood the United States will continue to seek nuclear primacy “behind a screen of superficially reasonable rhetoric.” / The London Review of Books
Peter Schroeder: The US cannot bank on Russian officials to stop Putin from using nuclear weapons. / Foreign Affairs
Unrelated: Remembering Bulgaria in the 1990s—”a carnival ride amid carnage.” / Switchyard
Climate experts give the US mixed grades on its 2023 efforts to mitigate the climate crisis. / Grist
American gas companies give rewards to builders, contractors, and real estate agents to install and promote gas appliances. / The Guardian
Wool has far higher greenhouse gas emissions than alternatives for the same amount of fabric. / Vox
“Enigmatic chemical reactions” have broken out in two Los Angeles-area landfills. / BLDBLG
How Bing Crosby helped usher in the Silicon Valley era: he pioneered his signature croon to adapt to microphones and later embraced pre-recorded broadcasts. / The Honest Broker
See also: A logic exercise by Lewis Carroll. / Futility Closet
Century-old drawings by teenage artist Virginia Frances Sterrett. / The Marginalian
Vintage Christmas cards include a lot of animals behaving oddly. / Flashbak
A small town in southern Japan has several bus stops shaped like fruit. / Kottke