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Green Bombs?

Scientists in Germany have figured out a way to detonate "green" bombs--explosives that, unlike TNT, don't release quite as many environmentally toxic chemicals, since the energy comes from nitrogen instead of from carbon; they're also safer to handle and less likely to blow up in your face. As far as military technology goes, this is an improvement on the legendary "gay bomb," I suppose, but it always seems weird to see scientists working to make war less ... warlike.

Still, given how seriously bad war is for the environment (it sounds obvious to say it, but this Sierra Club report has a long accounting of just how bad, from the Romans salting crops to Agent Orange to the Kuwait oil fields), it's a realistic and positive development. And maybe, just maybe, it'll bring us one step closer to the ultimate in casualty-free warfare ....

--Britt Peterson