Opinion in 1986

Last week's conference on Chernobyl was a landmark in the development of nuclear technology, not least because of Soviet openness: was it a new beginning or the beginning of the end?

The US Environmental Protection Agency risks stirring up a hornet's nest over radon.

Governments have been succeeding in hiding from the consequences of industrial change. When will they begin to prepare for what lies ahead?

This is what the Soviet Union should say next week about the Chernobyl accident, and why.

Public espionage, a prolific source of scandal this year, is a serious cause of international friction, a restraint on good relations and even a perversion of national civility. Can it be restrained?

The International Atomic Energy Agency has handled Chernobyl deftly. What next?

The British government has made a muddle of its decision to prevent one electronics company from taking over another. It should pay more attention to what happens in the United States.

Is the academic community in the United States too exercised by Congress's wayward ways?

The effects of US tax reform will be felt far outside the United States.

The agreement signed last week between Japan and the United States will not in the long run keep Silicon Valley healthy, and meanwhile will be a recipe for trouble.

Turning public into private enterprise is fashionable, but not best done by public servants.

A British committee has produced an enlightening report on future trends in education.

Governments should urgently give attention to the consequences of Chernobyl on public opinion of nuclear power — and should correct some of the damage they have done.

The British government plans to evaluate its research. But there are pitfalls.

The Soviet Union has published this week only the least interesting parts of its report on the Chernobyl disaster. More needs to be said.

There may be a Soviet–US summit this year if only a package of agreements can be found.

The consequences of the Chernobyl accident are about to become diplomatic, thanks to IAEA.

The present sad condition of the Republic of South Africa is unlikely to last for very long. But the timescale of general impatience may be dangerously short.

The problems now facing farmers will not go away overnight.

Europe's failure to make a common market of itself is typified by the continuing muddle over civil air transport policy. The time has come to change that.