how big is a threat from bioterrorism. that is next. you're watching this week in defense.erz because of one word, imagination and reality have merged. because of one word, a new generation-- a fifth generation-- of fighter aircraft has been born. because of w america's air dominance for the next forty years is assured. that one word... is how. the energy to get the economy humming again. the energy to tackle challenges like climate change. what if that energy, came from an energy company. every day, chevron invests $62 million in people. in ideas. seeking, teaching, building. fueling growth around the world, to move us all ahead. this is the power of human energy. chevron. >>> the 2001 anthrax attacks illustrated how vul rabble the united states is to biological weapons. anthrax spores killed five, shut down offices. the convention banned such weapons in 1972. there is no place to verify the research, development or acquisition of biological weapons. howan y astins i arehe i ak,oov" and he's the deputy director at george mason university. greg, welcome back. >> thank you f

united states can get better at implementing national security strategies and the looming threat of bioterrorism. it will devastate food production. deplete water supplies worldwide. millions of climate refugees on the move and social and political upheaval will create breeding grounds for war and terrorism. scientists and military experts agree.

specialists and two microbiologists from a public health lab on top of losses in field nursing staff, bioterrorismpreparedness workers and people who work behind the scenes every day testing samples for h1n1 virus and other communicable diseases. the one bright spot in the statistics is my local public health department will be able to retain some positions thanks to a one-time recovery dollars. what are their plans, do we have at cdc in the department at large to help public health departments cope with the huge responsibilities they're going to have soon and also, too, what is the plan if the virus mutates sometime soon so we have a greater endemic emergency? >> well, congresswoman, part of the planning effort has certainly been to recognize that the situation you're describing in california is nationwide. that public health agencies have been severely hampered by the budget cuts so the resources, the $1.4 billion which was pushed out, hopefully will help enhance that. we've also reactivated the commission corps, the energy group of retired medical providers and volunteers who came together afte

specialists and two microbiologists from a public health lab on top of losses in field nursing staff, bioterrorism preparedness workers and people who work behind the scenes every day testing samples for h1n1 virus and other communicable diseases. the one bright spot in the statistics is my local public health department will be able to retain some positions thanks to a one-time recovery dollars. what are their plans, do we have at cdc in the department at large to help public health departments cope with the huge responsibilities they're going to have soon and also, too, what is the plan if the virus mutates sometime soon so we have a greater endemic emergency? >> well, congresswoman, part of the planning effort has certainly been to recognize that the situation you're describing in california is nationwide. that public health agencies have been severely hampered by the budget cuts so the resources, the $1.4 billion which was pushed out, hopefully will help enhance that. we've also reactivated the commission corps, the energy group of retired medical providers and volunteers who came together aft

i have been studying bioterrorism for 15 years, and i still have a hard time imagining what it would like. i think we will see a little bit of it this fall, which will give us the opportunity to test some of our surveillance systems in our hospital and emergency rooms with h1n1. hopefully it is a mild strain, but it is a far different thing. what we need to understand is, and i have this famous test tube that i carry around with me. nine days after 9/11, i was at the white house and vice- president cheney said what is a biological weapon look like? i said it looks like this. i got it into the white house. the secret service have looked at this in my briefcase and did not realize the potential. the powder in here is a stimulant, a genetically the same as anthrax, but less than this is what went to senator daschle that shut down the office for 90 days and eventually killed nine people -- eventually killed nine people. to get in a nuclear weapon is very difficult. you have to get highly enriched uranium or plutonium, and it is very difficult to obtain. but it can be done, so we're tryin