Color-coded alerts on the way out

last updated 8 January 2015

The federal government’s color-coded “terror warning system’’ may soon disappear. The 8-year-old alert system, initiated by the Bush administration, has five levels of danger—ranging from red for “severe’’ to yellow for “elevated’’ to green for “low”—and has often been criticized for being too vague. The Homeland Security Department this week recommended to President Obama that the color-coded system be dropped. “The overall sense is that we can do a better job of helping inform the public,’’ said Transportation Security Administrator John Pistole. The color has stayed the same since 2006: yellow for the country as a whole, and orange for airports.