Five to Twelve…
The clock has been around for awhile, since 1947… and as time ticks by, the minute hand changes as the world goes through whatever it goes through. At the beginning of this year the minute hand on this clockhas moved closer to what the Nobel Laureates (a roundtable of scientists) call the dreaded “Doomsday”, where midnight represents “catastrophic destruction”
“Doomsday Clock” Moves Two Minutes Closer To Midnight 17 January 2007 On January 17, 2007, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock two minutes closer to midnight. It is now 5 minutes to midnight. Reflecting global failures to solve the problems posed by nuclear weapons and the climate crisis, the decision by the Bulletin’s Board of Directors was made in consultation with the Bulletin’s Board of Sponsors, which includes 18 Nobel Laureates.
In a statement supporting the decision to move the hand of the Doomsday Clock, the Bulletin Board focused on two major sources of catastrophe: the perils of 27,000 nuclear weapons, 2,000 of them ready to launch within minutes; and the destruction of human habitats from climate change.
The Bulletin statement explains: “We stand at the brink of a second nuclear age. Not since the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has the world faced such perilous choices. North Korea’s recent test of a nuclear weapon, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, a renewed emphasis on the military utility of nuclear weapons, the failure to adequately secure nuclear materials, and the continued presence of some 26,000 nuclear weapons in the United States and Russia are symptomatic of a failure to solve the problems posed by the most destructive technology on Earth.”
Here is a complete “timeline” that documents the movement of the “Doomsday Clock”.
