Ever since atomic weapons were invented, the scientific community has been acutely aware of humankind’s growing power to do great harm to itself and the planet. Starting in 1947, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) has maintained a Doomsday Clock to remind the public and political leaders what’s at stake. This clock was recently advanced two minutes to read 5 minutes to midnight. [1]
When the clock was first established, the time was 7 minutes to midnight. In 1949 the clock advanced to 3 minutes to midnight as the Soviet Union conducted their first nuclear test and Cold War began to escalate. The closest to Doomsday was 2 minutes to midnight in 1953 after both the United States and Soviet Union tested thermonuclear bombs. The time went up and down as the Cold War continued and the two superpowers conducted arms reduction talks. The most encouraging time for the clock was in 1991 when the clock read 17 minutes reflecting the official end of the Cold War when ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missles) and bombers were no longer at hair-trigger alert. [2]
The last time the clock was moved was in 2002 in response to 9/11 attacks and the possibility of terrorists using weapons of mass destruction. The recent movement was prompted by the obvious: North Korea’s nuclear test and Iran’s progress in developing nuclear technology. What was very significant about this recent movement was that for the first time, climate change was part of the BAS decision to move the clock up. The famous Stephen Hawking, a BAS sponsor and professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge explained at the Doomsday Clock press conference: “As scientists, we understand the dangers of nuclear weapons and their devastating effects, and we are learning how human activities and technologies are affecting climate systems in ways that may forever change life on Earth. As citizens of the world, we have a duty to alert the public to the unnecessary risks that we live with every day, and to the perils we foresee if governments and societies do not take action now to render nuclear weapons obsolete and to prevent further climate change.”
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Posted by Tim Roth, author of the political blog Think Anew and Act Anew
Sources:
1.“5 Minutes to Midnight”, press release
2. Doomsday Clock Timeline
