'Doomsday Clock' Moves Two Minutes Closer to Midnight

[The Kicker]

'Doomsday Clock' Moves Two Minutes Closer to Midnight

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-17-2007/0004507589&



WASHINGTON and LONDON, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bulletin of the
Atomic Scientists (BAS) is moving 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 BAS Board of Directors was made in
consultation with the Bulletin's Board of Sponsors, which includes 18 Nobel
Laureates.
BAS announced the Clock change today at an unprecedented joint news
conference held at the American Association for the Advancement of Science
in Washington, DC, and the Royal Society in London. In a statement
supporting the decision to move the hand of the Doomsday Clock, the BAS
Board focused on two major sources of catastrophe: the perils of 27,000
nuclear weapons, 2000 of them ready to launch within minutes; and the
destruction of human habitats from climate change. In articles by 14
leading scientists and security experts writing in the January-February
issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists(http://www.thebulletin.org), the potential for catastrophic damage from
human-made technologies is explored further.
Created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Doomsday
Clock has been adjusted only 17 times prior to today, most recently in
February 2002 after the events of 9/11.
By moving the hand of the Clock closer to midnight -- the figurative
end of civilization -- the BAS Board of Directors is drawing attention to
the increasing dangers from the spread of nuclear weapons in a world of
violent conflict, and to the catastrophic harm from climate change that is
unfolding. The BAS 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."


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Much more at link.

[Greeby]

1. Eep

:scared:

[BeHereNow]

2. Well, this is not good news at all.

If this doesn't wake people up, I don't think anything will.
And so it is.
BHN

[OKIsItJustMe]

8. That's been said too many times

I think some people are waking up. However, there are too many who just do not care what a bunch of smartass peacenik scientists think.

Or, if they do pay attention, they'll just say, "It's those damned terrorists!"

[BeHereNow]

11. "Smartass peacenik scientists?"

Did you forget to use the sarcasm icon?
Please say you did.

BHN

[dweller]

10. as posted in E & A earlier

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/printer_1647.shtml

If the Doomsday hands hit midnight, no one but no one should be allowed to get away with saying "I didn’t know."


dp

[Matilda]

15. If it hits midnight,

will there be anyone left to say "I didn't know?"

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

3. I'd been wondering why they didn't do this long since

Perhaps they were merely waiting to make sure the threat was actual and not merely perceived.

IMO they should have changed it to 11:58. They are being WAY too kind as it is.

[slackmaster]

4. We cannot allow a Doomsday Gap

:nuke:

[DixieBlue]

5. Not good news.

I doubt it'll wake anyone up it needs to. They've got blinders on.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

6. Closest we've been since Reagan, when they thought we could actually "win" a nuclear war

Thanks, George...'appreciate it.
:scared:

[LongTomH]

7. Stephen Hawking has also warned the world

http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1992638,00.html

Professor Hawking has joined the Atomic Scientists in issuing warnings:

"Since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, no nuclear weapons have been used in war, though the world has come uncomfortably close to disaster on more than one occasion," Prof Hawking said. "But for good luck, we would all be dead.

"As we stand at the brink of a second nuclear age and a period of unprecedented climate change, scientists have a special responsibility once again to inform the public and advise leaders about the perils that humanity faces.

"We foresee great perils if governments and society do not take action now to render nuclear weapons obsolete and prevent further climate change."

[dweller]

9. heard Hawking's computerized voice earlier

saying that global warming was more a threat than terrorism.

dp

edit: he may have said 'climate change' ...

[atommom]

12. That's spooky, but I'm almost surprised it isn't farther along. nt

[demo dutch]

13. Consider that when chosing a Dem candidate for 2008!

[Thor_MN]

14. How many minutes for a Chinese Satellite Killer Missle?

CNN reporting that China knocked off one of their own old weather sats.

[Jcrowley]

16. Wake up

Act up.

Stop the machine from killing us all.

See ya' there on the 27th