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Doomsday Clock closer to midnight in wake of Donald Trump election Doomsday Clock closer to midnight in wake of Donald Trump election
(about 1 hour later)
Global catastrophe could be just two and a half minutes away, according to scientists behind the Doomsday Clock. The election of Donald Trump and wider geopolitical turbulence are so dangerous that the scientists behind the Doomsday Clock have pushed it forward to 2 minutes and 30 seconds before midnight.
The new “time” was brought forward by 30 seconds, the clock’s keepers announced from Washington DC on Thursday. The new “time” means experts at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists believe the earth is closer to imminent peril than at any point in the last 64 years.
The Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists, an expert group formed in 1945, takes into account the likelihood of nuclear Armageddon as well as other emerging threats such as climate change and advances in biotechnology and artificial intelligence. The clock, an indicator of the world’s vulnerability to nuclear, environmental and political threats, was set at 3 minutes to midnight – with midnight being the apocalypse – in 2016. The 30 second leap this year is the largest change ever made.
In a statement, its executive director, Rachel Bronson, said: “Today’s complex global environment is in need of deliberate and considered policy responses. “The current political situation in the US is a particular concern,” said theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss at a press conference in Washington DC on Thursday.
“It is ever more important that senior leaders across the globe calm rather than stoke tensions that could lead to war, either by accident or miscalculation.” “The Trump administration needs to state clearly and unequivocally that it accepts that climate change is caused by human activity,” added Krauss, explaining that although some global progress such as the Paris accord was made last year, 2016 was the hottest year on record.
The world is now a more dangerous place than it was a year ago, the scientists said, referring directly to the election of President Donald Trump and alleged Russian hacking during the campaign. Several of Trump’s cabinet nominees are climate sceptics, such as Mick Mulvaney as head of the Office of Management and Budget, which Krauss notes “foreshadows the possibility they will be openly hostile to even modest efforts to combat climate change.”
Trump’s comments on growing the US nuclear arsenal have been called ill-considered, they said, as they expressed concern at his “troubling propensity to discount or outright reject expert advice” on global security. But climate change isn’t the only issue. Nuclear weapons – particularly those held by the United States and Russia and the testing of weapons by North Korea – and tensions in Syria, Ukraine and Kashmir all making the world a more dangerous place than it was last year.
The scientists also described his appointments to environmental roles as people who “dispute the basics of climate science”. Thomas Pickering, who serves on the board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, noted that both during the election campaign and in Trump’s first days in office he “engaged in casual talk about nuclear weapons”. Bulletin scientists noted on multiple occasions throughout the Thursday morning press conference that “words matter, words count”.
The statement added: “In short, even though he has just now taken office, the president’s intemperate statements, lack of openness to expert advice, and questionable cabinet nominations have already made a bad international security situation worse.” “Loose but dangerous rhetoric have become almost commonplace,” said Rachel Bronson, the executive director and publisher of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
The scientists called on Congress and the Trump administration to embrace science in their policy making, particularly around issues of climate change.
“Policy that is sensible requires facts that are facts,” said Krauss.
The closest the clock, symbolising the threat of apocalypse, has ever come to striking midnight was in 1953, when it was timed at two minutes to midnight.The closest the clock, symbolising the threat of apocalypse, has ever come to striking midnight was in 1953, when it was timed at two minutes to midnight.
In that year the US took the decision to upgrade its nuclear arsenal with the hydrogen bomb, “a weapon far more powerful than any atomic bomb”.In that year the US took the decision to upgrade its nuclear arsenal with the hydrogen bomb, “a weapon far more powerful than any atomic bomb”.
In 2015, the clock was brought two minutes forward, taking it to three minutes to midnight. Last year it remained unchanged, but scientists warned this was still “far too close”.In 2015, the clock was brought two minutes forward, taking it to three minutes to midnight. Last year it remained unchanged, but scientists warned this was still “far too close”.
The Bulletin was founded by US scientists involved in the Manhattan Project, which developed the world’s first nuclear weapons during the second world war.The Bulletin was founded by US scientists involved in the Manhattan Project, which developed the world’s first nuclear weapons during the second world war.
In 1947, they established the Doomsday Clock to provide a simple way of demonstrating the danger to Earth and humanity posed by nuclear war. Today, the Bulletin is an independent non-profit organisation run by some of the world’s most eminent scientists. In 1947, they established the Doomsday Clock to provide a simple way of demonstrating the danger to Earth and humanity posed by nuclear war. Today, the Bulletin is an independent non-profit organisation run by scientists.
In a direct warning to world leaders and members of the public this year the board said: “Wise public officials should act immediately, guiding humanity away from the brink. If they do not, wise citizens must step forward and lead the way.”