Today's non-headline brought to you by: Iran, North Korea, and global warming!

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/17/europe/EU-FEA-Britain-Doomsday-Clock.php

LONDON: The hand of the Doomsday Clock pushed two minutes closer to midnight Wednesday — a stark warning from prominent scientists that the world is nudging closer to a nuclear apocalypse or environmental disaster.

The iconic clock, which now reads 11:55, is meant to symbolize the likelihood of a global cataclysm, and its ticks have given the clock's keepers a chance to speak out over the dangers they see threatening the Earth.

The clock's move comes amid persistent fears over the nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea — and the increasingly urgent warnings over global warming.

"The dangers posed by climate change are nearly as dire as those posed by nuclear weapons," said Kennette Benedict, the director of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Stephen W. Hawking, the renowned cosmologist and mathematician, told The Associated Press that global warming eclipsed other challenges facing the planet, such as terrorism.


"Terror only kills hundreds or thousands of people," Hawking said. "Global warming could kill millions. We should have a war on global warming rather than the war on terror."

This is the first time that the bulletin, founded in 1945 as a newsletter distributed among physicists concerned by the possibility of nuclear war, has explicitly addressed the threat of climate change.

"We are transforming, even ravaging the entire biosphere. These environmentally driven threats — threats without enemies — should loom as large as did the East-West divide during the Cold War era," said Martin Rees, president of the Royal Society, Britain's academy of science.

"Unless they rise higher on international agendas, remedial action may come too late," he said.

The decision to move the clock is made by the bulletin's board, which is composed of prominent scientists and policy experts, in coordination with the group's sponsors, who include Hawking and science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.

Despite the organization's new focus on global warming, the prospect of nuclear war remained its primary concern, the bulletin's editor, Mark Strauss, told The AP before the announcement.

"It's important to emphasize 50 of today's nuclear weapons could kill 200 million people," he said.

The organization floated a variety of proposals to help control the threat of nuclear proliferation by rogue nations. They also repeated their call to nuclear nations to whittle down their arsenals and reduce the launch readiness of their weapons.

Other panelists, including Lawrence Krauss, a physics professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, criticized the use of military means to deal with nuclear proliferation, emphasizing the use multilateral diplomacy.

"If we want to address proliferation we want to do it in a unified way, and not with the sole country acting pre-emptively," Krauss said.

Since it was set to seven minutes to midnight in 1947, the Doomsday Clock's hand has been moved 18 times, including Wednesday's move.

It came closest to midnight — just two minutes away — in 1953, following the successful test of a hydrogen bomb by the United States. It has been as far away as 17 minutes, set there in 1991
following the demise of the Soviet Union.

Here's their website for you over-achievers.
http://www.thebulletin.org/

Just food for thought.

1/18/2007 2:14:36 PM

Quote :

"The dangers posed by climate change are nearly as dire as those posed by nuclear weapons," said Kennette Benedict, the director of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. "

Even the fact that Stephen Hawking, whom I generally well respect, chimed in on the same subject is dastardly retarded. You can't arbitrarily move a clock towards midnight on the human race. First, what scale is the clock on? Should we be concerned that it will stike midnight this century, millenia, billion years?

Second, you couldn't possibly use the same clock to propose likelihood of global death by global warming changes in climate and death by nuclear war. They're vastly different and have VASTLY different timeframes. This is simply nonsense.

1/18/2007 3:05:34 PM

Quote :

"You can't arbitrarily move a clock towards midnight on the human race."

yes you can, because it's just symbolic. it's not an actual clock, okay?

Quote :

"First, what scale is the clock on"

the # of minutes to midnight is a measure of the degree of threat of annihilation of the human race.

Quote :

"Second, you couldn't possibly use the same clock to propose likelihood of global death by global warming changes in climate and death by nuclear war. They're vastly different and have VASTLY different timeframes."

again, its not a measure of how LONG until we're all killed. its just a measure of the threat of annihilation. closer to midnight = more bad things happening in the world that could kill us all.

Quote :

"This is simply nonsense."

DURR

[Edited on January 18, 2007 at 3:20 PM. Reason : n]

1/18/2007 3:14:01 PM

wow, someone really missed the point of this clock

1/18/2007 3:23:22 PM

according to my clock it is 3:23 right now

1/18/2007 3:24:53 PM

Quote :

"yes you can, because it's just symbolic. it's not an actual clock, okay?"

Obviously, but are they willing to move the clock backwards as well? Are they gonna be like "Damn, looks like this Iran, NK thing worked itself out, lets make it 3:00 again?

Quote :

"wow, someone really missed the point of this clock "

No, I got the point. Some pricks want to be alarmist and make the news each year when they have nothing real to report about the state of the world.

[Edited on January 18, 2007 at 3:27 PM. Reason : .]

1/18/2007 3:26:45 PM

Quote :

"It came closest to midnight — just two minutes away — in 1953, following the successful test of a hydrogen bomb by the United States. It has been as far away as 17 minutes, set there in 1991 following the demise of the Soviet Union."

1/18/2007 3:31:08 PM

Quote :

"are they willing to move the clock backwards as well?"

yes indeed

1/18/2007 3:33:57 PM

^^thanks.

So in its existence, we've never been more than 17 "minutes" away from global destruction?

I'd also like to take a stab or Hawking's idiotic statement:

Quote :

""Terror only kills hundreds or thousands of people," Hawking said. "Global warming could kill millions. We should have a war on global warming rather than the war on terror." "

You're right. And global war on old age, car accidents, heart disease, etc...

[Edited on January 18, 2007 at 3:37 PM. Reason : .]

1/18/2007 3:35:40 PM

Quote :

"So in its existence, we've never been more than 17 "minutes" away from global destruction?"

Since 1947.

1/18/2007 3:45:20 PM

Quote :

"the # of minutes to midnight is a measure of the degree of threat of annihilation of the human race."

So, being five minutes away, that gives us a 99.3% chance of all dying?

Hell, even at the height of the cold war a full nuclear exchange would not wipe out mankind, just most of it. There would be plenty of creative and eager people left over to repopulate the planet. Sure, it would be a huge blow to civilization and many habitats will not survive, but in no way will the planet become un-livable. After a generation or so even the most bombed out places will be perfectly safe.

And you want to suggest Global Warming is going to wipe out mankind? Not even the authors believe that, that's why they use the term "global cataclysm", which is so wide it would include the Great Depression.

Are we fairly certain what the effects of Global Warming will be, none of which could come close to killing many of us, much less all of us.

1/18/2007 4:01:26 PM

bgmims makes the perfect point as to why fucking idiots who don't know shit about a subject should actually look something up before flying off the handle. way to look like a complete fucktard

1/18/2007 4:51:53 PM

Quote :

""Terror only kills hundreds or thousands of people," Hawking said. "Global warming could kill millions. We should have a war on global warming rather than the war on terror.""

lol

1/18/2007 5:57:29 PM

so if somehow we had world peace and the global temperatures dropped, would they set the time backwards? cause if a clock is real or just iconic, its still not supposed to backwards...unless that scenario would be like daylight savings time? but then eventually it would have to go back forward another hour...?

1/18/2007 6:10:33 PM

Quote :

"so if somehow we had world peace and the global temperatures dropped, would they set the time backwards? "

how is this so hard to understand?

YES, they would set it back. as far back as the clock can possible go. or they would just throw it in the garbage because WHO GIVES A FUCK

1/18/2007 6:18:58 PM

its hard to understand because its not a real clock...i understand how real clocks work...the gears are lined up and timed to keep approximate time, hopefully only losing seconds every month or so

i dont understand their magical make-believe clock...so to me it is hard to understand, because theres no logic behind it

1/18/2007 6:20:45 PM

well im sorry you cant comprehend such a simple idea.

1/18/2007 6:25:09 PM

the clock is stupid

but it's not stupid to figure out

the closer they say it is to midnight, the more you should say "oh shit i better start watching the news more often"

the further away they say it is from midnight, the more you should say "who the fuck gives a shit?"

1/18/2007 6:26:54 PM

^preeeettty much

1/18/2007 6:27:46 PM

Which Jack Bauer is through this shit will be at 6 am.

1/18/2007 6:38:21 PM

^^^i understood that much, i just didnt know if they ever moved it backwards

1/18/2007 7:04:53 PM

Which When Jack Bauer is through, this shit will be at 6 am.

1/18/2007 7:10:47 PM

[Edited on January 18, 2007 at 8:38 PM. Reason : I should read all the post next time]

1/18/2007 8:36:09 PM

^ummm

mid 1880s?

1/18/2007 8:38:46 PM

im pretty sure there is a 100% chance all of us will die.

1/18/2007 8:42:07 PM

Quote :

"we've never been more than 17 "minutes" away from global destruction?""

I think it fell back to 11:30 during Woodstock

1/18/2007 10:08:36 PM

This thread has re-affirmed my faith....



that NCSU has too low a standard...



and needs more cowbell.


Seriously, how was this so hard to understand?

[Edited on January 18, 2007 at 10:22 PM. Reason : MCATs, LSATs, GREs...nah give them the fucking "Doomsday Clock Test".]

1/18/2007 10:20:31 PM

has no one heard of this before, this has been around for ages.

c'mon, i know some of you all have played GTA: Vice City, put the radio on VROCK and heard that song with the chorus "TWO minutesssssss to midddddddddddddddddnighhttttttttttttttttt"

1/18/2007 10:48:36 PM

LIVEN AFTA MIDNIGHT

ROCKIN TO THE DAWN

1/18/2007 11:28:47 PM

I dont get it.

is that Eastern, or Pacific time... or UTC?

what?

1/19/2007 12:21:23 AM

so when they finally start dropping bombs everywhere, which scientist gets stuck with the duty of leaving their bunker to go move the clock hands to midnight?

1/19/2007 1:37:19 PM

im sure they would just fax a press release.

1/19/2007 2:34:53 PM

I've always thought that the Doomsday Clock was entirely pointless (aside from making some scientists feel important).

Can we start a TWW Doomsday Clock and update it annually?

1/19/2007 2:40:40 PM

im bout ta go midnight on yo ass, f00.

1/19/2007 2:50:32 PM

bump

1/13/2010 4:50:43 PM

WTH?

1/13/2010 5:08:18 PM

The news says they're going to move the time tomorrow morning. No word yet on if it's just a DST adjustment or if Obama has moved it back to 9pm with his nobel prize winning hope.

FTR, I didn't request the bump and think the clock is bullshit.

1/13/2010 5:41:30 PM

this thread was absolute hilarity

1/13/2010 6:20:48 PM

I don't particularly have a problem with scientists using relative terms to express our nearness or distance from global calamity.

It's not an issue of how far we are from midnight, it's an issue of what direction we're heading. When some of the world's top scientists tell me we're closer to dying off en masse, I'm willing to pay some attention to them.

1/14/2010 12:41:15 AM

1/14/2010 12:48:26 AM

How can you be closer to dying off en mass? Technology marches forward, and since the only mechanism by which we can die off en mass comes from space, every day that passes we are that much better at preventing the problem.

More people die of car accidents than will die of global warming, mad cow, pig flu, or peak oil.

1/14/2010 2:42:08 AM

Quote :

"It's not an issue of how far we are from midnight, it's an issue of what direction we're heading. When some of the world's top scientists tell me we're closer to dying off en masse, I'm willing to pay some attention to them."

Eh, the dystopian future I imagine owes more to Malthus than Mad Max. My guess is there will be more and more of us living in increasing poverty over the next few hundred years.

1/14/2010 3:14:50 AM

LoneSnark is the master of presenting possibilities as facts.

I also notice that I don't see the term "extinction" in any of the Doomsday Clock stuff.

1/14/2010 4:20:49 AM

http://www.turnbacktheclock.org/

Announcement in :30


Bump was my request. What are y'alls thoughts? With Iran, N. Korea, and the continuing threat of 'Terrorism' they could be headed closer to midnight.

However, with the supposed global hope in Obama, it could be going further away.

[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 9:33 AM. Reason : .]

1/14/2010 9:31:40 AM

I prefer the clock move forward.

1/14/2010 9:35:50 AM

OMG YALL. 6 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT.

THIS MEANS NOTHING.

1/14/2010 12:47:29 PM

It'll move closer to midnight of course. Nothing is being done about the global terror ravaging us all...that being AGW! No global agreement among nations and increasing CO2 concentration every day!


we're all fucked

1/14/2010 1:05:05 PM

This is an excellent example of fear mongering.

Its hard to argue against the direction humanity is going. Changes need to occur. Attention needs to be paid to our effect on the environment.

This minutes to midnight horseshit is taking something and wrapping it in fantastic and scary wrapping paper in the hopes of provoking action from the masses.

1/14/2010 1:15:42 PM

^

Quote :

"Attention needs to be paid to our effect on the environment."

Yeah we already do that pretty good.

1/14/2010 1:32:46 PM

Grumpy, what are we supposed to think a "Doomsday Clock" purports to schedule if not doomsday?

And yes, the things I say are often my opinion. If I say 'the great wall is 5500 miles long' you can take it as fact. If I say 'the great wall is very long' you can take it as my opinion. So what? Do you never present your own opinions in TWW posts?

1/15/2010 10:09:55 AM