Doomsday Clock expected to move closer to midnight as threat of global annihilation grows
Source: Telegraph
A Doomsday Clock, which symbolises the current threat of global annihilation, is expected to be moved closer to midnight by scientists.
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But the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is expected to move it forward by one minute on Thursday, the closest it has ever been to the apocalypse since 1953 when the US took the decision to upgrade its nuclear arsenal with the hydrogen bomb.
The Doomsday Clock now not only takes into account the likelihood of nuclear Armageddon but also other emerging threats, such as climate change and advances in biotechnology and artificial intelligence.
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On Thursday the Bulletin will announce the new "time" in an event to be streamed live at 3.30pm GMT.
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Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/01/25/doomsdayclock-expected-move-closer-midnight-threat-global-annihilation/
Their website is http://thebulletin.org/
nycbos
(6,044 posts)If we have to go out lets go out in style.
bananas
(27,509 posts)Watch the Doomsday Clock announcement
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will host a live international news conference at 10 a.m. EST/1500 GMT on January 26, 2017, to announce whether the minute hand of the historic Doomsday Clock will be adjusted. The decision is made by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board in consultation with the Board of Sponsors, which includes 15 Nobel Laureates.
Factors influencing the 2017 deliberations regarding any adjustment that may be made to the Doomsday Clock include: a rise in strident nationalism worldwide, President Donald Trumps comments on nuclear arms and climate issues prior to his inauguration on January 20th, a darkening global security landscape that is colored by increasingly sophisticated technology, and a growing disregard for scientific expertise.
In January 2016, the Doomsday Clocks minute hand did not change, remaining at three minutes before midnight, the closest it has been to midnight since the early days of above-ground hydrogen bomb testing. The Clock was changed in 2015 from five to three minutes to midnight.
Speakers for the Doomsday Clock announcement on January 26, 2017 will include:
Lawrence Krauss, chair, Bulletin Board of Sponsors; director, Origins Project at Arizona State University; and Foundation Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration and Physics Department, Arizona State University.
Thomas Pickering, Bulletin Board of Sponsors, former US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (1997-2000) and US Ambassador to the United Nations, the Russian Federation, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria, and Jordan. Ambassador Pickering is currently focused on nonproliferation, most recently the Iran nuclear agreement.
David Titley, Bulletin Science and Security Board, professor of practice at the Pennsylvania State University Department of Meteorology, and founding director, Penn States Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk. Dr. Titley is a nationally known expert in the field of climate, the Arctic, and national security, and a retired rear admiral. While serving as Oceanographer and Navigator of the Navy, Dr. Titley initiated and led the U.S.Navy's Task Force on Climate Change.
Rachel Bronson, executive director and publisher, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Please join us for this historic announcement; watch it live at thebulletin.org. You can also like/follow us on Facebook and watch the announcement via Facebook Live. And don't forget to take the 2017 Clock poll. Let us know what time you think it is.
The 2017 Clock announcement was made possible by the generous support of the Ploughshares Fund.
csziggy
(34,139 posts)if anyone needs it.
sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)Nash Teeth
(57 posts)I think we have an extra hour.
that was good!
longship
(40,416 posts)Mine from this morning dropped off the edge of the Earth.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028534319
Hopefully DUers will pay attention.
My best to you, bananas.
As to musical interludes, try this one:
BumRushDaShow
(129,952 posts)These folks don't get how lunatic this man is.