webfact Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Nuclear 'Doomsday Clock' ticks closest to midnight in 64 years By John Clarke REUTERS Lawrence Krauss (L), chairman of the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" Board of Sponsors, and board member Thomas Pickering (R), a former U.S. Under Secretary of State as well as US Ambassador to the United Nations, Russia and other countries, unveil that the board has moved the minute hand of their "Doomsday Clock" by 30 seconds to a more ominous 2-1/2 minutes from midnight during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, U.S. January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Bourg WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Atomic scientists reset their symbolic "DoomsdayClock" to its closest time to midnight in 64 years on Thursday, saying the world was closer to catastrophe due to threats such as nuclear weapons, climate change and Donald Trump's election as U.S. president. The timepiece, devised by the Chicago-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and displayed on its website, is widely viewed as an indicator of the world's vulnerability to disaster. Its hands were moved to two minutes and 30 seconds to midnight, from three minutes. "The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than it's ever been in the lifetime of almost everyone in this room," Lawrence Krauss, the bulletin's chair, told a news conference in Washington. The clock was last set this close to midnight in 1953, marking the start of the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Thursday's reset was the first since 2015. Krauss, a theoretical physicist, said Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin carried a large share of the blame for the heightened threat. The bulletin cited nuclear volatility, especially as the United States and Russia seek to modernize their atomic arsenals and remain at odds in war-torn countries such as Syria and Ukraine. Trump has suggested South Korea and Japan could acquire nuclear weapons to compete with North Korea, which has conducted nuclear tests. Trump has also raised doubts about the future of a multilateral nuclear pact with Iran. Chinese aid to Pakistan in the nuclear weapons field, as well as the expansion of India and Pakistan's nuclear arsenals, were also worrisome, the bulletin said in a statement. The climate change outlook was somewhat less dismal, "but only somewhat." While nations had taken actions to combat climate change, the bulletin noted, there appeared to be little appetite for additional cuts to carbon dioxide emissions. It said the Trump administration nominees raise the possibility the government will be "openly hostile to progress toward even the most modest efforts to avert catastrophic climate disruption." The world also faces cyber threats, the bulletin said. U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia intervened in the presidential election to help Trump raised the possibility of similar attacks on other democracies, it said. The bulletin was founded by scientists who helped develop the United States' first atomic weapons. Its Science and Security Board decides on the clock's hands in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes Nobel laureates. (Reporting by John Clarke; Writing by Ian Simpson; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Jonathan Oatis) -- © Copyright Reuters 2017-01-27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kotsak Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigt3365 Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 30 minutes ago, webfact said: saying the world was closer to catastrophe due to threats such as nuclear weapons, climate change and Donald Trump's election as U.S. president. Ain't that the truth! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silurian Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 (edited) 29 minutes ago, craigt3365 said: 1 hour ago, webfact said: saying the world was closer to catastrophe due to threats such as nuclear weapons, climate change and Donald Trump's election as U.S. president. Ain't that the truth! LOL Well according to the fraudulent POTUS climate change is a hoax and also asks why doesn't the USA use its current nuclear weapons so there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Edited January 27, 2017 by Silurian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somtamnication Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 No need for that stupid clock. I knew this since 9/11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverell Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Project fear continues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaibeachlovers Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 So a group of scientists that know a lot about nuclear stuff profess to know the future- WOW, they must be really, really clever, or just perhaps they got too much radiation in their heads! The entire human race is just one germ away from extinction, never mind the odd asteroid or two, so perhaps we shouldn't be getting too stressed about what might happen, and be nicer to each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sphere Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Looks like a pepperoni pizza advt with a delivery guarantee..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddavidovsky Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 47 minutes ago, Somtamnication said: No need for that stupid clock. I knew this since 9/11. I knew this since population levels reached a critical tipping point in 1970. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaibeachlovers Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 1 minute ago, ddavidovsky said: I knew this since population levels reached a critical tipping point in 1970. Quite right. Even without nuking everyone, the human race will breed itself into extinction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverell Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 10 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said: Quite right. Even without nuking everyone, the human race will breed itself into extinction. If that is the case then countries need to put a lot of bromide in the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maewang99 Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 (edited) I want to see Kim Jung Un pop his head up again. with Trump on duty. Kim Jung Un of the DPRK... the country Trump says is 'totally controlled by China'. and therefore not at all 'totally controlled' by Kim Jung Un. he is somewhat accurate on the last thing... but on the first one he is plainly ignorant. for starters, China is run by thousands of cadre, and the same is true for North Korea. in the real world. but Trump doesn't face any specific cadre, except maybe the Joint Chiefs. THAT's dangerous, because all our "enemies" must face that fact in their sleep. not just the American public..... the ones that are not knuckleheads. Edited January 27, 2017 by maewang99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaibeachlovers Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 1 minute ago, Maverell said: If that is the case then countries need to put a lot of bromide in the water. Not all countries. Most western and 1st world countries have a low population growth. Some countries unfortunately overbreed and then send all the surplus to disrupt the countries that don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakhonandy Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Scientists should deal with facts not speculation. More non news Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinnock Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Closer to Doomsday than during the Cuban missile Crisis? Nonsense. Trump, Putin (and ISIS) have too much tied up in their business interests to nuke anything. The human race will go out with a hungry whimper, and not with a bang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicog Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 1 hour ago, nakhonandy said: Scientists should deal with facts not speculation. More non news What speculation? Did Trump not tweet: "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability" ? And of course the logical response from other nuclear nations will be to strengthen and expand theirs. Perhaps you need to read up on a few facts yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hansnl Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 7 hours ago, craigt3365 said: Ain't that the truth! LOL I think that is highly unlikely! Bloody nonsense to state the election of one person can have that result or influence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tartempion Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Been thinking this for many years know: This planet would be better off without the human species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcsmith Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 (edited) 44 minutes ago, hansnl said: I think that is highly unlikely! Bloody nonsense to state the election of one person can have that result or influence. Completely disagree with this. Trump controls the largest military in the world, and his anti-muslim rhetoric is going to fire up muslims extremists, as will his open support of Israel. Even American allies in the middle east are on edge after his comments that we should have taken the oil in Iraq, and speculating that maybe we'd have another chance. His odd love affair with Russia has thrown NATO for a loop. And his open aggression aimed at China is not going to help any. Then you add to that him completely ignoring climate change will affect everyone. He's unpredictable and makes statements which can throw the world for a loop seemingly randomly and without thought. He's very dangerous. Edited January 27, 2017 by jcsmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connda Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 The planet probably will better if if the Doomsday clock strikes midnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwiken Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 7 hours ago, Somtamnication said: No need for that stupid clock. I knew this since 9/11. 9/11 means different things to different people in the US calendar 9/11 means 11 day of September but as a member of the commonwealth it means 9th day of November to me. Nothing memorable there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli42 Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overherebc Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Our local noodle seller said they should lose the key for this clock and just let it stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterg40 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Be afraid,very afraid.Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterg40 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Been thinking this for many years know: This planet would be better off without the human species.Yep,that's the Fundamental problem,that's totally out of control 7 billion;Whoops another one born,Whoops,Whoops,Whoops,etc etc etc.Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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