Doomsday Clock Moved Two Minutes Forward, To 23:57

An anonymous reader writes As reported by CNN and Time, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved their famed Doomsday Clock two minutes closer to midnight. Now at 23:57, this clock attempts to personify humanity's closeness to a global catastrophe (as caused by either climate change or nuclear war). According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, this change is due to a lack of action regarding climate issues, the continued existence of nuclear weapon stockpiles, and the increased animosity that now exists between the United States and Russia.

Comments

IMO

[Osgeld]

its horseshit scare tactics that dont work anymore over nonsense bullshit that has no leg to stand on

so who cares, move it to 1 am, doesnt mean a damn thing

Re:IMO

[Tablizer]

Nuke the doomsday clock!

Re:IMO

[Applehu Akbar]

In the days when the Doomsday Clock was published by actual atomic scientists, it measured their perception of how imminent the Cold War danger was. The end of Communism cut the Doomsday Clockers adrift, much as Salk vaccine did to the March of Dimes.

So are the SJWs who found this thing in the attic and dusted it off advancing the clock because of carbon, or because of Islam? Let me guess...

Re:IMO

[Anonymous Coward]

its horseshit scare tactics that dont work anymore over nonsense bullshit that has no leg to stand on

so who cares, move it to 1 am, doesnt mean a damn thing

Uh, I could be spitballing here, but maybe, just maybe, the original designers of the clock felt that humanity should fucking care.

Or perhaps it was created to point out that they should. It's not called the Bake-A-Cake clock.

And don't get me started on horseshit scare tactics. Politics have caused more panic and damage with global warming than 10,000 clocks ever could.

Oh yay, more about the bullshit clock

[Sycraft-fu]

You know, when something says that we are so close to destruction for over half a century... well you have to wonder why anyone would put any stock in it. It is a bit hard to reconcile with being on the edge of destruction, and yet everything continuing to not be destroyed.

Re:Oh yay, more about the bullshit clock

[Anonymous Coward]

Apparently we're closer (23:57) to an apocalypse than in any time during 1960 - 1984. This includes the Cuban missile crisis.

Re:Oh yay, more about the bullshit clock

[ultranova]

You know, when something says that we are so close to destruction for over half a century... well you have to wonder why anyone would put any stock in it. It is a bit hard to reconcile with being on the edge of destruction, and yet everything continuing to not be destroyed.

Did you know the most dangerous drivers are not those who have just gotten their license, but those who have had a bit of experience? The reason is that new drivers are all too aware that they're one bad decision away from being gruesomely killed, while those who have driven for a while let their guard down because "nothing's happened so far, so nothing ever will".

This is true for dangerous acitvities in general. Someone who's handling boiling acid for the first time will make damn sure to think what they're doing. Someone who's done it a hundred times is busy thinking what they'll be having for lunch. And then acid gets somewhere it shouldn't, and suddenly things get very exciting again.

We haven't been destroyed because we've been very lucky. During Cuban missile crisis American ships actually dropped depth charges on a nuke-carrying Russian submarine. The captain and the political officer were all for launching it in retaliation, but the idea was vetoed by Vasili Arkhipov. And it's not the only time humanity's fate has hung on the decisions of a single person.

And of course this is all ignoring the possibilities of, say, biological warfare advancing technology is bringing to within reach of even non-state actors. You may not have noticed, but some of these actors are nowhere near as rational nor benevolent as the Soviet Russia of old.

Finally, the dawning of the Information Age is challenging whole new facets of human capacity for evil. Hypocrisy is quickly becoming impossible as privacy continues to erode. At the same time, anonymity serves to strip away pretensions of civility and expose the grinning skull beneath all too many faces. With Industrial Age, the choice was "cease warring or die"; with Information Age it's "stop being hypocrites or have your souls crushed". Given that it took two world wars to get humanity to the point where we had any chance to survive harnessing the power of the atom, I shudder to think what it'll take to prepare us for omnipresent computation.

We're running a gauntlet, a purgatory forcing us to choose between our shadow or increasing amounts of pain. Every aspect of our existence is being confronted by its shortcomings like never before, for there are no more second chances. Humanity will either demonstrate it has mastered its dark side before it will master nature and reach the stars, or it will send itself to oblivion so more worthy beings might inherit them instead. It's not two minutes to midnight, it's Judgement Day.

Re:More Global Warming Alarmism!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Global warming is a hoax.

Try to separate reality from politics. Al Gore and the rest of the billionaire elite may well be using Global warming as an excuse to keep us peons down yet such actions are independent of and speak nothing about whether global warming itself is occurring nor does it shed any light on what potential consequences if any may be. These are things that require careful research and consideration to arrive at an understanding that isn't completely worthless.

It is possible to concurrently agree with a climate prediction while strongly disagreeing about what should be done about it.

A wealth redistribution program

Gasoline is a wealth redistribution program if ever there was one with hard earned dollars going to fund cartoon empires with medieval sensibilities all around the globe.

The claims more and more outrageous. What's next? Amber Alerts over gasoline guzzlers? EPA patrols at night to enforce a driving curfew or carpools?

Doubtful "elite" have appetites for things which also negatively affect them. Taxing shit they dislike to death so peons can't afford is more their style.

Want to stop 'man made' global warming? Kill yourself. End overpopulation. Starting with the UN and every politician.

As an agent of the Aschen confederation you should demonstrate more patience.

Re:^^Winner

[quenda]

Russia is a democracy.

Ha, good one Trollston! You had me there for a minute.

I got a better clock

[Nyder]

It's always set to 4:20.

Balderdash

[jabberw0k]

That man in the White House has won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Re:Balderdash

[Isaac-1]

Make that was given, regardless of if you are an Obama supporter or not, you must admit many of the resasons he was given the prize so early in his presidency were not based on actions, but based on campaign promises that never came to passs.

Re:Balderdash

[phayes]

Has world peace made a major step forward in the years Obama has been President? No. In fact by abandoning Iraq before they were ready Obama fostered the Islamic State which we will be spending the next few presidencies working on.

Obama was indeed handed the NPP for not being Bush but that says more about the NPP's political leanings and how irrelevant the NPP is than anything else.

Wait a second...

[Cheviot]

When did they add climate change to the Doomsday Clock and what makes the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists experts on how much closer global warming puts us to global catastrophe?

Re:More Global Warming Alarmism!!!!!!!!

[Chas]

A wealth redistribution program

Gasoline is a wealth redistribution program if ever there was one with hard earned dollars going to fund cartoon empires with medieval sensibilities all around the globe.

Yeah. But with gasoline. You get...gasoline. Something for something.

With "carbon credits" you get...what? Some guy going "Good for you dude! And thanks for the cash!". Something for nothing.

Re:Be a scientist and look at the data

[drinkypoo]

Which sex is responsible for the vast majority of crime?

That's a good question. Women are likely convicted less when guilty (read also following section) so it's impossible to say.

Which sex has the most deadbeat fathers?

And now we see how surveys are conducted.