Turning back the clock
Turning back the clock
The Doomsday Clock has been set back by a single minute for the first time in its 63-year history
A group of international scientists composed of more than a dozen Nobel laureates moved the hands of the symbolic "Doomsday Clock" for the first time in two years. This end-of-the-world clock, created in 1947 by a group of scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, was designed to reflect how close civilization is to the end of the world caused by nuclear catastrophe. The hands of the symbolic “Doomsday Clock” were moved away from midnight -- or the figurative apocalypse -- but only by one minute, an expression of optimism for humanity’s future.
"By shifting the hand back from midnight by only one additional minute, we emphasize how much needs to be accomplished, while at the same time recognizing signs of collaboration among the United States, Russia, the European Union, India, China, Brazil, and others on nuclear security and on climate stabilization," the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said in a statement. A news conference announcing the change took place at the New York Academy of Sciences Building in New York City. The actual clock is maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and housed in Chicago, Ill., and so a representation of the clock was shown at the news conference.
First set at seven minutes to midnight, the clock has been moved only 18 times since its inception. Over the years, the clock has come to also reflect the threats posed by climate change, nuclear terrorism and biological weapons. Though the types of threats have changed since the clock's creation, security experts say it still maintains its significance.
"We are poised to bend the arc of human history," said Lawrence M. Krauss, co-chair of the Bulletin's Board of Sponsors and a professor at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration and its physics department.
"What that means is that there's great potential for it to move in either direction depending on what happens," he said, adding that for both nuclear weapons and climate change threats there has been "a sea change in attitude, an opening up of possibilities, but not yet a lot of action."
"That's hopeful enough to move it but just by a little bit," he said.
Though immediate threats to civilization may not be at the top of most people's minds, the clock helps bring a sense of urgency to the threats now facing humanity.
For the first time, the public was invited to take part in the Bulletin's announcement as the group streamed live video of the event online. To watch, visit: TurnBacktheClock.org.
Image credit: Mary Altaffer / AP
