Doomsday Clock - Running out of Time

THURS 25 JAN 2018

PEOPLE FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

www.pndnsw.org.au

HUMAN SURVIVAL PROJECT

DOOMSDAY CLOCK: RUNNING OUT OF TIME

https://clock.thebulletin.org/

The Doomsday Clock is scheduled to be re-set tomorrow, at a press-conference in Washington. (10am Thursday morning, eastern US time, 2am Friday morning, Sydney time.)

The current time (before reset) is 2 and a half minutes to 'midnight', where 'midnight' represents potentially civilisation-ending events such as global thermonuclear war., or runaway climate change. An event such as the use of nuclear weapons on the DPRK could also constitute 'midnight'.

The risk of nuclear weapons use when, last year, the clock was moved an unprecedented half – minute toward midnight, was already great. In moving the half minute, already influenced by the lack of any more minutes, the Bulletins Board of Sponsors uttered dire warnings and cited the statements already made by incoming president Trump that indicated a cavalier attitude toward possible nuclear weapons use.

In the 12 months since then matters have only gotten worse. Not only does the world stand trembling on the brink of a US-DPRK conflict that seems very likely to involve nuclear weapons use, but there are two other nuclear weapons standoffs taking place: One between India and Pakistan, in which trump-like nuclear threats have been uttered by both sides, and one between Russia and NATO, in which yet once more, mirror-imaged NATO and Russian military exercises have taken place in eastern Europe.

Even without the possibility of a US-DPRK conflict, the clock would be at its current 2 and a half minutes to midnight.

With such a conflict seemingly at odds as high as 50-50, its very possible the clock could be moved forward, though we wont know until the announcement is actually made.

But there are not many minutes left now.

The world is running out of time.

John Hallam

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

61-411-854-612

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Watch the 2018 Clock announcement live at the Bulletin

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The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will host a live international news conference at 10 a.m. EST/1500 GMT on Thursday, January 25, 2018, to announce the 2018 time of the Doomsday Clock. Watch the announcement live atclock.thebulletin.org, or on our Facebook page through Facebook Live.

Speakers for the Doomsday Clock announcement on January 25, 2018 will include:

•   Rachel Bronson, President and CEO, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

•    Sivan Kartha, Bulletin Science and Security Board; Senior Scientist at the Stockholm Environmental Institute and co-leader of SEI’s Gender and Social Equity Program. Kartha served as a Coordinating Lead Author in the preparation of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

•    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.

•    Robert Rosner, chair, Bulletin Science and Security Board; William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics and Physics at the University of Chicago.

•    Sharon Squassoni, Bulletin Science and Security Board; Research Professor of Practice at the Institute for International Science and Technology Policy, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University.

Explore our Timeline of the Clock's past changes, and test your knowledge of the Clock by visiting "Doomsday Clockwork," our special FAQ on the purpose and history of Martyl Langsdorf's 1947 creation. You can see all this and more atthebulletin.org.

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