The Clockworks

I’d like to start off with a couple lines from the ‘Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists‘, but before I do that let me say this site is in no way affiliated with the BAS or the Doomsday Clock, and all material from them is copyrighted to their respective creators. It has been created strictly to inform and increase awareness of this troubling subject.

“The Doomsday Clock conveys how close humanity is to catastrophic destruction–the figurative midnight–and monitors the means humankind could use to obliterate itself. First and foremost, these include nuclear weapons, but they also encompass climate-changing technologies and new developments in the life sciences that could inflict irrevocable harm.”

The BAS describes a breakdown, a total amount of forces pushing the clock closer towards midnight. As stated in the previous quote, there are three primary factors baring down on humanity. The Nuclear, Climate Change, and Bio-security. Think of these as the gears in this Doomsday Clock…

Example:

We assign one gear the job of providing movement to the clock based on the nuclear factor, and in 1991 a new nuclear arms treaty was signed and sends our gear into action! The treaty had the implied result of less danger and a lower chance of nuclear war, therefore the ‘nuclear gear’ pushes the clock all the way back to seventeen minutes to midnight, from a previous time of three minutes to midnight in 1984! Now, that is a very simplified analogy… Imagine all three gears (nuclear, climate, and bio) working together, a new treaty may lower the risk of nuclear war, but at the same time the effects of climate change could be having the opposite effect on the clock due to global warming, but to a higher degree, pushing the clock closer to midnight despite the positive effects of the treaty.

A little history about the clock…

• Doomsday clock first established in 1947
• Chicago BAS offices keep a version of the piece
• The first time it was set to seven minutes to midnight; 18 changes since then
• Originally primarily concerned with nuclear annihilation, now considers several other threats as well

This site is intended to be a depository of relevant information and news stories concerning the Doomsday Clock. It will be updated regularly with possible signs and warnings coming from all over the world. This is not meant to scare, just to inform.

We are currently five minutes to midnight.