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For: The opinion Posted 24 Jan 2023, 17:20 pm EST
The “Doomsday Clock” Developed by top-level scientists and security experts, it was advance 10 seconds due, to a large extent, to the fears of a nuclear crisis that have increased since the start of the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Starting this Tuesday, the clock that symbolizes the time that would be missing for humanity to come to an end“he fixed on 90 seconds to midnight largely, but not exclusively, due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the increased risk of nuclear escalation,” the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientistsorganization that created and manages this measurement.
The new time on the Clock, which is closest to midnight so farwas also influenced by the continuous threats posed by the climate crisis and the breakdown of global norms and institutions necessary to mitigate the risks associated with the advancement of technologies and the biological threats As the COVID-19, explained the organization.
“We live in a time of unprecedented danger, and the time on the Doomsday Clock reflects that reality. 90 seconds to midnight is the closest the Clock has ever been to midnight.and it’s a decision our experts don’t take lightly. The US government, its NATO allies and Ukraine they have a multitude of dialogue channels; We urge leaders to explore all of them to the fullest to turn back the Clock,” said Rachel Bronson, President and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Other experts who have participated in the “Doomsday Clock” project point out that the world has become more dangerous after the COVID-19 pandemic, the ravages of global warming and war.
“Three years ago, I helped to inaugurate the Doomsday Clock when its hands moved for the last time. Today it is even closer to midnight, which shows how dangerous our world has become in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events and Russia’s outrageous war against Ukraine. The leaders ignored the ‘Doomsday Clock’ warnings in 2020. We all continue to pay the price. In 2023 it is vital for the good of all that they act,” declared Ban Ki-moon, Vice President of The Elders and former Secretary General of the United Nations.
The 2023 Doomsday Clock statement details other threats and threat multipliers beyond the more immediate risks related to the war between Russia and Ukraine, such as the nuclear weapons, the climate crisis, biothreats, as well as misinformation and disruptive technologies.
The origin of the “Doomsday Clock”
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Eugene Rabinowitch, and University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project. The Scientists considered that “they could not remain oblivious to the consequences of their work” and they worked to inform the public and policy makers about man-made threats to human existence.
The “Doomsday Clock” was created in 1947 by The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists for convey how close humanity is to destroying itselfa. Designed by the painter Martyl Langsdorf, the Clock has become an international symbol of the world’s vulnerability to catastrophes caused by nuclear weapons, climate change and disruptive technologies.
The time of the “Doomsday Clock” is set by the Council of Science and Security from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists with the support of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin, which includes 10 Nobel Prize winners. Previously, the Doomsday Clock had been set at 100 seconds to midnight since 2020.
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