Doomsday Clock: Created in 1947 by concerned scientists
The minute hand of the famous Doomsday Clock has been moved to six minutes to midnight – one minute further away from human annihilation than before. The timepiece in New York conveys how close humanity is to catastrophic destruction, which is represented by midnight.
It is changed periodically by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists board, which includes Professor Stephen Hawking and 18 other Nobel scientists. It was wound on in 2007 to five minutes to midnight to reflect the failure to solve problems posed by nuclear weapons.
Today, the board said they moved it back one minute because there was a ‘hopeful state of world affairs’ in relation to nuclear weapons and climate change. President Obama was particularly noted for influencing their decision.
It may come as a surprise to many environmentalists who criticised last year’s Copenhagen Climate Change Conference for failing to reach any real consensus.
In a statement supporting their decision the BAS board said: ‘We are poised to bend the arc of history toward a world free of nuclear weapons.
‘For the first time since atomic bombs were dropped in 1945, leaders of nuclear weapons states are cooperating to vastly reduce their arsenals.’
The clock was created in 1947, two years after the U.S dropped the first atomic bombs on Japan in World War II. It was originally set at seven minutes to midnight.
It has been altered 19 times since then by the Bulletin’s scientific board.
The latest recorded time was two minutes to midnight in 1953 as the Cold War heated up between the U.S and Soviet Union.
Now in 2010, President Obama was praised for causing ‘a change in the U.S government’s toward international affairs.’
‘With a more pragmatic, problem-solving approach, not only has Obama initiated new arms reduction talks with Russia, he has started negotiations with Iran to close its nuclear enrichment program.’
Today the public was able to watch the change via a live web feed.
A spokesman said: ‘Factors influencing the latest Doomsday Clock change include international negotiations on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, expansion of civilian nuclear power, the possibilities of nuclear terrorism, and climate change.’
To watch the clock be altered go to the ‘Turn Back The Clock’ website
Via Daily Mail
