Doomsday+Clock

= = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Clock = = = "Doomsday Clock" a metaphorical measuring stick for the world's end = By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff 01.29.16

STANFORD, Calif. — It is three minutes before midnight, and the world is under threat, according to a group of scientists. he Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced Tuesday that the minute hand on the "Doomsday Clock" remained at three minutes-to-midnight. The imaginary clock measures the likelihood of a global disaster from nuclear war, climate change and new technology. Midnight symbolizes the end of human life on Earth. "Unless we change the way we think, humanity remains in serious danger," said Lawrence Krauss, chair of the bulletin's Board of Sponsors. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons. The clock was created two years later.

Clock Was Adjusted Last Year
The scientists adjusted the clock from five minutes-to-midnight to three minutes-to-midnight last year. They mentioned climate change, updated nuclear weapons and huge nuclear weapons arsenals as reasons. The scientists called these "extraordinary and undeniable threats to the continued existence of humanity." The clock was previously at three minutes-to-midnight in 1984, when the bulletin said talks between the United States and Russia — then called the Soviet Union — nearly stopped. At the time, the United States and the Soviet Union, both nuclear powers, were sworn enemies. Krauss said there is some good news, too. Last year, the United States reached an agreement with Iran to prevent the Middle Eastern country from developing nuclear weapons. Also, nearly 200 nations promised to work to prevent climate change, the heating up of the Earth. But there was plenty of bad news as well, Krauss said. It includes growing tension between Russia and the United States, North Korea's recent nuclear test and the lack of real action to stop climate change. Michael Oppenheimer is a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton University and has no relationship with the bulletin. Three minutes-to-midnight is overly grim, he said.

Climate Change Can Be Dangerous
On the other hand, Oppenheimer said midnight could mean that humans have emitted so much greenhouse gas that dangerous climate change cannot be avoided. In that case, three minutes is realistic, he said. Burning fossil fuels, like oil and gas, makegreenhouse gases, which cause climate change. "I think the jury is out as to whether the Paris agreement will make a significant difference," he said. "The key is whether countries over the next couple of years are able to agree on some important details that were left out." Michael Shermer is the publisher of Skeptic magazine. It examines social and scientific disagreements. He said the Doomsday clock idea takes too negative of a view of the world and is done to attract attention. He added that it has "littleconnection to the reality of moral progress made in the past half century." Shermer mentioned reductions in the number of nuclear weapons since the 1980s. Also, there has not been a war between the major countries in Europe since World War II.

Leaders Speak At Stanford
California Governor Jerry Brown joined former Secretary of StateGeorge Shultz and former Secretary of Defense William Perry fora discussion after the clock was announced. The event was at Stanford University in California. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Perry said the threat of nuclear disaster was greater today than during the Cold War, the time after World War II until the early1990s when Russia and the United States were enemies. Brown warned about "tipping points" in the fight against climate change.Tipping points are critical changes that cannot be reversed. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"We may not be able to come back to a stable planet or one we'll find very comfortable to live in," he said.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Two Minutes To Midnight In 1953
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The decision to move or leave the clock alone is made by thebulletin's science and security board. It includes physicists and environmental scientists from around the world. They make thedecision along with the bulletin's Board of Sponsors, which includes more than a dozen Nobel prize winners. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The closest the clock has come to midnight was in 1953, when itwas two minutes away. That year, both the Soviet Union and the United States tested hydrogen bombs, which are hundreds oftimes more powerful than atomic bombs.