“Apocalypse Clock” has 100 seconds to midnight | Globalism

The figurative pointer, also called the doomsday clock, was created in 1947 due to the growing nuclear danger and rising tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. The clock is an initiative of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BPA).

It is not a thing in itself, but a symbolic illustration. The clock does not move on a scientific scale, but on the advice of members of the BPA’s Science and Safety Council, which meets twice a year to determine how close it is to midnight.

• What is the Doomsday Clock, and why does it indicate that since 1953 we have never come close to a global catastrophe

In this latest update of hands, unchanged from the record of 2020, the risks posed by nuclear proliferation, climate change and a pandemic are considered.

According to AFP, the BPA noted that the risks were exacerbated this year by “a dysfunctional information ecosystem that undermines rational decision-making”.

“We are stuck at a dangerous moment that brings neither stability nor security,” said academic Sharon Squassoni, one of the editors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Covid among the considered items

Since then, members of that Chicago-based organization have expanded the criteria to include, this year, “Covid-19, nuclear proliferation, the climate crisis, government disinformation campaigns and disruptive technologies.”

“The doomsday clock continues to float over our heads, reminding us of the work required to ensure a safer and healthier planet,” said Rachel Bronson, president of the organization.

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