Vogel: The Doomsday Clock is ticking ever louder for the end of civilization
Happy Doomsday! 90 Seconds to Go…
Looking for a fun job? How about heading up the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which is responsible for the Doomsday Clock? The clock supposedly determines how close we are to destroying the world, and was founded in 1947 by a group of merry “Manhattan Project” scientists who developed the world’s first nuclear weapons (Hello Oppenheimer!).
The clock was recently set at 90 seconds to midnight—the closest we have ever been to world annihilation. “Trends continue to point ominously toward global catastrophe,” warns Rachel Bronson, president of the Bulletin, who still wonders why she’s not invited to any parties.
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According to Bronson, increasingly out-of-control artificial intelligence, steadily worsening climate change plus a diverse selection of other nightmares “threatens billions of lives and livelihoods.”
Although I believe the threats from global warming and artificial intelligence are quite real, it does not appear that they are likely to end the world in 2024. Unfortunately, we have more immediate threats to deal with that could bring true catastrophe before year’s end.
Ukraine continues to battle for its survival against Russia, counting heavily on Western financial support to keep holding the line. Unfortunately, vital U.S. aid is being held hostage by (mostly Republican) politicians. Without such aid, it is possible Ukraine could be overrun by Russia this year. If Ukraine collapses, it will embolden Putin. Who knows where he might want to invade next?
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Meanwhile, Israel has nuclear weapons, while Iran and its proxy armies, including Hamas and Hezbollah, do not (at least not yet). If the situation were reversed, do you have any doubt what would happen? It goes without saying that a nuclear Iran would move the world closer to the Doomsday we are trying to avoid.
And yes, we have the upcoming U.S. presidential election, with the man currently leading in the polls fine tuning a 2024 version of the insurrection he spearheaded on January 6, 2021. Are we prepared for what happens if he wins__or loses? Can our increasingly fragile democracy survive it?
Erin MacDonald, an analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Global Security Program, says The Bulletin thoughtfully decides each year how to get people’s attention about upcoming potential calamities. Ninety seconds to world destruction certainly has gotten mine.
“When the clock is at midnight, that means there’s been some sort of nuclear exchange or catastrophic climate change that’s wiped out humanity,” notes MacDonald. “We never really want to get there.”
You think?
Mike Vogel is a resident of Boynton Beach.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Doomsday Clock says civilization nears the end
