Doomsday Clock Holds at 5 Minutes Until Midnight for 2013
Experts at the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announced Monday that the hands of the infamous Doomsday Clock, which symbolizes the destruction of humanity, will remain firmly in its place at five minutes to midnight for the year 2013.
The University of Chicago scientific group sent an open letter to President Barack Obama warning him about various threats that could lead to devastation that were not completely addressed last year. Some of these obstacles include global climate change, nuclear meltdowns and terrorism.
"The stasis of 2012 convinces us, the Science and Security Board, to keep the hands of the Doomsday Clock in place," the letter stated. "We turn to you, Mr. President, to lead us toward a safer world and to help us turn back the hands of the Doomsday Clock. It remains five minutes to midnight."
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists was formed in 1945 by some of the same atomic experts who participated in the creation of weapons part of the Manhattan project, out of which came the first nuclear weapons.
The Doomsday Clock, used since 1947, is a symbolic clock face with hands used to warn about imminent threats. It was initially set at 7 minutes to midnight as a means of illustrating humanity's close proximity to destruction.
"We have as much hope for Obama's second term in office as we did in 2010, when we moved back the hand of the Clock after his first year in office," Robert Socolow, chair of the board that determines the clock's position, said in the statement. "This is the year for U.S. leadership in slowing climate change and setting a path toward a world without nuclear weapons."
The closest the clock has come to imminent destruction was in 1953 when the hand was placed at 2 minutes to midnight after the first test of the hydrogen bomb, according to Yahoo! News.
The farthest humanity has been from midnight was in 1991 around the end of the Cold War between the U.S. and Russia where the hand was placed at 17 minutes until midnight.
The clock has been at 5 minutes to midnight since 2007, where it has only briefly moved to 6 before being moved back to its current position.
