Tense world on the brink: Doomsday clock may move closer to midnight

January 10, 2012 – WORLD – Scientists behind the Doomsday Clock will announce today whether or not it will move the minute hand if its countdown to the possibility of a nuclear explosion. The clock, which last moved in January 2010, is a universally recognized indicator of the world’s vulnerability to catastrophe from nuclear weapons, climate change, and emerging technologies. he last change pushed the clock’s hands back one minute from five, to six, minutes before midnight, meaning the ‘apocalypse’ was considered less likely in the world climate of the day. However, with 2011 feeling apocalyptic at times, it would be a surprise if the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (BAS), the panel behind the decision, said the potential for nuclear meltdown was less likely. The most significant contributing factors to the decision will be the narrowly averted nuclear disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan which was caused by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11. There are also concerns about the danger from Iran which has begun to enrich uranium at a secret underground site – a move which could be a step towards developing a nuclear bomb. Further cause to move the clock closer to midnight comes from North Korea where the death of Kim Jong Il saw his young and untested son Kim Jong Un put in control of a country widely believed to have full nuclear capabilities. Today’s announcement by the BAS follows a year of deliberations by the group of experts who determine the risk, a process that culminated in the 3rd Annual Doomsday Clock Symposium which took place yesterday in Washington DC. The discussions took into account recent events and trends for the future of humanity with input from experts in the fields of nuclear weapons, nuclear energy, climate change, and bio-security. Subjects addressed at the symposium included how nuclear weapons can be managed in a world of increasing economic, political, and environmental volatility. –Daily Mail