90 seconds to midnight
24/01/24 01:17
I have lived my entire life with the Doomsday Clock hovering close to midnight. For those not familiar with the Doomsday Clock, it is a symbol introduced by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists in the aftermath of the Second World War with the use of atomic weapons. The scientists who created the clock felt that the destruction of all human life was so close that they needed a way to symbolize the danger to all of humanity posed by weapons of mass destruction. The clock appeared in the publication at 7 minutes to midnight in 1947 with the use of nuclear weapons being feared as an imminent danger to all humanity. Midnight is the symbolic end of all humanity in the symbol.
The first test of nuclear weapons by the Soviet Union in 1949 moved the clock up to 3 minutes to midnight.The year I was born, 1953, the clock was advanced to 2 minutes to midnight in the wake of the first tests of the hydrogen bomb by the United States. It remained at that close point throughout the nuclear arms race.
The scientists, however, glimpsed an increase of hope and moved the clock back to its earliest setting of 17 minutes to midnight in 1991 with the end of the Cold War in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. A few years later in 1998 when India and Pakistan both staged nuclear weapons tests, the clock was advanced to 9 minutes to midnight.
2015 was the first year when climate change was introduced into the scientist’s warnings about the capacity of humans to destroy the conditions necessary for human survival and the clock was advanced to three minutes to midnight. Then in 2007 the clock moved again to 2 minutes before midnight in the wake of North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests.
A year ago the scientists responded to the War in Ukraine, advances in nuclear weapons testing, biological weapons testing, and climate change advancing the clock to 90 seconds to midnight. This year the scientists left the clock at 90 seconds to midnight but added the uncontrolled advance of artificial intelligence to the list of threats that also includes nuclear and biological weapons and climate change.
From the perspective of concerned scientists, humanity has lived on the edge of destruction for my entire life. Even 17 minutes, which offering some cushion compared to 90 seconds, is a tiny fraction of the 24 hours of a normal clock. The symbol, of course, is intended to rise alarm and concern. And it has accomplished at least some of the caution that the scientists urge upon all of humanity.
There are, however, real dangers in constantly living under the threat of imminent destruction. It is worth contemplation about the effectiveness of a symbol that constantly shows humanity near its end. I am sure that the symbol has lost some of the power that it carried in the early years of its use. A large majority of the people alive today have never experienced a time when the symbol did not demonstrate imminent threats of human destruction. Since I have lived my entire life in the shadow of midnight so to speak, I have allowed myself to think of other things and not focused my entire life on threats to human existence.
As a person who dedicated my life to developing spirituality, faith formation, and ministry to others, I see dangers that are not fully covered by the symbol, While I do not dismiss the careful analysis of scientific facts in the work of the scientists who contribute to the publication of the doomsday clock, I am equally worried about the many factors, sometimes including the constant publication of threats to humanity that rob people of hope. Many of the factors covered by the clock including the testing of weapons by governments, the actions of multi-national global petroleum corporations, wars and the threat of wars, and unrestrained advances in technology without accompanying advances in the ethical use of those technologies, combine to make individuals feel as though the danger advances beyond their control.
In order to live our lives, we seem to need to view the advance of the clock as solely due to things that we cannot effect. While the intent of the creators and contributors to the clock intend to raise awareness in hopes of grass roots actions that lead to changes in the decisions of governments and corporate giants, the sense of constant threat seems to contribute rather to a sense of hopelessness. We ask, “what can I possibly do to make a difference.” Some of that hopelessness is intentionally seeded by the very corporations that profit from arms races and climate destruction.
The shift within just a few years of the false message of climate denial to a message that the proposed solutions won’t work has been dramatic. The same financial sources that funded the promotion of the view that climate change is not human caused are now being redirected to promoting a sense of futility about proposed solutions. While the majority of scientists say that the switch to sustainable energy sources can slow rising global temperatures, a concerted effort is being made to promote the notion that there are no effective alternatives to continuing acceleration in the pace of the consumption of fossil fuels. Despite evidence to the contrary, those seeking profits form fossil fuels are promoting a message that humans don’t really have any choice other than to continue down the path of advancing the clock to midnight.
By proclaiming that we have no choice - that there is nothing we can do - these messages threaten rob us of hope. As a theologian and biblical scholar, I know that this is not the first time that our people have experienced the treat of the destruction. The biblical prophets proclaimed a message of imminent doom. And while our people have faced deportation and exile, it has not always come from the threats proclaimed by the prophets. History shows that Assyria wasn’t the source of the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile. It was, rather Babylon that rose to power. That does not mean that Isaiah was wrong in raising the threat, however.
I choose to pay attention to the doomsday clock precisely because I have hope. 90 seconds to midnight is not the end. It is an opportunity for us to take action now to slowly move the hands of the clock away from the end of humanity. From my perspective even 5 or 10 minutes would illustrate great progress.
May we find the hope we need to work together for sustainable solutions and peace for all of humanity.
The first test of nuclear weapons by the Soviet Union in 1949 moved the clock up to 3 minutes to midnight.The year I was born, 1953, the clock was advanced to 2 minutes to midnight in the wake of the first tests of the hydrogen bomb by the United States. It remained at that close point throughout the nuclear arms race.
The scientists, however, glimpsed an increase of hope and moved the clock back to its earliest setting of 17 minutes to midnight in 1991 with the end of the Cold War in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. A few years later in 1998 when India and Pakistan both staged nuclear weapons tests, the clock was advanced to 9 minutes to midnight.
2015 was the first year when climate change was introduced into the scientist’s warnings about the capacity of humans to destroy the conditions necessary for human survival and the clock was advanced to three minutes to midnight. Then in 2007 the clock moved again to 2 minutes before midnight in the wake of North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests.
A year ago the scientists responded to the War in Ukraine, advances in nuclear weapons testing, biological weapons testing, and climate change advancing the clock to 90 seconds to midnight. This year the scientists left the clock at 90 seconds to midnight but added the uncontrolled advance of artificial intelligence to the list of threats that also includes nuclear and biological weapons and climate change.
From the perspective of concerned scientists, humanity has lived on the edge of destruction for my entire life. Even 17 minutes, which offering some cushion compared to 90 seconds, is a tiny fraction of the 24 hours of a normal clock. The symbol, of course, is intended to rise alarm and concern. And it has accomplished at least some of the caution that the scientists urge upon all of humanity.
There are, however, real dangers in constantly living under the threat of imminent destruction. It is worth contemplation about the effectiveness of a symbol that constantly shows humanity near its end. I am sure that the symbol has lost some of the power that it carried in the early years of its use. A large majority of the people alive today have never experienced a time when the symbol did not demonstrate imminent threats of human destruction. Since I have lived my entire life in the shadow of midnight so to speak, I have allowed myself to think of other things and not focused my entire life on threats to human existence.
As a person who dedicated my life to developing spirituality, faith formation, and ministry to others, I see dangers that are not fully covered by the symbol, While I do not dismiss the careful analysis of scientific facts in the work of the scientists who contribute to the publication of the doomsday clock, I am equally worried about the many factors, sometimes including the constant publication of threats to humanity that rob people of hope. Many of the factors covered by the clock including the testing of weapons by governments, the actions of multi-national global petroleum corporations, wars and the threat of wars, and unrestrained advances in technology without accompanying advances in the ethical use of those technologies, combine to make individuals feel as though the danger advances beyond their control.
In order to live our lives, we seem to need to view the advance of the clock as solely due to things that we cannot effect. While the intent of the creators and contributors to the clock intend to raise awareness in hopes of grass roots actions that lead to changes in the decisions of governments and corporate giants, the sense of constant threat seems to contribute rather to a sense of hopelessness. We ask, “what can I possibly do to make a difference.” Some of that hopelessness is intentionally seeded by the very corporations that profit from arms races and climate destruction.
The shift within just a few years of the false message of climate denial to a message that the proposed solutions won’t work has been dramatic. The same financial sources that funded the promotion of the view that climate change is not human caused are now being redirected to promoting a sense of futility about proposed solutions. While the majority of scientists say that the switch to sustainable energy sources can slow rising global temperatures, a concerted effort is being made to promote the notion that there are no effective alternatives to continuing acceleration in the pace of the consumption of fossil fuels. Despite evidence to the contrary, those seeking profits form fossil fuels are promoting a message that humans don’t really have any choice other than to continue down the path of advancing the clock to midnight.
By proclaiming that we have no choice - that there is nothing we can do - these messages threaten rob us of hope. As a theologian and biblical scholar, I know that this is not the first time that our people have experienced the treat of the destruction. The biblical prophets proclaimed a message of imminent doom. And while our people have faced deportation and exile, it has not always come from the threats proclaimed by the prophets. History shows that Assyria wasn’t the source of the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile. It was, rather Babylon that rose to power. That does not mean that Isaiah was wrong in raising the threat, however.
I choose to pay attention to the doomsday clock precisely because I have hope. 90 seconds to midnight is not the end. It is an opportunity for us to take action now to slowly move the hands of the clock away from the end of humanity. From my perspective even 5 or 10 minutes would illustrate great progress.
May we find the hope we need to work together for sustainable solutions and peace for all of humanity.
