Does anyone really care about the doomsday clock? Do you know what it measures or why?

The Doomsday Clock! You may have heard of it but I would bet that you do not know what it is and what it measures. According to Wikipedia: “The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock face maintained since 1947 by the Board of Directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists at the University of Chicago. It uses the analogy of the human race being at a time that is "minutes to midnight" where midnight represents the threat of global disaster. Originally, the analogy represented the threat of global nuclear war, but since 2007 it has also reflected climate-changing technologies and "new developments in the life sciences and nanotechnology that could inflict irrevocable harm. As I write this book, the Doomsday clock is at six minutes to midnight. Six minutes does not seem like a long way off from destruction. One wonders whether this group of scientists is really the most pessimistic people on earth or the most realistic.

Imagine measuring the time to destruction for the human race? When the idea for the clock was formed, the US and Russia were in a nuclear arms race that had people building fall-out shelters and schools practicing drills for a nuclear attack. With the Cold War behind us, why does the clock still loom so close to destruction? I would recommend we use the clock to measure the amount of time we have left on the earth if we continue to pollute the waters and air. Maybe we should change the name of the clock from the Doomsday Clock to the “Oblivion or Extinction Clock.” It would measure the amount of time we have left until the human race becomes extinct. Given our present levels of environmental degradation, this might come before a nuclear war.

What do you think the Extinction Clock should read for time right now? Do you think that humans are causing global warming or do you think it is part of a natural earth environmental cycle? By the way, what does it really matter who is causing it? If indeed we are going to face severe drought, hurricanes and other problems, then shouldn’t’ we be doing something about it instead of arguing? As individuals, we can all do something. We are not helpless in the face of stupidity.

If you are interested in finding out what you can do, go to the following website: http://www.globalwarmingsolutions.org / you can make a donation, find ways to reduce pollution or find efforts that you can devote some time do. Someone once said: “People get the governments they deserve.” If we remain indifferent or apathetic in the face of problems and ignorance, the Extinction Clock will continue ticking away. We can stop the clock by taking action and each doing our part. Are you going to be part of the problem or part of the solution?