'Doomsday Clock' Moved Forward

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock two minutes closer to midnight. It is now 5 minutes to midnight. In a statement supporting the decision to move the hand of the Doomsday Clock, the BAS Board focused on two major sources of catastrophe: the perils of 27,000 nuclear weapons, 2000 of them ready to launch within minutes; and the destruction of human habitats from climate change.

In articles by 14 leading scientists and security experts writing in the January-February issue of theBulletin of the Atomic Scientists the potential for catastrophic damage from human-made technologies is explored further. Created in 1947, the Doomsday Clock has been adjusted only 17 times prior to today, most recently in February 2002 after the events of 9/11.