2 ½ Minutes To Midnight

 
 
The famed “Doomsday Clock” is ticking ever so close to the infamous “Midnight” where the complete annihilation of mankind would occur. The figurative clock was created in 1947 after the world saw the results of the two nuclear bombings in Japan that ended the Second World War. The clock was set up as a sort of reminder to the public around the world to make people aware of factors that could possibly bring about a nuclear holocaust. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists released a statement Wednesday announcing the movement of the clock’s hands stating that this was the first time the clock has been this close to Midnight since 1953 after both the United States and the Soviet Union tested their nuclear weapons ushering in the Cold War and ticking the clock to 2 minutes to midnight.
 

 
 
Other destructive factors contribute to why the clock ticks ever so closer. One of the factors this time around is Earth’s rising temperatures that are affecting global weather systems and unashamed denial of it and deliberately ignoring scientific facts. One key factor playing a role is growing political tensions between the United States and Russia when it comes to the civil war in Syria and unrest in Ukraine, as both the US and Russia have 90% of the world’s nuclear arsenal. Other things causing tension between the two superpowers is the ongoing threat to Cyber Security with cyber attacks against the US and its allies in Europe by Russian hackers.
 

 
 
North Korea’s growing arsenal and stepped up testing of missiles alongside Donald Trump’s taunts aimed at the dystopian country’s dictator Kim Jun Un is not helping the clock wind down. With ongoing tensions between nations that can be controlled and environmental factors that can’t be (but can be reversed) and a percentage of the public crying “Fake News” every time they hear something they don’t agree with (which often times the information is factual), the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists urge cooler heads and awareness which has spawned a new hashtag on social media #TurnBackTheDoomsdayClock and #RewindTheDoomsdayClock.
UPDATE: Around 11 AM Thursday the clock has moved to 2 Minutes to Midnight making it the second time since the clock’s creation that it’s reached this time.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists statement can be read here.