Doomsday Clock Ominously Moves Closer to Midnight

Today, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist revealed that the Doomsday Clock ticked down to 89 seconds, from the 90 seconds it has been at for the past several years. The clock’s hand leaves only a sliver of time until midnight; a metaphor for the impending self-destruction of humanity by technological advancement.

Upon its initial creation in 1947, the Doomsday Clock served as a warning, particularly for the nuclear arms race between Soviet Russia and the United States. Since then, the global arms race has evolved to pose an encompassing, primary threat to our world. In addition, advancements in technology have exacerbated the climate crisis, created an increase in bio-threats, and promoted disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence. 

Over the years, the clock has moved closer to or farther away from the “Doomsday” midnight depending on the state of geopolitical events, for example when arms control agreements have been entered into vs. when arms control agreements are dissolved.

However, the recent decay in bilateral arms control agreements between the US and Russia, especially alongside ongoing conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Hamas war, and Israel-Hezbollah conflict, create an environment where no one is truly safe and the clock took notice.

Tri-Valley CAREs sees evidence of the new nuclear arms race right in our back yard, where Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is rapidly increasing its role in the development of new and modified nuclear weapons, like the W87-1 warhead for the Sentinel ICBM. To support its work on these weapons, it announced on January 13th that it plans to  increase its quantities of  weapons-grade plutonium. The “Enhanced Plutonium Utilization” plan will enable an increase in LLNL’s nuclear weapons activities to levels not seen for the last 30 years.

The Doomsday Clock illustrates the growing risks of collective annihilation. Our government is increasing the risks we face by participating in this new nuclear arms race, one where technology and sophistication are the currency. This comes at the expense of all Americans, in the form of huge tax-payer funded budgets and risking the health and environment around directly affected communities from possible accidents, intentional acts, and routine releases of radiation at the facilities doing this work, and of course the ever present risk of the use of these weapons by accident, miscalculation or by the madness of our leader.

Click here to see video from today’s Doomsday Clock announcement…