Doomsday Clock: Its two and a half minutes to midnight

[Anung Un Rama]

Doomsday Clock Moves Closer to Midnight, Signaling Concern Among Scientists

It was the closest the clock had been to midnight since 1953, the year after the United States and the Soviet Union conducted competing tests of the hydrogen bomb.

I was looking forward to this reveal since last year. I was wondering if the quelling of tensions between the US and Russia, along with the Syrian Civil War being resolved might move the clock back, rather than forward. It appears that that was insufficient to slow down reduce our concern amongst scientists.

“We’re so concerned about the rhetoric, and the lack of respect for expertise, that we moved it 30 seconds,” she said. “Rather than create panic, we’re hoping that this drives action.”

The Trump administration's climate denial is certainly to blame. And its not just the scientists that are concerned, either. Billionaires have gone full prepper.
This includes Trump's advisor, Peter Thiel, who has a backup country, New Zealand, with whom he has recently obtained dual citizenship.

30 more seconds and Iron Maiden will be playing at the next inauguration.

 

[theBLADE1]

Trump be like FUCK YO EARTH AND FUCK YO CLOCK

http://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/1/23/14356652/trump-epa-regulations

Now that he’s president, Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to drastically reshape the Environmental Protection Agency in the weeks and months ahead.

All signs indicate that Trump will soon issue a flurry of executive orders as part of the process of weakening various air and water pollution rules and cutting agency budgets. It’s all part of his plan to dismantle President Obama’s climate policies and make life easier for America’s fossil fuel industry. The big question is how quickly Trump’s team will act — and what sorts of obstacles they’ll face from both federal courts and career staff within the EPA.

On Friday, Trump took the very first step by ordering a “freeze” on all new regulations coming out of federal agencies. This is a standard move — George W. Bush and Barack Obama issued similar orders when they took office — and it only affects rules that haven’t been finalized. (Anticipating this, the Obama administration raced to finish a bunch of environmental regulations before leaving, though it had yet to publish four energy efficiency rules that will now be put on hold.) It’s a way for Trump to hit pause while his team prepares for bolder action.

 

[scoopj]

"Atomic scientists reset their symbolic "Doomsday Clock" to its closest time to midnight in 64 years on Thursday, saying the world was closer to catastrophe due to threats such as nuclear weapons, climate change and Donald Trump's election as U.S. president."