‘It’s late, and it’s getting later.’ Jerry Brown could soon announce an updated Doomsday Clock
Is it time to update the Doomsday Clock?
Former four-term California Gov. Jerry Brown will be on-hand Jan. 23 as the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announces the placement of the minute hand on the Doomsday Clock.
The clock is currently set at two minutes to midnight; the closer to midnight, the closer Earth gets to extinction-level catastrophe such as nuclear Armageddon.
The last time the hand was adjusted was in 2018. Two minutes to midnight (present day, and also 1953 which marked the early years of the Cold War) is the closest the clock has ever come, while 17 minutes to midnight (in 1991, as the Soviet Union fell) is the furthest it has ever been.
Brown serves as executive chairman of the Bulletin, an organization founded by Manhattan Project scientists and whose board has 13 Nobel laureates.
Last year, at the 2019 Doomsday Clock press conference, Brown lambasted politicians for doing nothing about nuclear proliferation.
“I speak as someone who has been in the American political process for almost 50 years, and I can say at this moment the blindness and stupidity of the politicians and their consultants is truly shocking in the face of nuclear catastrophe and danger,” Brown said.
Brown said that politicians are “playing Russian Roulette with humanity” and he called on the president and congressional leaders to take the issue more seriously.
“It’s hard to even feel or sense the peril or danger that we’re in, but these scientists know what they’re talking about,” Brown said. “And I can say, based on my understanding of the political process, politicians for the most part do not.”
“It’s late, and it’s getting later. And we’ve got to wake people up,” Brown said.
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 2:13 PM with the headline "‘It’s late, and it’s getting later.’ Jerry Brown could soon announce an updated Doomsday Clock."
