Doomsday Clock Moves Closer to Midnight

[Sisyphus]

On Thursday, the group of scientists who orchestrate the Doomsday Clock, a symbolic instrument informing the public when the earth is facing imminent disaster, moved its minute hand from three to two and a half minutes before the final hour.

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.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/science/doomsday-clock-countdown-2017.html

Members of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists with the updated Doomsday Clock in Washington on Thursday. Credit Win Mcnamee/Getty Images

[Forest_Dump]

Welcome back

[wolfhnd]

Fairly delusional if you consider the Cuban missile crisis. These people should be ashamed of themselves.

[Forest_Dump]

I have to admit that I fail to see the rationale there. I think Trump is a nut but he hasn't done anything quite as dramatic as invade Iraq yet or launch missles like North Korea (which appears not to have been noted). Sure Trump ignores scientists and all kinds of experts but this seems to make clear that the "Doomsday Clock" is just another instrument for hyperbola.

[ronjanec]

Yes, welcome back Sisyphus!

North Korea again possibly having a deliverable nuclear warhead to the US mainland today by ICBM really concerns me, a bunch of scientists getting their 15 minutes of fame playing around with a phony "clock" does not.

[TheVat]

On this matter, I agree with even our most conservative members. Truly content-free "news."

[Lomax]

Wait...isn't this the opening scene of Watchmen?

[Sisyphus]

Thanks! It's good to be back. I'm much slower now. And older. By the way... Where's an optimal place to move to if I want to survive both global warming and nuclear winter?

[BadgerJelly]

Thanks! It's good to be back. I'm much slower now. And older. By the way... Where's an optimal place to move to if I want to survive both global warming and nuclear winter?

Mars. I'll forward you Musk's address later ;)

[TheVat]

Iceland.

Will stay fairly mild, due to geography and maritime climate effects, during global warming.

Has some elevated land to retreat to when sea level rises.

And has many geothermal heat sources for getting through a nuclear winter and heating/lighting indoor agricultural facilities.

And, like Scandinavia, everyone speaks English.

Of course, if there's a major volcanic eruption, you may want to reserve a space in the Mars colony, too.

[TheVat]

Might want to stock up on freeze-dried food, too.

http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/congress-warned-this-new-weapon-from-north-korea-could-kill-up-to-90-percent-of-americans

I'd say keep cellphones and laptops in the microwave, too, but might be no point in saving their circuitry if there is no network or power grid.

Anyone think this Ratner is an alarmist, or not? I'd be interested in what our physics-trained members think of this.

[zetreque]

Too bad our government is being run into the ground and cannot afford anything to even attempt to protect us. Oh but the largest companies in the world will give you a job with their tax cuts. Maybe you can get a job selling poisonous food at your Monsanto fruit stand.

The EMP commission was actually defunded on September 30th. It was created in 2001 and has been extended several times over the years, the last time in 2016. This extension was allowed to lapse, even as North Korea issued a specific threat in September to carry out an EMP attack and published a technical paper in the official communist party paper “Rodong Sinmun” outlining some details about it.

[zetreque]

Maybe it won't be as bad as some say.

The video at the end of this shows that laptops and cellphones might still work. And if you get the right protection your solar panel systems will be ok too.

https://solarpowerrocks.com/solar-questions/will-solar-panels-survive-nuclear-emp/

I also think the 90% death rate is a bit much. That's underestimating and putting an exceptionally low confidence in the ability of people to come together in a time of crisis and do exceptional things. Of course this is generalizing the situation when any number of factors, size, and location of potential EMP situation.

[TheVat]

Informative link - yeah, there are so many variables, so many levels of catastrophe. Agree that we humans might be more resourceful than some think, as regards getting some kind of farm-to-table distribution going -- far more physical labor for many of us, and a lot of pampered horses might be recruited back into the workforce.

[Sisyphus]

Well, I prefer Mars but I'll settle for Iceland. Thanks.

[mitchellmckain]

Well, I prefer Mars but I'll settle for Iceland. Thanks.

The moon is probably a better choice than mars. At least there is ample energy from the sun. Mars doesn't have much to offer in exchange for the reduced sunlight. I might even choose Titan over Mars. At least there you have a decent atmospheric pressure -- though the reduced sunlight is even more prohibitive. The only thing better than the moon surface would be a satellite in orbit. There at least you can simulate gravity with a rotating station. Any place other than the earth and you need to go out and gather resources anyway. That is another advantage of vicinity of Titan where there is plenty for gathering.