Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Turns Back Doomsday Clock, Gives Us An Extra Minute To Live
Good news everyone! Armageddon has been postponed by another 60 seconds. This morning, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (BAS) moved the hands of the Doomsday Clock back to six minutes before midnight. The clock is a symbolic timepiece that measures the threat of human extinction due to man-made causes, and recent international action on global warming, combined with cooperation between Russia and the US on nuclear weapon reduction, provided the incentive for the scientists to roll it back a minute. In a press conference held this morning, the BAS specifically singled out the November 17, 2009 agreement between the US and China on reducing carbon emissions, the April 1, 2009 meeting between Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Barak Obama on nuclear arms reduction, and indeed the election of Obama in general, as key reasons for the reduction in the threat of annihilation. This is the first time the BAS has adjusted...