{"id":100564,"date":"2017-12-05T00:52:06","date_gmt":"2017-12-05T00:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/?p=100564"},"modified":"2017-12-10T19:54:12","modified_gmt":"2017-12-10T19:54:12","slug":"it-is-two-and-a-half-minutes-to-midnight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2017\/12\/05\/it-is-two-and-a-half-minutes-to-midnight\/","title":{"rendered":"It is two and a half minutes to midnight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What will 2018 bring?<\/p>\n<p><strong>For the last two years, the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock stayed set at three minutes before the hour, the closest it had been to midnight since the early 1980s. In its two most recent annual announcements on the Clock, the Science and Security Board warned: \u201cThe probability of global catastrophe is very high, and the actions needed to reduce the risks of disaster must be taken very soon.\u201d In 2017, we find the danger to be even greater, the need for action more urgent. It is two and a half minutes to midnight, the Clock is ticking, global danger looms. Wise public officials should act immediately, guiding humanity away from the brink. If they do not, wise citizens must step forward and lead the way.\u00a0 See the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/thebulletin.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Final%202017%20Clock%20Statement.pdf\">full statement<\/a>\u00a0from the Science and Security Board on the 2017 time of the Doomsday Clock.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/340721948&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Excerpt from:<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/thebulletin.org\/journal\">https:\/\/thebulletin.org\/journal<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thebulletin.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Final%202017%20Clock%20Statement.pdf\">https:\/\/thebulletin.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Final%202017%20Clock%20Statement.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Nuclear weapons and climate change are precisely<br \/>\nthe sort of complex existential threats that cannot<br \/>\nbe properly managed without access to and<br \/>\nreliance on expert knowledge. In 2016, world<br \/>\nleaders not only failed to deal adequately with<br \/>\nthose threats; they actually increased the risk<br \/>\nof nuclear war and unchecked climate change<br \/>\nthrough a variety of provocative statements and<br \/>\nactions, including careless rhetoric about the<br \/>\nuse of nuclear weapons and the wanton defiance<br \/>\nof scientific truths. We call on these leaders\u2014<br \/>\nparticularly in Russia and the United States\u2014to<br \/>\nrefocus in the coming year on reducing existential<br \/>\nrisks and preserving humanity, in no small part<br \/>\nby consulting with top-level experts and taking<br \/>\nscientific research and observed reality into<br \/>\naccount.<br \/>\nBecause we know from experience that<br \/>\ngovernmental leaders respond to public pressure,<br \/>\nwe also call on citizens of the world to express<br \/>\nthemselves in all the ways available to them\u2014<br \/>\nincluding through use of the powerful new tools of<br \/>\nsocial media\u2014to demand that:<br \/>\n\u2022 US and Russian leaders return to the<br \/>\nnegotiating table to seek further reductions<br \/>\nin nuclear arms and to limit nuclear<br \/>\nmodernization programs that threaten to<br \/>\ncreate a new nuclear arms race. The world<br \/>\ncan be more secure with much, much<br \/>\nsmaller nuclear arsenals than now exist\u2014<br \/>\nif political leaders are truly interested in<br \/>\nprotecting their citizens from harm.<br \/>\n\u2022 The United States and Russia reduce the<br \/>\nalert levels of their nuclear weapons and<br \/>\nuse existing crisis stability mechanisms to<br \/>\navoid inadvertent escalation of conflict.<br \/>\nProvocative military exercises increase the<br \/>\npossibilities for accidental war and should<br \/>\ncease.<br \/>\n\u2022 Governments around the world sharply<br \/>\nreduce their countries\u2019 greenhouse gas<br \/>\nemissions and fulfill the Paris Accord<br \/>\npromise of keeping warming to 2 degrees<br \/>\nCelsius above preindustrial levels, or less.<br \/>\nThis temperature target is consistent with<br \/>\nconsensus views on climate science and<br \/>\nis eminently achievable and economically<br \/>\nviable, provided that poorer countries are<br \/>\ngiven the support they need to make the<br \/>\npost-carbon transition.<br \/>\n\u2022 The Trump administration acknowledge<br \/>\nclimate change as a science-backed reality<br \/>\nand redouble US efforts to limit carbon<br \/>\ndioxide emissions and support carbonfree<br \/>\nenergy sources, including, when<br \/>\neconomically reasonable and safe over<br \/>\nthe long term, nuclear energy. It is well<br \/>\npast time to move beyond arguments over<br \/>\nthe reality of climate change and on to<br \/>\nsolutions, including fiscal measures\u2014such<br \/>\nas carbon markets and carbon taxes or<br \/>\nfees\u2014that encourage efficiency and put a<br \/>\nprice on carbon emissions.<br \/>\n\u2022 The United States, China, Russia, and other<br \/>\nconcerned nations engage with North<br \/>\nKorea to reduce nuclear risks. Neighbors<br \/>\nin Asia face the most urgent threat, but<br \/>\nas North Korea improves its nuclear and<br \/>\nmissile arsenals, the threat will rapidly<br \/>\nbecome global. As we said last year and<br \/>\nrepeat here: Now is not the time to tighten<br \/>\nNorth Korea\u2019s isolation but to engage<br \/>\nseriously in dialogue.<br \/>\n\u2022 Leaders of countries with commercial<br \/>\nnuclear power programs deal responsibly<br \/>\nwith safety issues and with the commercial<br \/>\nnuclear waste problem. Top experts<br \/>\ndisagree on whether an expansion of<br \/>\nnuclear-powered electricity generation can<br \/>\nbecome a major component of the effort<br \/>\nto limit climate change. Regardless of the<br \/>\ntrajectory of the global nuclear industry,<br \/>\nthere will be a continuing need for safe<br \/>\nand secure interim and permanent nuclear<br \/>\nwaste storage facilities and for ever-safer<br \/>\nnuclear power plants.<br \/>\n\u2022 The countries of the world collaborate on<br \/>\ncreating institutions specifically assigned to<br \/>\nexplore and address potentially malign or<br \/>\ncatastrophic misuses of new technologies.<br \/>\nScientific advance can provide society with<br \/>\ngreat benefits. But as events surrounding<br \/>\nthe recent US presidential election show,<br \/>\nthe potential for misuse of potent new<br \/>\ntechnologies is real. Governmental,<br \/>\nBulletin of the Atomic Scientists \u00a7 7<br \/>\nscientific, and business leaders need to<br \/>\ntake appropriate steps to address possibly<br \/>\ndevastating consequences of these<br \/>\ntechnologies.<br \/>\nFor the last two years, the minute hand of the<br \/>\nDoomsday Clock stayed set at three minutes<br \/>\nbefore the hour, the closest it had been to midnight<br \/>\nsince the early 1980s. In its two most recent<br \/>\nannual announcements on the Clock, the Science<br \/>\nand Security Board warned: \u201cThe probability of<br \/>\nglobal catastrophe is very high, and the actions<br \/>\nneeded to reduce the risks of disaster must be<br \/>\ntaken very soon.\u201d In 2017, we find the danger to be<br \/>\neven greater, the need for action more urgent. It is<br \/>\ntwo and a half minutes to midnight, the Clock is<br \/>\nticking, global danger looms. Wise public officials<br \/>\nshould act immediately, guiding humanity away<br \/>\nfrom the brink. If they do not, wise citizens must<br \/>\nstep forward and lead the way&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What will 2018 bring? For the last two years, the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock stayed set at three minutes before the hour, the closest it had been to midnight since the early 1980s. In its two most recent annual announcements on the Clock, the Science and Security Board warned: \u201cThe probability of global &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2017\/12\/05\/it-is-two-and-a-half-minutes-to-midnight\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">It is two and a half minutes to midnight<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musings"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6NRDR-qa0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":152904,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2019\/12\/05\/the-clock-of-doom-current-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":100564,"position":0},"title":"The Clock of Doom Current Time","author":"diana Stone","date":"December 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, then my merry fuck wits what havoc will you create on this day with your small-minded petty prejudices? Or perchance will you confound me by giving birth to a new England that is generous and tolerant and wise and fare? The choice is yours now.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85371,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2017\/07\/14\/this-is-the-clock\/","url_meta":{"origin":100564,"position":1},"title":"This is the clock","author":"diana Stone","date":"July 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the clock from the Monotony calling album Available here \u00a0 https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/gp\/product\/B06XPQRQK2\/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp\u00a0\u00a0 And also on CD baby Itunes.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":710,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2010\/02\/12\/delta-ladiesdiana-and-vicky-at-round-midnight\/","url_meta":{"origin":100564,"position":2},"title":"Delta Ladies Diana and Vicky at Round Midnight","author":"diana Stone","date":"February 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Delta Ladies 1, originally uploaded by Helena Love. Thats us at Round Midnight in Islington on a Sunday Night. Photo by Helena Love who made the trip out to see us. A Musical First for Vicky as she plays the ironing board on this gig. Read more\u00c2\u00a0 about >> \u00c2\u00a0Helena\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Delta Ladies&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Delta Ladies","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/delta-ladies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":79809,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2017\/05\/22\/register-to-vote-by-1-minute-to-midnight-tonight\/","url_meta":{"origin":100564,"position":3},"title":"Register to vote  by 1 minute to midnight TONIGHT","author":"diana Stone","date":"May 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Register by 1 minute to midnight TONIGHT. Please share :-) \u00a0https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/register-to-vote J\u2019aimeCommenterPartager","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6067,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2015\/03\/02\/dont-blame-the-intelligence-agencies-for-jihadism\/","url_meta":{"origin":100564,"position":4},"title":"Don\u2019t blame the intelligence agencies for jihadism","author":"diana Stone","date":"March 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Radicalisation is so unpredictable that we should worry less about the state\u2019s power than its weakness","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Powered by Guardian.co.uk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/image.guardian.co.uk\/sys-images\/Guardian\/Pix\/pictures\/2010\/03\/01\/poweredbyguardianBLACK.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":167099,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2020\/08\/22\/once-upon-a-time-we-dreamed-a-dream\/","url_meta":{"origin":100564,"position":5},"title":"Once upon a time we dreamed a dream","author":"diana Stone","date":"August 22, 2020","format":"aside","excerpt":"I am still stuck in the past like a stopped clock. I shouldn't be but I am. Things remind me and take me back in time.\u00a0 One day perhaps...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"20161011_185502","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/7531\/29688120433_8c2853a5d4_3k.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/7531\/29688120433_8c2853a5d4_3k.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/7531\/29688120433_8c2853a5d4_3k.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/7531\/29688120433_8c2853a5d4_3k.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/7531\/29688120433_8c2853a5d4_3k.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/7531\/29688120433_8c2853a5d4_3k.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100564"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101138,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100564\/revisions\/101138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}