Those in the environmental community are many times accused of “Chicken Little” rhetoric – The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Indeed, it is sometimes hard to remain optimistic in the face of the myriad of potential disasters coming from all directions (not just climate change), and it is a natural desire to bury one’s head in the sand and accuse the doomsayers of fear mongering.
We couldn’t help but notice the news reports yesterday that the Board of Directors of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists made the decision to move their symbolic “Doomsday Clock” two minutes closer to midnight. It’s now 11:55PM on the clock and when it strikes midnight it’s the end of the world as we know it.
Further reports place at least some of the blame for the ticking of this Doomsday Clock on climate change. The idea being that nuclear technology will become a more enticing energy option than continuing the use of fossil fuels in the face increased global warming. And, of course, with any use of nuclear technology, there is an increased chance of nuclear materials falling into the wrong hands and truly wreaking havoc.
The tenuous insurance policy of the Cold War known as Mutual Assured Destruction doesn’t hold up so well when you’re dealing with an amorphous terrorist organization bent on destruction at all costs.
As quoted by physicist Stephen Hawking “We foresee great peril if governments and societies do not take action now to render nuclear weapons obsolete and to prevent further climate change.”
I guess time well tell, and the clock is ticking…
Perhaps we should all make the most of the next five minutes.