Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Moves the Hands of the Doomsday Clock 1-Minute Closer to Midnight. (January 11, 2012)

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) announced today that it was advancing the hands of its doomsday clock to  5 Minutes to Midnight.

Its formal statement reads: "It is five minutes to midnight. Two years ago, it appeared that world leaders might address the truly global threats that we face. In many cases, that trend has not continued or been reversed. For that reason, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is moving the clock hand one minute closer to midnight, back to its time in 2007."

Theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, co-chair of the  BAS Board of Sponsors, amplified: "Unfortunately, Einstein's statement in 1946 that 'everything has changed, save the way we think,' remains true. The provisional developments of 2 years ago have not been sustained, and it makes sense to move the clock closer to midnight, back to the value it had in 2007. Faced with clear and present dangers of nuclear proliferation and climate change, and the need to find sustainable and safe sources of energy, world leaders are failing to change business as usual. Inaction on key issues including climate change, and rising international tensions motivate the movement of the clock. As we see it, the major challenge at the heart of humanity's survival in the 21^st century is how to meet energy needs for economic growth in developing and industrial countries without further damaging the climate, exposing people to loss of health and community, and without risking further spread of nuclear weapons, and in fact setting the stage for global reductions."

Kennette Benedict, executive director of BAS  made a plea for "scientists and experts to join us in engaging ordinary citizens. Together, we can present the most significant questions to policymakers and industry leaders. Most importantly, we can demand answers and action."

And BAS noted that a series of key recommendations for a safer world have not been taken up, yet require urgent attention, including:

• Ratification by the United States and China of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and progress on a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty;

• Implementing multinational management of the civilian nuclear energy fuel cycle with strict standards for safety, security, and nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, including eliminating reprocessing for plutonium separation;

• Strengthening the International Atomic Energy Agency's capacity to oversee nuclear materials, technology development, and its transfer;

• Adopting and fulfilling climate change agreements to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through tax incentives, harmonized domestic regulation and practice;

• Transforming the coal power sector of the world economy to retire older plants and to require in new plants the capture and storage of the CO2 they produce; and

• Vastly increasing public and private investments in alternatives to carbon emitting energy sources, such as solar and wind, and in technologies for energy storage, and sharing the results worldwide.

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And to demonstrate the importance of science to policy making by the Australian Government led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the most recent meeting by the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) was held on February 4, 2011-- well over 11-months ago.

US President Barack Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) meets six times a year and has direct access through its chairman, John Holdren, to the US President.