Are you familiar with the Doomsday Clock?

The clock was created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and it basically decides whether different world events are pushing humans and Earth closer to destruction.

According to the group, the clock “conveys how close we are to destroying our civilization with dangerous technologies of our own making.”

Things like climate change, wars, and technology can help move the clock, but this year, Donald Trump’s rhetoric are the driving force behind the clock moving closer to midnight.

According to a statement by Rachel Bronson, the executive director and publisher of the group, “This year’s Clock deliberations felt more urgent than usual…as trusted sources of information came under attack, fake news was on the rise, and words were used by a President-elect of the United States in cavalier and often reckless ways to address the twin threats of nuclear weapons and climate change.” 

David Titley and Lawrence M. Krauss wrote in a New York Times article, “Never before has the Bulletin decided to advance the clock largely because of the statements of a single person. But when that person is the new president of the United States, his words matter.”

They added, the ” Current political situation in the U.S. is of particular concern… “The Trump administration needs to state clearly, unequivocally it accepts climate change caused by human activity…There are no alternative facts here.”

Trump wasn’t the only reason though; scientists moved the clock 30 seconds forward from where it was last year also because of climate change and concerns over North Korea’s nuclear weapon capabilities.

Filed under: Donald Trump