SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Thanks, Trump. Doomsday Clock Now Two and a Half Minutes to Midnight.
The nuclear danger of a Trump presidency, combined with his administration's climate denialism, heighten the risk of a global catastrophe, according to scientists
Jan 26, 2017
The symbolic Doomsday Clock inched closer to midnight on Thursday, and we have President Donald Trump largely to thank for the ominous development.
At the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Thursday morning, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board moved the hands of the iconic clock 30 seconds closer to "midnight," or the end of the world.
"Even though he has just now taken office, the president's intemperate statements, lack of openness to expert advice, and questionable cabinet nominations have already made a bad international security situation worse."
--Bulletin of Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board
For the first time in the 70-year history of the clock, "the board has decided to act, in part, based on the words of a single person: Donald Trump, the new President of the United States," according to a press statement.
The nuclear danger of a Trump presidency, combined with his and his administration's climate denialism, heighten the risk of a global catastrophe, the group warned.
"As we marked the 70th anniversary of the Doomsday Clock, this year's Clock deliberations felt more urgent than usual," said Rachel Bronson, executive director and publisher of the Bulletin. "In addition to the existential threats posed by nuclear weapons and climate change, new global realities emerged, 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."
A further statement (pdf) from the full board noted that the development comes even as Trump had only held office for a few days.
"Just the same, words matter, and President Trump has had plenty to say over the last year," it read. "Both his statements and his actions as President-elect have broken with historical precedent in unsettling ways. He has made ill-considered comments about expanding the U.S. nuclear arsenal. He has shown a troubling propensity to discount or outright reject expert advice related to international security, including the conclusions of intelligence experts. And his nominees to head the Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency dispute the basics of climate science. In short, even though he has just now taken office, the president's intemperate statements, lack of openness to expert advice, and questionable cabinet nominations have already made a bad international security situation worse."
Last year, the board opted to hold the clock at three minutes to midnight after a two-minute leap in 2015.
Watch Thursday's announcement here.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
#notnormalbulletin of the atomic scientistsenvironmentnuclear weaponstrumpismwar on sciencedoomsday clock
The symbolic Doomsday Clock inched closer to midnight on Thursday, and we have President Donald Trump largely to thank for the ominous development.
At the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Thursday morning, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board moved the hands of the iconic clock 30 seconds closer to "midnight," or the end of the world.
"Even though he has just now taken office, the president's intemperate statements, lack of openness to expert advice, and questionable cabinet nominations have already made a bad international security situation worse."
--Bulletin of Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board
For the first time in the 70-year history of the clock, "the board has decided to act, in part, based on the words of a single person: Donald Trump, the new President of the United States," according to a press statement.
The nuclear danger of a Trump presidency, combined with his and his administration's climate denialism, heighten the risk of a global catastrophe, the group warned.
"As we marked the 70th anniversary of the Doomsday Clock, this year's Clock deliberations felt more urgent than usual," said Rachel Bronson, executive director and publisher of the Bulletin. "In addition to the existential threats posed by nuclear weapons and climate change, new global realities emerged, 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."
A further statement (pdf) from the full board noted that the development comes even as Trump had only held office for a few days.
"Just the same, words matter, and President Trump has had plenty to say over the last year," it read. "Both his statements and his actions as President-elect have broken with historical precedent in unsettling ways. He has made ill-considered comments about expanding the U.S. nuclear arsenal. He has shown a troubling propensity to discount or outright reject expert advice related to international security, including the conclusions of intelligence experts. And his nominees to head the Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency dispute the basics of climate science. In short, even though he has just now taken office, the president's intemperate statements, lack of openness to expert advice, and questionable cabinet nominations have already made a bad international security situation worse."
Last year, the board opted to hold the clock at three minutes to midnight after a two-minute leap in 2015.
Watch Thursday's announcement here.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
The symbolic Doomsday Clock inched closer to midnight on Thursday, and we have President Donald Trump largely to thank for the ominous development.
At the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Thursday morning, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board moved the hands of the iconic clock 30 seconds closer to "midnight," or the end of the world.
"Even though he has just now taken office, the president's intemperate statements, lack of openness to expert advice, and questionable cabinet nominations have already made a bad international security situation worse."
--Bulletin of Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board
For the first time in the 70-year history of the clock, "the board has decided to act, in part, based on the words of a single person: Donald Trump, the new President of the United States," according to a press statement.
The nuclear danger of a Trump presidency, combined with his and his administration's climate denialism, heighten the risk of a global catastrophe, the group warned.
"As we marked the 70th anniversary of the Doomsday Clock, this year's Clock deliberations felt more urgent than usual," said Rachel Bronson, executive director and publisher of the Bulletin. "In addition to the existential threats posed by nuclear weapons and climate change, new global realities emerged, 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."
A further statement (pdf) from the full board noted that the development comes even as Trump had only held office for a few days.
"Just the same, words matter, and President Trump has had plenty to say over the last year," it read. "Both his statements and his actions as President-elect have broken with historical precedent in unsettling ways. He has made ill-considered comments about expanding the U.S. nuclear arsenal. He has shown a troubling propensity to discount or outright reject expert advice related to international security, including the conclusions of intelligence experts. And his nominees to head the Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency dispute the basics of climate science. In short, even though he has just now taken office, the president's intemperate statements, lack of openness to expert advice, and questionable cabinet nominations have already made a bad international security situation worse."
Last year, the board opted to hold the clock at three minutes to midnight after a two-minute leap in 2015.
Watch Thursday's announcement here.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.