'Doomsday Clock' Moves One Minute Away From Midnight

/PRNewswire/ -- Citing a more "hopeful state of world affairs" in relation to the twin threats posed by nuclear weapons and climate change, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) is moving the minute hand of its famous Doomsday Clock one minute away from midnight. It is now 6 minutes to midnight. The decision by the BAS Science and Security Board was made in consultation with the Bulletin's Board of Sponsors, which includes 19 Nobel Laureates.

BAS announced the Clock change today at a news conference in New York City broadcast live at http://www.turnbacktheclock.org/ for viewing around the globe. The new BAS Web platform allows people in all nations to monitor and get involved in efforts to move the Doomsday Clock farther away from midnight.

In a statement supporting the decision to move the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock, the BAS Board said: "It is 6 minutes to midnight. We are poised to bend the arc of history toward a world free of nuclear weapons. For the first time since atomic bombs were dropped in 1945, leaders of nuclear weapons states are cooperating to vastly reduce their arsenals and secure all nuclear bomb-making material. And for the first time ever, industrialized and developing countries alike are pledging to limit climate-changing gas emissions that could render our planet nearly uninhabitable. These unprecedented steps are signs of a growing political will to tackle the two gravest threats to civilization -- the terror of nuclear weapons and runaway climate change."

Created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Doomsday Clock has been adjusted only 18 times prior to today, most recently in January 2007 and February 2002 after the events of 9/11. By moving the hand of the Clock away from midnight -- the figurative end of civilization -- the BAS Board of Directors is drawing attention to encouraging signs of progress. At the same time, the small increment of the change reflects both the threats that remain around the globe and the danger that governments may fail to deliver on pledged actions on reducing nuclear weapons and mitigating climate change.

The BAS statement explains: "This hopeful state of world affairs leads the boards of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists -- which include 19 Nobel laureates -- to move the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock back from five to six minutes to midnight. By shifting the hand back from midnight by only one additional minute, we emphasize how much needs to be accomplished, while at the same time recognizing signs of collaboration among the United States, Russia, the European Union, India, China, Brazil, and others on nuclear security and on climate stabilization."

The statement continues: "A key to the new era of cooperation is a change in the U.S. government's orientation toward international affairs brought about in part by the election of Obama. With a more pragmatic, problem-solving approach, not only has Obama initiated new arms reduction talks with Russia, he has started negotiations with Iran to close its nuclear enrichment program, and directed the U.S. government to lead a global effort to secure loose fissile material in four years. He also presided over the U.N. Security Council last September where he supported a fissile material cutoff treaty and encouraged all countries to live up to their disarmament and nonproliferation obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty ..."

Lawrence Krauss, co-chair, BAS Board of Sponsors, foundation professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration and Physics departments, associate director, Beyond Center, co-director, Cosmology Initiative, and director, New Origins Initiative, Arizona State University, said: "The time to begin to free ourselves from the terror of nuclear weapons and to slow drastic changes to our shared global environment is now. We encourage scientists to fulfill their dual responsibilities of increasing their own, as well as the public's understanding of these issues and to help lead the call to action. We urge leaders to fulfill the promise of a nuclear weapon-free world and to act now to slow the pace of climate change. Finally, we call on citizens everywhere to raise their voices and compel public action for a safer world now and for future generations. Even though we are encouraged by recent developments, we are mindful of the fact that the Clock is ticking. "

Stephen Schneider, member, BAS Science and Security Board, professor of environmental biology and global change, Stanford University, co-director, Center for Environment Science and Policy of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and senior fellow, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, said: "We can no longer prevent global warming -- it is upon us. Rapidly melting polar icecaps, acidification of the oceans, loss of coral reefs, longer droughts, more devastating wildfires, and sea level rise that threatens island nations and seacoasts everywhere are clear signs of change in Earth's climate. Disruptions of the monsoon seasons in India and China already threaten crop yields resulting in more frequent and severe food shortages than in the recent past ... If we continue 'business as usual' our habitat could be disrupted beyond recognition, with consequences for our way of life that we cannot now foresee. Without vigorous and immediate follow-up to the Copenhagen conference and well-conceived action we are all threatened by accelerating and irreversible changes to our planet ..."

Jayantha Dhanapala, member, BAS Board of Sponsors, president, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, and chair, 1995 UN Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Conference, said: "In the saga of human history civilizations have been threatened both by natural causes and by man-made folly. Some have survived by making the necessary rational responses to the challenges. Others have gone under leaving only their ruins. Today it is the entire planet that stands imperiled by the danger of nuclear weapons and the real risk of climate change inexorably threatening our ecosystem. Both impending disasters are within our capabilities to remedy. The opportunity must be seized now out of a recognition that these are global dangers that transcend national boundaries."

Pervez Hoodbhoy, member, BAS Board of Sponsors, professor of high energy physics, and head, Physics Department, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan, said: "We may be at a turning point, where major powers realize that nuclear weapons are useless for war-fighting or even for deterrence. Threats to security are more likely to come from economic collapse, groups bent on terrorizing civilians, or from resource scarcity exacerbated by climate change and exploding populations, rather than from conflict between nuclear-armed superpowers. Against these new threats, nuclear weapons are a liability because their possession by a few countries stimulates desire in other countries and complicates things immensely."

Kennette Benedict, executive director, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said: "The emerging trends in international cooperation will provide a basis for collaborative problem-solving for a safer world. But a handful of government officials, no matter how bold their vision, will not be able, on their own, to deal with the threats to civilization that we now face. Leaders and citizens around the world will need to summon the courage to overcome obstacles to nuclear security and climate protection. That is why we have created TurnBackTheClock.org to allow citizens around the world a means by which to get involved and to inspire leaders to take action."

RECOMMENDED ACTION STEPS

The BAS statement outlines the need for action on the following:

-- Developing new nuclear doctrines that disavow the use of existing
nuclear weapons, reduce the launch readiness of U.S. and Russian
nuclear forces, and remove them from the day-to-day operations of
their militaries;
-- Finishing the job of consolidating and securing military and civilian
nuclear material in Russia, the United States, and elsewhere and
continuing to eliminate the excess;
-- Completing negotiations, signing and ratifying as soon as possible the
new U.S.-Russia treaty providing for reductions in deployed nuclear
warheads and delivery systems;
-- Upon signing of the treaty, immediately embarking upon new talks to
further reduce the nuclear arsenals of Russia and the United States;
-- Completing the next review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in
May 2010 with commitments to weapons reduction and nuclear
nonproliferation by both the nuclear haves and have-nots;
-- 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 and technology development and 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
-- 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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January 14 is the Date the Doomsday Clock is Reset

RJ Note: Here I was thinking the doomsday clock was about the end of the world as we know it to be. The clock was brought into existence in 1947. And now, climate change is included? Just what did those scientists of the Manhatten Project know?

Hands of 'Doomsday Clock' To Be Moved in New York City and Seen Live on Web For First Time Ever

Factors In Change to Include Nuclear Proliferation, Weapon Stockpile Shifts, and Climate Change; Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Will Open Event to World With Real-Time Streaming Web Broadcast.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) will move the minute hand of its famous "Doomsday Clock" at 10 a.m. EST/1500 GMT on January 14, 2010 in New York City. For the first time ever, the event will be opened up to the general public via a live Web feed at http://www.turnbacktheclock.org/.

The last time the Doomsday Clock minute hand moved was in January 2007, when the Clock's minute hand was pushed forward by two minutes from seven to five minutes before midnight.

The precise time to be shown on the updated Doomsday Clock will not be announced until the live news conference in New York City takes place on January 14, 2010. Factors influencing the latest Doomsday Clock change include international negotiations on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, expansion of civilian nuclear power, the possibilities of nuclear terrorism, and climate change.

Founded in 1945 by University of Chicago scientists who had helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists subsequently created the Doomsday Clock in 1947 as way to convey both the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero). The decision to move the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock is made by the Bulletin's Board of Directors in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes 19 Nobel Laureates. The Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world's vulnerability to catastrophe from nuclear weapons, climate change, and emerging technologies in the life sciences.

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Birdstrikes and Airplanes

RJ Note: The recent emergency landing in the Hudson River captivated us all. The pilot performed his duty with amazing calm, and our hats are off to him for his expertise. We thought you'd like to know more about birdstrikes.

Birdstrikes: Seeking Safer Skies

The near-disaster in New York City drove home the danger birds can pose to airliners. Happily, even as more of us fly than ever before, a combination of common sense and cutting-edge technology is helping to minimize the risks......

By Bruce Barcott

http://www.audubonmagazine.org/InTheNews/birdStrikes.html

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Resolve to Invest Wisely in 2009

/PRNewswire/ -- As the struggling economy heads into the New Year, investors continue to be unsure of what their financial future may hold. Despite the stock market's tumultuous rise and fall, there remain basic investment truths for making sound investment resolutions no matter what 2009 has in store.

New Year's Investment Resolutions

1. Make sure your investment advisor does not have disbursement authority or other access to your funds beyond trading or fee deduction.

2. Find out exactly how your investment professional is paid; insist on a percent-of-assets fee or a flat fee arrangement only.

3. Don't look at your statements or holdings more than once a month; investing is a long-term game. Find a professional and a long-term strategy you're comfortable with and let time work its magic.

4. Ensure your investment professional holds the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation -- the worldwide gold-standard for investment analysis and investment portfolio management.

5. Review your portfolio for high-load funds or other expensive investment products; there is usually very little reason to hold high-load investment products. They are almost never in your best interest.

6. Insist on annualized performance results prepared in accordance with GIPS (Global Investment Performance Standards). If your investment professional can't provide annualized percent returns for your portfolio(s), net of fees, you won't know how you're doing.

7. Don't allow the negative psychology of the current market to trick you into selling your stocks at exactly the wrong time. Current valuations may represent the greatest buying opportunity in a long time, although risks clearly remain.

8. Have faith in the U.S. economy. The world is not ending and the country is not going to collapse. We will recover.

9. Recall that you must outpace inflation in the long-run. Stocks are the single best investment vehicle for potentially beating inflation over long periods of time.

10. Assess your spending and saving habits. Eliminate and trim spending where feasible. Spend less on unnecessary items. And always ask yourself if the purchase you are about to make is necessary or impulse.

Eads & Heald Investment Counsel has a 21-year history of managing customized investment portfolios through periods of economic euphoria and despair. See http://www.eadsheald.com/ .

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We in America are just nuts

We have too much time on our hands. We've topped the Maslow's heirarchy chart and we're standing on our tip toes reaching for ridiculous.

What set me off this morning? A couple in Lexington, Kentucky are getting married in a bathroom. The bride is going to be dressed in toilet paper.

Yep, too many people sitting around in a room trying to come up with the outrageous.

They "won" a contest sponsored by Cheap-Chic-Weddings.com. The dress was designed by Hanah Kim (is she a famous designer? I'm not in the know on that one). Charmin is opening their New York bathroom for free use in honor of the wedding. Great advertising for all involved. And I learned something new... I didn't know that Charmin HAD public bathrooms in New York. Been a while since I visited.

I have to admit, I'm just nutty enough to be someone who'd have probably gotten a kick out of getting married in a bathroom in Times Square dressed in toilet paper way back when. Today, I'm a little more sedate, I wouldn't want the bathroom, but certainly wouldn't want to stand outside in the rain or strong wind either.