Bulletin of Atomic Scientists sets world clock at two minutes from Midnight.
The Climate Crisis is only one of the forces moving humanity closer to collapse. But it is the Poster Child for the consequences of choices made for all of us by the few, especially now that the many are coming to realize the true costs of ecocidal business as usual.
2018 Doomsday Clock Statement – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
This is a sobering summary, but not without hope–though nearly so. It seems it is going to take more than the slow emergencies (which, like war, have minutes of sheer terror) mentioned in this report to move us to the trenches of the front lines in sufficient numbers, and in time to avert a future no one wants for their children or the planet.
The clock, of course, is only a symbolic attempt to depict humanity’s wise or unwise and dangerous use of our most powerful creations: nuclear weapons; carbon-based energy; and the technologies that power communications, biology and commerce.
Will there ever be an equivalent motivator to action like the attack on Pearl Harbor? What cataclysm will it take to rouse us from our sleep, and will it be possible, that late in the night, to turn back time?
It’s a sad commentary on human awareness that it takes a cataclysm to get our attention. But it’s true that a road is not straightened, or a fire alarm not installed until some tragedy happens. It seems to be human nature to ignore danger until it is right on our doorstep. I try to be optimistic, but, as you know, it is not easy.