LONDON (AP) — The symbolic "doomsday clock" of the Chicago-based "Atomic Scientists' Bulletin" was advanced two minutes on Wednesday to signify that the world is nearing a nuclear apocalypse and environmental catastrophe. . It now shows 23:55 p.m.
The eminent scientists of the board of directors of the "Bulletin", in charge of the clock since 1947, took this decision because of "the threat of a second nuclear age and the expected consequences of climate change". According to them, humanity is therefore approaching midnight, the hour chosen to symbolize a planetary cataclysm.
Their concerns are largely related to the nuclear crises with Iran and North Korea. However, "the dangers posed by climate change are almost as serious as those related to nuclear weapons", they point out. This is the fourth time the clock hand has moved forward since the end of the Cold War.
The "Bulletin" was created in 1945 as a newsletter for physicists concerned about the possibility of nuclear war, but has since focused more generally on threats to human survival.
The following: http://fr.news.yahoo.com/17012007/5/l-h ... nutes.html
