The doomsday clock was created after the emergence of nuclear technology in the 1940s. Its purpose was to predict the end of the man-kind through human infliction. This is shown through the minute hand gradually nearing midnight; when it does, this is thought to be the end. With nuclear weaponry and other scientific advancements, atomic scientists created this metaphor to warn governments and populations of the threats created through conflict and mindless actions. At the time of this clocks creation, however, Climate Change was not a likely instigator for such a global catastrophe.
100 seconds to midnight is the closest proximity to midnight that scientist have ever predicted. As average global temperatures continue to escalate each year, ecological systems perish and biodiversity dissipates. More and more land becomes over farmed and barren, cutting viable regions for food production significantly each year. Oceans, which contain some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world, are being over fished so much that there are more microplastics inhabiting these areas than there are fish. According to a report on climate change in the Svalbard archipelago released this year by the Norwegian Center for Climate Services and commissioned by the Norwegian Environment Agency, “Heavy rainfall will occur more frequently. Avalanches and mudslides will happen more often. The snow season will become shorter. In the high-emission scenario, near-surface permafrost is predicted to melt in coastal and low-altitude areas.”
After threats of nuclear warfare, Climate Change immediately emerged as the most imperative issue nearing us to a global catastrophe. Chris Barrie, an ex-admiral who formerly lead the Australian Defense Force expressed in an article by Marco Margaritoff, “A doomsday future is not inevitable. But without immediate drastic action our prospects are poor.”
As of right now, it is impossible to completely ease the tumultuous state our environment is in and will continue to be in the future. If individuals and mass corporations do not make significant efforts to create a more sustainable future, climate doomsday will become more and more imminent. As political and ideological divisions continue to deviate attention away from our suffering planet, reparations are not arising and problems go unchecked. Although this seems like a time to panic, a few of the best way to help is through small actions against corporations, abandoning a materialistic mindset, voting in officials that have plans to help the environment, and altering your diet to limit your meat and dairy intake. If everyone did small things like this, greater change can persist.
For more in depth statistical information, visit these articles:
Climate change: what Antarctica’s ‘doomsday glacier’ means for the planet. Leslie Hook on the Antarctic Peninsula, Steven Bernard and Ian Bott in London JULY 13 2020: https://www.ft.com/content/4ff254ed-960d-4b35-a6c0-1e60a6e79d91
The Doomsday Vault’s home is already altered by climate change. A report says it could get worse. Kayla Epstein. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/03/27/doomsday-vaults-home-is-already-altered-by-climate-change-report-says-it-could-get-worse/
Doomsday By 2050 If We Don’t Fight Climate Change Now, Report Warns. Marco Margaritoff. https://allthatsinteresting.com/climate-change-report-2050-doomsday
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