Posted 10:19 pm Thursday, January 24, 2013
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‘Doomsday Clock’ is behind the times
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists issued a breathless warning to President Obama last week, when the group chose to keep its “Doomsday Clock” set at five minutes to midnight. These guys need something better to do with their time.
“The politics of economic recovery have distracted world leaders from the long-term threats that face humanity, specifically the dangers presented by climate change and nuclear weapons, observed the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, as it announced today that the minute hand of its Doomsday Clock will remain at five minutes to midnight,” the group posted.
In a letter to Obama, the scientists say “In the U.S. elections the focus was ‘the economy, stupid,’ with barely a word about the severe long-term trends that threaten the population’s well-being to a far greater extent: climate change, the continuing menace of nuclear oblivion, and the vulnerabilities of the world’s energy sources.”
Remember these are atomic scientists, supposedly. They hit “climate change” first, and nuclear weapons second. The letter as a whole spends more time on climate change than nukes — and it fails to mention Iran at all.
“Human activities are now the dominant cause of global climate change,” the scientists warned. “Emissions of heat-trapping gases continued to climb in 2012, with atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide — the most important greenhouse gas affected by human activities — reaching levels higher than at any time in the past 800,000 years. 2012 was the hottest year on record for the contiguous United States.”
Let’s look at those claims. First, we can let them skate on the claim that human activities are the dominant cause of global climate change. That’s really a matter still being debated, but we’ll let it go for now. Was 2012 the hottest year on record? Yes, for the United States — but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the global average temperature ranked as the 10th-warmest.
What’s puzzling is that the atomic scientists sent this letter to the president of the United States. The U.S. has hit a 20-year low in emissions. Cleaner burning (and cheaper) natural gas is taking the place of coal in many power plants.
But not everywhere.
“The politics of economic recovery have distracted world leaders from the long-term threats that face humanity, specifically the dangers presented by climate change and nuclear weapons, observed the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, as it announced today that the minute hand of its Doomsday Clock will remain at five minutes to midnight,” the group posted.
In a letter to Obama, the scientists say “In the U.S. elections the focus was ‘the economy, stupid,’ with barely a word about the severe long-term trends that threaten the population’s well-being to a far greater extent: climate change, the continuing menace of nuclear oblivion, and the vulnerabilities of the world’s energy sources.”
Remember these are atomic scientists, supposedly. They hit “climate change” first, and nuclear weapons second. The letter as a whole spends more time on climate change than nukes — and it fails to mention Iran at all.
“Human activities are now the dominant cause of global climate change,” the scientists warned. “Emissions of heat-trapping gases continued to climb in 2012, with atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide — the most important greenhouse gas affected by human activities — reaching levels higher than at any time in the past 800,000 years. 2012 was the hottest year on record for the contiguous United States.”
Let’s look at those claims. First, we can let them skate on the claim that human activities are the dominant cause of global climate change. That’s really a matter still being debated, but we’ll let it go for now. Was 2012 the hottest year on record? Yes, for the United States — but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the global average temperature ranked as the 10th-warmest.
What’s puzzling is that the atomic scientists sent this letter to the president of the United States. The U.S. has hit a 20-year low in emissions. Cleaner burning (and cheaper) natural gas is taking the place of coal in many power plants.
But not everywhere.
“Coal and energy use are still growing rapidly in other countries, particularly China, and CO2 levels globally are rising, not falling,” the Associated Press reported last year. “China’s emissions were estimated to be about 9 billion tons in 2011, accounting for about 29 percent of the global total. The U.S. accounted for approximately 16 percent.”
So we’re doing our bit; it’s really up to China (and India, for that matter) to start doing theirs.
The scientists mention other threats, such as “cyber attacks” and “digital espionage.”
But again, they’re atomic scientists. As columnist Walter Williams noted recently, even Isaac Newton was spectacularly wrong when it came to matters outside his specialty (physics).
The reality is the world is a safer and healthier place than it has ever been. The dramatics of a “Doomsday Clock” aside, there’s reason for optimism.
So we’re doing our bit; it’s really up to China (and India, for that matter) to start doing theirs.
The scientists mention other threats, such as “cyber attacks” and “digital espionage.”
But again, they’re atomic scientists. As columnist Walter Williams noted recently, even Isaac Newton was spectacularly wrong when it came to matters outside his specialty (physics).
The reality is the world is a safer and healthier place than it has ever been. The dramatics of a “Doomsday Clock” aside, there’s reason for optimism.
