A quote from Oppenheimer, an architect of the first atomic bomb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb13ynu3Iac
“At precisely 5:29 A.M. on July 16, 1945, a bright flash sharply pierced the early New Mexico morning. As a mushroom cloud rose from the resulting crater, those at base camp ten miles away realized that the United States Army had just successfully detonated the world’s first nuclear device. One of the architects of the bomb and witnesses of the detonation, J. Robert Oppenheimer, recalled thinking to himself, “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” Just three weeks later, the United States dropped similar nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, bringing the Pacific Theater of World War II to an end. The possibility that nuclear devices may once again be detonated in war spurred the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to create the Doomsday Clock in 1947.”
The detonation of the first atomic bomb and Oppenheimer’s response to the explosion are two reasons why I decided to do more research into the Doomsday Clock. In class, we discussed what the Doomsday Clock means and the major risks posed for the end of the world. For my final research project, I was intent on learning more about the Doomsday Clock and understanding what the true major risks are to the end of the world. I wanted to learn not only what the major risks are, but I also wanted to find out what we can do to prevent these catastrophes from occurring.
Looking into the history of the Doomsday Clock, I wanted to learn more about what the times until midnight have been in the past. Looking at the diagram below, we can see that the time until midnight has varied widely from 1947 until now. The most time we’ve had in our history is in 1991, which is when the Cold War ended and global powers reduce their nuclear arsenal. The least time we’ve had in our history is in 2020 and 2021, which results from both the COVID-19 pandemic and the constant governmental and societal apathy towards nuclear risk and climate change. In between 1947 and now, we’ve also had other close calls: in 1953, the first hydrogen bomb is tested by the United States, and in 2018, there is increasing conflict between the United States and North Korea. Therefore, in order to set back the Doomsday Clock, there is much work that needs to be done in order to buy humanity more time on the planet.
In my research paper, I focus on two of the biggest existential risks outlined by the Doomsday Clock: nuclear threat and climate change. I find these two threats almost opposite in polarity: nuclear war can kill us at an instant, while climate change ends the world slowly. Although these two factors seem quite polar, they are truly interconnected in both severity of the risk and the impact that these risks have on the planet. Therefore, it is important to study both topics in order to fully understand what society is up against. In the paper, I focus on two major factors that contribute to these risks.
Sole nuclear authority is one of the greatest issues that the United States is facing in the realm of nuclear threat. I chose to research more into sole nuclear authority because I remember being shocked when first learning that the United States President has the sole authority to launch a nuclear attack at any given moment without discussion or approval. As mentioned in the Doomsday Clock, sole nuclear authority is an issue that has been around for a very long time with very little evolution to the policy. In the 2021 Doomsday Clock Statement, the authors push for President Biden to revoke sole nuclear authority, which is something he has not yet done. While I agree that sole nuclear authority should not continue to be a policy, I could not find anywhere in the Doomsday Clock Statement that proposed any alternatives to this policy. Therefore, I was set on thinking up possible solutions to this outdated rule. In my research paper, I discuss strategies that other countries around the world have implemented in accordance to the use of nuclear weaponry. While some countries also give the president nuclear authority, they force the president to either receive approval from a council, or the responsibility is divided up amongst multiple members of government. I believe that the United States government should examine the nuclear policies from other countries and adopt their own version for nuclear authority.
The use of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide emissions are two other pressing issues that we are facing globally. In class, we came to a consensus that climate change is the biggest risk most likely to bring the end of the world. The problem is, many people and governments still refuse to believe that climate change is a pressing issue. In the 2021 Doomsday Clock, the authors highlight that the consistent apathy towards global warming and carbon dioxide emissions leads us down a slippery slope that can lead us to irreversible damage. As I mention in my research paper, some scientists gives humanity around 10 years to prevent irreversible damage due to climate change. While the Paris Agreement and the Green New Deal force countries to make promises towards reaching carbon neutrality, we often see these same countries fall back on their promises. Therefore, there must be a greater push to keep governments and leaders accountable and prevent the world from increasing another 2 degrees Celsius.
Therefore, my motivation for this project was to find solutions to the biggest and most complicated problems we are currently facing as a society. I know that it seems pretty bold of me to believe that I, alone, can solve BOTH the issue of nuclear risk and climate change. Although these issues are bigger than one individual, I believe that proposing solutions to these pressing issues will bring awareness to society and convince everyone that we must take action now in order to have a safe and inhabitable planet for generations to come. By proposing my own solutions, I may be able to inspire others to come up with their own possible intervention strategies. And who knows, maybe one day, one of our ideas may actually become reality!
I have attached my final research paper, “The Doomsday Clock: A New START” to this blog post. I hope my research instills a sense of urgency for these issues, and I hope it inspires you to think of your own possible solutions to these problems.