In their annual assessment of threats facing the planet, the group behind the 'Doomsday Clock' unveiled their outlook as of 2017 and it is troubling.
At a press conference held of Thursday, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced that they have advanced the theoretical countdown to Armageddon by thirty seconds which is a worrisome two-and-a-half minutes before midnight.
It is the most dire determination by the group in an astounding 53 years when the height of the Cold War narrowed the gap to a mere two minutes.
The organization cited numerous reasons for their decision, but specifically pointed to the Trump administration's skeptical stance on climate change as one of the key factors.
Other areas of concern were the proliferation of nuclear weapons, rising geopolitical tensions, and the burgeoning realm of cyber threats in various forms.
By inching the clock closer to midnight, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists hopes that it will help sound the alarm that, in their eyes, humanity is not heading in the right direction.
Sadly, something tells us that the world may simply keep hitting the snooze button on the Doomsday Clock until it's too late.
Before then, though, Coast Insiders can hear from an affiliate of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, in a classic edition of the program from 11/6/2002.
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Source: LiveScience