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Tag: catastrophe

  • Doomsday Clock Now Set To 11:57pm

    The Doomsday Clock was moved forward on Tuesday to read 11:57, or three minutes until midnight. Midnight meaning the symbolic doom of the world.

    Board members of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists have become frustrated with the snail’s pace at which world leaders have taken action against global warming and nuclear arms.

    In response to this frustration, the scientists turned to the famous Doomsday Clock, a symbol which for years has attempted to warn the common man of the close proximity of a potentially catastrophic event.

    This has been the first time in years that the group of scientists has taken action to move the clock. Since 2012, the clock had been fixed at five minutes to midnight.

    “We are not saying it is too late to take action but the window for action is closing rapidly,” Kennette Benedict, executive director of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said of the Doomsday Clock. “We move the clock hand today to inspire action.”

    In addition to some of the usual suspects that aren’t doing anything to shrink their stores of nuclear weapons, the United States, in one scientist’s opinion, is surprisingly complacent.

    Sharon Squassoni, another board member in charge of the Doomsday Clock and director of the Proliferation Prevention Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the US has good intentions regarding nuclear policy. However, at the same time, we are in the midst of a $335 billion overhaul of our nuclear program.

    “The risk from nuclear weapons is not that someone is going to press the button, but the existence of these weapons costs a lot of time, effort and money to keep them secure,” Squassoni said.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0KI8ypsWyY

    She also disclosed that there have been a troubling number of various safety discrepancies reported in recent years at power plants.

    As far as environmental issues, Sivan Kartha, a senior scientist at the Stockholm Environment Institute, says that if nothing is done to reduce the amount of heat-trapping gasses in Earth’s atmosphere, it could be five to 15 degrees Fahrenheit warmer by the end of this century.

    That doesn’t seem like much, but over time, Kartha said that it will be enough to “radically transform” the Earth’s surface.

    What do you think about scientists bumping forward the Doomsday Clock? Are you worried?

  • Buildings Collapse In India After Heavy Rain, Dozens Killed

    The death toll in two separate building collapses in India reached 27, authorities reported on Monday. More victims who are trapped under rubble are still being rescued.

    On Monday, authorities also reported that the death toll in the city of Chennai is up to 19. Rescuers had a difficult time during the rescue operations due to the heavy rains. According to Chennai Police Commissioner Sebastian George, “50 workers were believed to be present at the construction site at the time of the collapse. Rescue operations are still on.”

    The police arrested six people who were said to have a connection with the collapse of the Trust Heights building. Those who were arrested were employees of Prime Sristi Housing Private Housing Ltd, the developer of the building. Well over a hundred employees of Prime Sristi Housing have also been charged for various violations including culpable homicide (not amounting to murder).

    In a separate incident in New Delhi, a crumbling building collapsed on Saturday. Reports indicate that the building was illegally constructed years ago. The collapse may have been caused by the construction work that was happening on an adjacent building.

    According to officials, building collapses are not uncommon in India. They have seen dilapidated and poorly-constructed buildings end many lives over the past years.

    Based on a report by an official from the New Delhi Municipal Council, many of these types of accidents happen because of unauthorized constructions. People tend to build structures or extra floors without securing the right permits.

    Another leading cause of these incidents is corruption, as many officials authorize risky construction projects. In addition, poor quality materials are often used for the buildings.

    In January, there were at least 15 people who were killed when a residential building that was under construction collapsed in Goa. Late last year, there was also an old building that collapsed in Mumbai. In April 2013, a building collapse happened in a suburb of Mumbai were at least 72 people died.

    Image via YouTube