Doomsday Clock reset to give world additional minute

People working in the oil and gas industry tend to be optimists, sometimes very big optimists such as the early wildcatters who repeatedly dared to risk their livelihood on a hunch. These are solution-driven folks who tend to be very resilient.

So it with some amusement that I tell my blog followers about a Jan. 14 release out of New York entitled “Doomsday Clock moves 1 minute from Midnight.” They mean 1 more minute as in 6 minutes instead of 5 minutes. Midnight represents the end of civilization.

“Citing a more hopeful state of world affairs in relation to the twin threats posed by nuclear weapons and climate change, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (BAS) is moving the minute hand of its famous Doomsday Clock 1 minute away from midnight. It is now 6 minutes to midnight.”

Created in 1947 by BAS, the Doomsday Clock has been adjusted only 18 times. I respect BAS and its Board of Sponsors, which includes 19 Nobel Laureates. Granted, the BAS is being more optimistic by giving civilization another minute.

But I wonder where the hands might be on a clock created by all the industry groups that organize the Offshore Technology Conference every May in Houston.

Scientists within oil and gas companies are working hard on protecting the environment and addressing climate change questions. Although they might not want to address the nuclear threat issue, I believe they would give the world more than 6 minutes.