A metaphor of how close humanity really comes to self destruction, The Doomsday Clock has been moved the closest it has ever been. The Doomsday Clock was founded in 1947 by Manhattan Project scientists at the University of Chicago, a group of scientists that helped create the atomic bomb but remain against using it. This clock is set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists with the intent to warn the population and inspire change. The Doomsday Clock was originally created strictly based on use of atomic weapons, but in 2007 changed to include dramatic change from climate change. 

The recent movement of The Doomsday Clock becomes significant when looking at the past years times. For the past three years the clock stayed at 100 seconds, two years before that the clock was stable at two minutes. Now, in 2023 the clock sits at only 90 seconds due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. With the clock’s intentions of invoking change and the stable decline of the time left the clock becomes questionable to some. Ava Geiser, a well educated senior in Quakertown High School, expresses her concerns for the recent movement by stating “Humanity needs to understand that we are dangerously close and make changes to prevent it”. On the other hand, the clock can be perceived as inaccurate due to the true unpredictability of the end of the world. 

The Doomsday Clock has been brushed under the rug in the most recent year with not many aware of it. The clock’s purpose being to invoke change has been compromised by the lack of attention it receives.  

This leads to the question of is there possibly another way to encourage change? Many believe it may be difficult to do so because of people who doubt science and professionals or do not take the time to care for or read about it. Generation z creates the largest obstacles because they are the generation that needs to make the changes for them to be effective. In spite of that Gen z has built a dependency on technology and holds a lack of motivation to watch and pay attention to the news. What may encourage others to help the clock to turn back?