For many kids who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, Star Trek was a big part of our childhoods. The series is filled with strange new worlds, futurist politics, and advanced technology that is almost indistinguishable from magic. Yet even as a child I knew the show was a work of science fiction. Warp speed, transporters, and phasers were all gadgets I could comprehend, but in my rational mind I knew they would never exist within my lifetime.
In a statement released over the weekend shortly after news organizations declared he had won, President-elect Joe Biden said, “It’s time for America to unite.” Unite it must, and not just domestically, but also in the realm of global nuclear policy. Because, to put it mildly, Biden will have a lot to do to fix the nuclear mess left by his predecessor.
I am old enough to remember when, in the 1970s, upon entering a city almost anywhere in the world, you would see a sign that said: “Nuclear-free city.”
At the time, the greatest and most likely threat to humanity was nuclear weapons. Today, the World Economic Forum identifies the greatest and most likely threat to humanity to be our failure to mitigate climate change.
Citing the worsening nuclear threat and inaction on the climate crisis, scientists issue a historic warning about the risk of global catastrophe.
"The Doomsday Clock now stands at 100 seconds to midnight, the most dangerous situation that humanity has ever faced. Now is the time to come together—to unite and to act."
