Causes to Celebrate: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

While the idea of atomic energy may not seem like it relates much to the environment, there are a lot of environmental impacts and human impacts that the discovery of radioactive materials set into motion.  And some of these are very much an environmental issue--the struggle to figure out what to do with our radioactive waste while continuing to maintain outdated nuclear power stations instead of working to close them and build from the newer science and data that we currently possess, for instance.  But it's not just nuclear power that we need to be worried about; we also need to consider the impacts that our scientific marvels and technologies can have on the world around us, as well.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, as it has been known since 2003, understood the need for those considerations all the way back in 1945.  Over the years its mission expanded to include all man-made, existential threats, including those of climate change and disruptive technologies.  But in the 1940's nuclear technology, and specifically the nuclear bomb, were foremost on the minds of some of the most prominent scientists of the day.  They worried that the dangers of these newfound discoveries wouldn't be shared with the public, and they knew that if they were going to influence and change governmental policies and laws, they were going to need that support.

Over the years, while their mission has expanded to include other man-made threats besides nuclear energy, their vision has remained constant:

The Bulletin equips the public, policymakers, and scientists with the information needed to reduce man-made threats to our existence.

Now in its 76th year, the Bulletin continues to build upon that vision with the annual reveal of the Doomsday Clock, their print publications, their online site, and by sponsoring various grants and initiatives through their non-profit organization.

Growing up as a kid in the 80's I watched a lot of educational shows with my parents--National Geographic, Nova, the Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, and any other PBS nature program (one of which was actually Nature,) that happened to catch my parents' interest.  I remember most the discussions of acid rain, and recycling became a talking point--and something of a political topic as resistance for having to separate out the trash, or having to use separate trash cans for recyclables was something done mostly in liberal California but not in the mid-west and southern states.  I also recall my dad and I kept our aluminum cans separate to take to the recycling center--something I think his mom did, as I recall having to do that at my grandparents' house, too.

I also have vague recollections of hearing about the Doomsday Clock, but our elementary school drills out in Kansas were for tornados--not nuclear bombs.  Living in Houston, Texas during the "Space Shuttle years" and during, and then after, the fall of the Berlin wall, the idea of there being a nuclear threat seemed distant, even as movies like War Games sought to popularize the idea of computing technologies being the harbinger of our nuclear demise.

It wouldn't be until the last several years that I began to really consider nuclear technology once more and found the Bulletin and its articles ready to catch me up to the present day of man-made threats.

I think we would often rather not look at the bad things out there in the world--especially if they're not threatening us in the here-and-now.  We've grown skeptical of government figures who tout scientific theories as fact and want to dismiss them as mere charade and personally motivated.  And while that may be true in many cases, the science shouldn't also then be thrown out because of the politician.

Those programs that I watched as a kid might not have been perfect, but it did help us to learn about threats which we did combat--CFC's and acid rain and prolific garbage piles (though we've still got a lot of work to do on that last one.)  Worldwide conservation efforts sought to save rhinos and rainforests and endangered species.  And it is organizations like the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists that help to promote better ideas and better ways of doing things.  They brought the conversation of nuclear power and nuclear weapons into our homes--even, and especially, when we didn't want to think about them.  And now they remind us that we need to take care of this place we call home, and that it is with our own voices and our own choices that we can and will do that.

That they have acknowledged that climate change is caused by man is important, and it isn't something we should take lightly.  Science is a tool that can be used for many purposes, but when there are scientists trying to warn us about the dangers of something, it's important that we listen.  Because while scientists may not have all the answers right now, choosing not to ask the questions--choosing to discount the science, is a surefire way to our own demise.

So, while I do not often like to ponder my own end, I think doing so is important for not only my own continued existence, but that of the world's in turn.  And as the Bulletin says, "We are an early-warning system, but we are also determined to inject hope into the conversation by offering achievable actions. We are not a debating society; we strive to fix problems."  And it is that hope, and that commitment to finding solutions that I believe makes the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists a cause worth celebrating.