In 1945, physicists and other scientific experts created the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists in
response to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to educate the public to the dangers
posed by nuclear weapons. Two years later, the Bulletin launched the “Doomsday Clock,” a marker of
how close we are to nuclear annihilation. With the last nuclear arms control agreement between the US
and Russia, New START, set to expire on February 5, alongside growing dangers posed by AI, President
Trump’s call to resume nuclear testing, nuclear threats from Russia and Israel, escalating hostilities
between India and Pakistan, , and China’s increasing threats toward Taiwan, the Doomsday Clock today
was set to 85 second to midnight, the closest it has ever been since its creation.
As Alexendra Bell, the Bulletin’s CEO, stated in her announcement, this moment is a call to
action. We cannot sit idly by as escalating tensions, eroding diplomacy, and growing risks of
miscalculation inch us closer to nuclear war and ending life on the planet. History shows that organizing
and taking action can lead to significant victories. Global nuclear arsenals have fallen from 70,300
nuclear weapons in 1986 to around 12,300 today. Over that same time span, the US stockpile went from
over 25,000 nuclear weapons, down to 5,044. From the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to the INF Treaty,
from the NPT to the TPNW, these victories occurred because people educated, motivated, and galvanized
others to action. President Reagan changed his position on nuclear weapons stating a nuclear war can
never be won and must never be fought, in part because one million people marched and rallied in New
York City in 1982 demanding an end to the arms race.
Since 1945, people around the world, led by atomic bomb survivors, have collectively called for
nuclear disarmament, and that collective effort is why we are still here today. Now, as the world inches
closer to nuclear war, we once again raise the antinuclear banner. Now is when we need to look at South
Africa to study and find inspiration from a country that defeated apartheid and eliminated its nuclear
weapons program completely.
You do not need to have a Ph.D. in Physics or be an expert in nuclear policy to make a difference.
You can demand action from your elected representatives, support organizations like OPSR working to
eliminate the nuclear threat, start a book club to educate yourself and others on the issue, write an oped to
your local paper, host a film screening, or simply reach one person at a time. With trillions spent on
nuclear weapons instead of human needs, the ongoing harms of nuclear waste and uranium mining, the
risk of renewed nuclear testing, and the very real possibility of a nuclear exchange somewhere in the
world in our lifetime, now is not the time to fall into despair. We have stopped this madness before and
we can do it again, but not without all of us, together, speaking with one voice and saying the words of the
atomic bomb survivors: “No More Hiroshimas!”
To see previous recent statements from Oregon PSR, click here.