By Katrina van den Heuvel, Washington Post, January 28, 2020

The climate emergency is visible in fires and droughts and floods across the world, from Australia to Missouri. Millions have already been displaced; the billions already spent are just the beginning. Governmental action on the climate emergency falls far short of even the most modest hopes for survival, with carbon emissions still increasing. Yet Trump has pulled the country out of the Paris climate accord, weakening its already limited progress.

The Bulletin’s warning got far too little attention. There was no 24-7 coverage or analysis. Few politicians bothered to respond. But don’t be misled: This is the real deal, the true catastrophe. When history writes about the Trump administration, his tantrums and insults, his tweets and rallies, his ignorance and temper will no doubt be mentioned, but historians will surely focus on the lost years when this president didn’t just ignore these existential threats, but actively exacerbated them.

At the Bulletin’s news conference, former California governor Jerry Brown, the executive chair of the group’s governingboard, noted: “Speaking of danger and destruction is never very easy, because if you speak the truth, people will not want to listen because it’s too awful.” No one wants to be what Brown called a “prophet of doom,” but when doomsday in fact approaches, those prophets are more necessary than ever.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/01/28/doomsday-clock-ticks-closer-midnight/