Is 2017 the year we will have a NUCLEAR WAR? Some very smart people think so

Doomsday Clock ticks closer to midnight.

With so many changes happening in the world, some are looking at 2017 as the year we finally see a nuclear war. A nuclear war would involve the deliberate use of a nuclear weapon against an enemy target. Such a use would necessarily result in thousands to millions of casualties, and possibly a retaliation.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- The keepers of the Doomsday Clock say the time is just 3 minutes to midnight. The Doomsday Clock is a measurement of how close the world is to nuclear war. It is updated periodically as scientists from around the world assess the threats that could lead a nation to use a nuclear device.

Previously, the clock was at 5 minutes in 2012, and at 6 minutes in 2010, and 7 minutes in 2002. At the end of the Cold War, the clock was sent to 17 minutes.

At 3 minutes, the clock is now the closest is has been to doomsday since 1953. At 3 minutes, the clock is even closer than it was during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, when it was between 7 and 12 minutes.

The Doomsday Clock is merely an unscientific measurement, a tool used to convey the seriousness of the situation. Most Americans don't even know what the Doomsday Clock is, or why it matters. Or more importantly, what's causing it.

Rampant nationalism and the ambitions of men are pushing the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock closer to zero.

India, Pakistan, Iran, China, North Korea, Russia, and of course, the United States are all embarked on crash programs to develop or modernize their nuclear arsenals.

At the same time, each of these countries is flexing its military muscle, building or planning on exerting more force overseas than ever before. This is a recipe for war.

All of this is to say nothing of terrorist efforts to create international chaos, like they have in Iraq, Syria, and parts of Africa.

The world has entered a dangerous time and it is very possible that 2017 could be the year we see a nuclear war.

What will the war look like? Fortunately, few people think it will look like it could have during the Cold War, with both the United States and the Soviet Union vomiting their entire arsenal around the globe. Such a war would have extinguished all life on Earth.

More likely, the conflict will be more limited, with a city or several cities reduced to ashes in a flash. It will still have worldwide consequences for the weather and health of billions of people. The losses will be staggering. And worst of all, it may not resolve anything, leaving the survivors to fight a brutal conflict among the ashes of their homes.

At this time, all we can do is pray and pressure our representatives to shy away from policies that make war more likely, and from developing and expanding an already deadly nuclear arsenal. Are weapons don't need to be updated. How can you improve upon a single instrument that instantly kills millions of people without discrimination?

Our weapons need to be dismantled. Until we do this, the lives of millions will remain just three minutes away from death.

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