I remember watching a discovery special about the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists' Doomsday Clock and this clock has stayed in my mind for a while. Don't freak out, they aren't mad scientists, they are making a political statement with this clock. They respond to events that threaten the species as a whole by moving the clock forward or back. They manage to put the little steps, taken over a long period of time, that lead to nuclear war or extinction into perspective. To think that our decisions managed to accelerated us 11 minutes closer to midnight, the symbolic time of doom, over the last 15 years is stunning. I'm sure this stunning image had some effect on the decisions world leaders made. I feel the space community could use its own clock; we need a reverse doomsday clock.
Imagine what the impact would be if a panel of the most respected people in the space community collectively decided that we are 2 seconds further away from the take off of a space faring society. We would have an icon to show how pleased or displeased the space community is with the development of space. This icon would include the non-space cadets in our highly technical, acronym filled discussions; it would be an icon best suited for the sound bites that media craves.
Another benefit is that the space community will be forced to have debates every time we have to move the clock. While this could involve sticky issues, like Obama's plan for space, a detailed exploration of issues that split the community could help to bring us all to the same page and help to discover all the consequences (both good and bad) of making a certain choice on the path towards space development and space settlement.
So, that's why I think we need the clock. Feel free to challenge me or add more benefits in the comments
Image by Matthew Simantov
