The International Earth Destruction Advisory Board (IEDAB) is an independent scientific institution which monitors the current status of the Earth and the number of times it has been destroyed. In the event of the Earth being destroyed it will be the IEDAB's job to relay this information to people who need to know and provide advice on how to proceed.
The IEDAB is based in Nottingham, England, and funded entirely by charitable donations.
Current Earth-Destruction Status (CEDS)
EARTH-DESTRUCTION ALERT LEVEL: GREEN
A "Green" Earth-Destruction Alert Level (EDA Level) indicates that the Earth has not been destroyed. This is the default EDA Level in peacetime. In the event of the Earth being destroyed, the EDA Level will change to "Red".
CURRENT GEOCIDE COUNT: 0
The Current Geocide Count (CGC) indicates in real time how many geocides have taken place; that is, the number of times the Earth has been destroyed. A value of "0" indicates that at present, the Earth has not been destroyed. In the event of the Earth being destroyed, the CGC will be increased by one, to read "1".
IEDAB staff list
- Founder and Head Geocide Researcher: Sam Hughes
- Alert-Level Button Designer: James Roberts
FAQ
How can I find out if the Earth has been destroyed?
There are many ways to check.
You can check the EDA Level and CGC on this page at any time.
To listen to a computerised CEDS reading, you can call our toll-free IEDAB Geocide Hotline at +44 115 09Ω 4127.
If you wish to be notified by email in the event of the Earth being destroyed, you can subscribe to the mailing list at the email address given on this page.
You can add the following code: <img src="http://qntm.org/files/board/current.png" alt="Current Earth-Destruction Status" /> to your website. This is a hotlink to the EDA Level image above, which constantly reflects the CEDS. When the status changes, the image changes. By hotlinking to this image on your website you can be the first to know if and when the Earth is destroyed.
How do you measure the CGC?
The CGC is based on a combination of sources.
Astronomical observations: Every month, we take precise measurements of the motion of the other planets in our Solar System, to see whether the Earth's gravitational field is still perturbing their orbits as theory predicts it must. Should the Earth cease to exist, the observations and predictions would not match up, and the discrepancy would be noted.
Seismic readings: For more frequent but less accurate data, we also take weekly readings from a seismograph buried deep underneath the IEDAB Visitors' Centre in Nottingham, England. As long as the seismograph continues to generate readings of any kind, it, and the planet it is buried in, must still exist.
Can I help the IEDAB with its observations?
Of course! Our coverage isn't perfect and you can easily help. You can check for yourself whether the Earth still exists or not simply by taking a good look at the Moon. If it appears to be more distant than usual, or has vanished completely, then it has probably broken orbit and zoomed off into space - something which can only happen if the Earth's gravitational field (and by extension, the Earth itself) disappears.
To be a part of this scientific endeavour, simply email your CGC reading and the date and time you took it to the email address below. Remember, all data is good! You don't have to wait for the Earth to be destroyed to write in. Even a positive "yes, the Earth is still here" helps keep our team up-to-date.
Has the EDA Level ever changed? What about the CGC?
The EDA Level was set at "Green" when it was first activated in 1953. It has remained at "Green" since then. The CGC has been at 0 for its entire existence also except for a software glitch in 1990 when it was briefly set at 43. Hopefully they will both remain at their current settings for a long time to come.
But wasn't the Earth destroyed once?
Ah. You are referring to the Giant Impact Hypothesis. This proposes that just a few tens of millions of years after the Earth was created, it was struck by an object the size of Mars (sometimes called "Theia"), and that the Moon was the result of that collision - that is, the Earth was turned into a "double planet", satisfying the minimum conditions for the destruction of the planet Earth, as given here.
This event is not included in the CGC for several reasons.
While it is gaining momentum, the Giant Impact Hypothesis is indeed just a hypothesis at the time of writing, and may not be accurate.
Even assuming the Giant Impact Hypothesis is correct, it is relatively rare that the Earth-Moon system is described as a "double planet". While the Moon is relatively large for a natural satellite, the Earth is 81 times more massive than the Moon and the centre of gravity of the system is inside the Earth, so the Moon is quite definitely in orbit around Earth; they could not really be said to orbit each other as a "double planet" system would imply.
Even assuming that the Moon does count as another planet, the Earth has always been understood to be the planet we are standing on now, not the planet that existed back then. Whatever was destroyed during the Giant Impact was NOT Earth as we currently know it. The Earth IS still here and it CAN still be destroyed.
What are the IEDAB members' opinions on the prospect of the Earth being destroyed?
As scientists we feel that impartiality is important to maintain the integrity and reliability of our data. As such we have no official opinions on whether the destruction of Earth would be a good thing or a bad thing.
We would, however, ask that anybody intending to destroy or attempt to destroy the Earth notify us at least three weeks in advance of the projected date of Earth-destruction, so that the EDA Level and CGC can be kept as accurate as possible.