I think its possible that an enormous solar flare spike could damage all types of GPS and navigational equipment that could bring transportation on Earth to a snarl. That not only means basic travel, but delivery of food and basic human needs. I think one of Earth's weakest points is our over reliance on technology. A major extended disruption of communications, electronics and basic transportaion could have a devestatng effect on mankind. Maybe a huge solar event like this is what visionaries and prophets have seen, an end to the "Earth as we know it" and a new dawn for mankind, one where we understand that the need for basic survival is not found in computer systems or billion dollar satellites, but with human interaction and compassion for one another on a more basic level, one where we respect the Earth and its fragility.

We be aight.

Just be sure to max out your credit cards in 2010...
Kidding...
but of course, there is this worry, but there was this worry, last solar maximum, and nothing like that happened...

So be wary, but not worried...

Much worry over nothing.

It will not cause airplanes to fall out of the sky or trucks to stop running. That is nonsense.

Pilots drill and train and practice regularly on flying without electronic navigation equipment. Worst case it will be a bit more effort to manually land the plane -- something that is practiced in the simulators on a regular basis.

Truck drivers will just read paper maps to make their deliveries.

Cell phones may intermittently not work properly, but I hardly think that will cause the collapse of western civilization.

A minor inconvenience for some. Most of the world's population will be completely unaffected.

The researchers say a flaw in design will cause equipment to fail 'up to 90%, for hours at a time' during intense solar flares.

But the data is being dismissed. Why?

One solution, says Kintner, would be to increase the strength of GPS signals. But this would mean redesigning GPS satellite hardware and software

...and redesigning GPS satellite hardware and software would cost $$$.

There you have it. Most likely, there is a real problem, but it would cost too much $$$ to fix - and lost lives are just collateral damage, acceptable by the numbers.

It will not cause airplanes to fall out of the sky or trucks to stop running. That is nonsense.

I agree if that was the cae and it happened every 11 years then surely it would be much better known, also did planes fall out the sky in 1999 or 2000 no so what about technology has changed so much that it would affect planes and trucks.

Imagine if the electronics in satellites and the power grids were not just shut down for a few hours, but went out for weeks or even months. Throw in a few natural dissasters and you've got complete anarcy and widespread chaos. People don't tend to 'remain calm' when they run out of food, water and gas. And that's just the basics, then of course theres the criminal element that comes out of the woodwork. Just look at post-katrina. Katrina was bad but at least the majority of the population involved had a place to escape to, ie. nearby states. What would it be like on a world wide scale with no place to escape to? The over-reliance on technology is a dangerous gamble for mankind. The simple people who live off the land without power around the world would be just fine, or should I say "the meek." The first will be last and the last shall be first right?

We can only wish that solar flares would stop the polluting vehicles from operating. Alas, it's not very likely to happen.

Wonder if the solar activity has any thing to do with the mien calendar witch ends in 2012?