Report: Powerful Solar Storm Could Shut Down U.S. for Months

Report: Powerful Solar Storm Could Shut Down U.S. for Months

www.foxnews.com

A new study from the National Academy of Sciences outlines grim possibilities on Earth for a worst-case scenario solar storm.

Damage to power grids and other communications systems could be catastrophic, the scientists conclude, with effects leading to a potential loss of governmental control of the situation.

The prediction is based in part on major solar storm in 1859 caused telegraph wires to short out in the United States and Europe, igniting widespread fires.

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[edit on 9/1/2009 by Mirthful Me]

This seems very scary considering this affects water and food distribution. what do you think could happen? riot? rebellion? something crazy?Would this also be powerful enough to fry chips in our computers? This sounds big enough to even stop the "NWO" or whomever controls the world. It can also take out our astronauts and most satellites which would do hell on cell phones and Cable. discuss


MOST IMPORTANT PART. THE ARTICLE STATES THAT IT WILL HAPPEN IN 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



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[edit on 9/1/2009 by Mirthful Me]

[edit on 9-1-2009 by Swatman]

[edit on 9-1-2009 by Swatman]

"MOST IMPORTANT PART. THE ARTICLE STATES THAT IT WILL HAPPEN IN 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

dont they all? just like all the other predictions, might happen might not, we cant stop it so we will just wait and see like always until 2013 and think of the next big end of the world sit

Phew! Glad it'll only shutdown the US for months. Does that mean the rest of us will all be fine and dandy.

I read a few pieces last year predicting a possible spike in solar activity and sunspots peaking in 2011 that could well do a lot of damage, knocking out satellites and ground comms. The thing is, who knows what will happen as events like these have not been recorded in recent history and it's not like there's anything we can do about it.

2012 again, eh?
Though I'm almost positive that something will happen (seeing how something happens every year without the benefit of media hype), I'm almost positive that a solar storm isn't something to worry about. At least, not three years from now.

The thing which these articles never seem to mention when predicting catastrophe is what scientific merit the claim possesses. Our most advanced current equipment for tracking solar flares, flare travel time, intensity, etc. cannot give more than a few weeks warning at most. Theoretically, we could predict solar storms up to six months in advance by monitering sun-spots, but this has yet to be tested.

So yes, a solar storm is remotely possible. The likelyhood of us knowing about it three years in advance, however, is even less than that of Nostradamus' prediction of a zombie invasion.

If you want scary natural events which are more likely to wipe out various arrogant governmental systems, I suggest you read Edgar Cayce and research the scientific merit of his claims.

On the other hand, its nice to see someone else acknowledge the perpetual cosmic threat to our fragile existence. Cheers.

(spelling)

[edit on 9-1-2009 by Malfeitor]

Many thought that Y2K was going to be the end. Well here we are at our computers in 2009.
NOBODY knows what will happen.

I think communications would be mostly affected.
But there is experimental types that we don't know of that would still work.
At the end of the day we would find a way around it im sure.

The article is very interesting. Thanks for posting. I actually don’t think it would be that bad, with the resources we have now. The only thing that would make it a really terrible situation would be people panicking.

On a side note: I can’t wait until 2013 so we can move on to the next useless batch of apocalyptic predictions.

One more thing I only just remembered; on March 13, 1989, there was a powerful geo-magnetic storm caused by a solar flare which passed very near the earth. It knocked out several power stations worldwide and the aurora could be seen as far south as Texas.

This sort of thing happens all the time, and there is a reason why nobody really knows about it: it hasn't ended the world yet.
Polar shifts, rapid axial tilting, comets, astroids, even freakin' planet X (which, if its out there, is still beyond Neptune if you know a single thing about astrophysics or gravitational pull) worries me more than solar storms.

I hope it does happen in 2012! Can you imagine the panic over nothing? Zero hour finally hits, everyone clinches, millions look up to see if the messiah has come, and everyone sees the aurora. I'm not certain what the people would do, but it would be interesting.

reply to post by Swatman


Fox

"Impacts would be felt on interdependent infrastructures with, for example, potable water distribution affected within several hours; perishable foods and medications lost in 12-24 hours; immediate or eventual loss of heating/air conditioning, sewage disposal, phone service, transportation, fuel resupply and so on," the report states.
Outages could take months to fix, the researchers say. Banks might close, and trade with other countries might halt.

"Emergency services would be strained, and command and control might be lost," write the researchers, led by Daniel Baker, director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
"Whether it is terrestrial catastrophes or extreme space weather incidents, the results can be devastating to modern societies that depend in a myriad of ways on advanced technological systems," Baker said in a statement released with the report

Great Thread thank you for posting.
I just read this on FOX too

We know the Sun moves (?) in 11 year cycles.
So, there’s no 2012 conspiracy there - it’s just fact and/or coincidence.

I wonder about this though..

Will this *event* that *may or may not happen* - HAPPEN anyway?
Meaning, a false flag sun induced terror attack?
Don't laugh I mean it!
It wouldn't be that hard to do - would work with small EMPs maybe (if I understand then right)?
Anway, it doesn’t matter where the catastrophe comes from the result is the same - marshal law, taking guns from the public, RFID chipping, etc etc.

Either way - if it happens naturally, or super-naturally (helped along my the *Powers that be*) - the result is the same - NWO and Mass Control of the People.

Wake up people.
Regardless of *what* happens, somthing IS going to happen.

Buy guns while you can.
Get some storable food.
Maybe a generator.

Most of all - start getting involved in your community!
Get to know your neighbors.
Map out some emergency plans between you and your family and neighbors.

Better late than never.

*P*E*A*C*E*


[edit on 9-1-2009 by silo13]

Originally posted by silo13
Regardless of *what* happens, somthing IS going to happen.

I believe that too. Just don't know what - there's just too many theories.

Even if this solar storm simply affected radio waves and not electrical currents for a few months, it would be a catastrophe in this day and age.

If it stops computers from working, we're stuffed!

We are so totally dependent on electricity today that without it the world as we know it would stop. We would all be in deep you know what.
All of our eggs are in this one basket and it is very vulnerable. As someone noted this is not conspiracy stuff it is science. It has happened before and it very well could happen again.
There are only 4 years left before this time of heightened risk - far too little time to prepare ourselves.
We need to be upping our sources of alternative energy. We need to increase the availability of locally produced energy and get off the grid.
I don't know, but wouldn't solar energy be a good thing in this circumstance? I would think that solar flares might just increase the amount of energy produced by that method during a flareup?
Anybody know?

Yhea this again, nothing ew really. We passed the solar minimum I think early last year, so solar flare activity should be on the increase for the next few years peeking around he infamous 2012 / 2013 mark.

And each successive cycle of solar peeks and minimums makes us all the more vulnerable because of our tech getting more engrained in our lives - and actually the finer the circuitry in the chips get the more susceptible they are... Thats kinda why NASA uses quite low spec processors in the shuttles and satellites etc - the chips are built a few levels up the manometer scale making them more robust - they could be rocking intel 386's and 486's for some of their systems - not cos they don't spend the money on updating them (so much ) but because they are more reliable than your quad core singing and dancing doobies.

It's basically a numbers game - the sun will fling these things out, and they will once in a while be flung in our direction - such is life. A really nasty one could kill the transformers in the power grid - man if that happens we a screwed for years... you can forget about building new cars for a while, all the metal production will go into those monsters they need at the power stations - they take like 6 months a piece at absolute maximum production.

I am not a 2012 conspiratist. something happens every year, but i just found it interesting that it said 2012.