Solar Flare Can Render Your Toilet Useless.

Severe Space Weather

Severe Space Weather
01.21.2009

January 21, 2009: Did you know a solar flare can make your toilet stop working?

January 21, 2009: Did you know a solar flare can make your toilet stop working?

That's the surprising conclusion of a NASA-funded study by the National Academy of Sciences entitled Severe Space Weather Events—Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts. In the 132-page report, experts detailed what might happen to our modern, high-tech society in the event of a "super solar flare" followed by an extreme geomagnetic storm. They found that almost nothing is immune from space weather—not even the water in your bathroom.

The problem begins with the electric power grid. "Electric power is modern society's cornerstone technology on which virtually all other infrastructures and services depend," the report notes. Yet it is particularly vulnerable to bad space weather. Ground currents induced during geomagnetic storms can actually melt the copper windings of transformers at the heart of many power distribution systems. Sprawling power lines act like antennas, picking up the currents and spreading the problem over a wide area. The most famous geomagnetic power outage happened during a space storm in March 1989 when six million people in Quebec lost power for 9 hours: image.


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According to the report, power grids may be more vulnerable than ever. The problem is interconnectedness. In recent years, utilities have joined grids together to allow long-distance transmission of low-cost power to areas of sudden demand. On a hot summer day in California, for instance, people in Los Angeles might be running their air conditioners on power routed from Oregon. It makes economic sense—but not necessarily geomagnetic sense. Interconnectedness makes the system susceptible to wide-ranging "cascade failures."

science.nasa.gov...

This is a disturbing report which makes the reality we face with the coming of sunspot 24 at its peak sometime around 2012 even more difficult to feel comfortable about.

Here is a picture of the vulnerable grid system in the US. Notice how Texas is not included??



Th report goes on to discuss how many of the grids are interconnected world wide.

Above: What if the May 1921 superstorm occurred today? A US map of vulnerable transformers with areas of probable system collapse encircled. A state-by-state map of transformer vulnerability is also available: click here. Credit: National Academy of Sciences.

An interesting report and raises many questions about future responsibilities to 6 billion people world wide that rely upon todays technology for everything from the water they drink tot eh tiolets they flush.

As we near the peak of sunspot 24, is there something they know which they are not sharing? Seems to be the rule rather than the exception any more.

I suspect that we will begin to see more of these realistic reports headed our way.

Not only your toilet, but pretty much everything we use today if the earth was hit hard enough by such a solar flare.
From what was told to me by a member named Phage, its not an EMP. But works much like an EMP would.. Knocking out all power systems, computer chips. ect ect.
The Earths magnetic field protects us from such flares.. But as you are aware of our earths field is going into a polar shift. And our defense will be down for a peroid of time. Which could in essence knock out many of our current systems.
People take for granted the small things like running water and working toilets. If such a thing where to happen.. Get out your spade and dig a hole in the ground. Human waste would build up very fast.. People don't realize how easy we have it until its gone. Always wise to have a back up plan at hand.