Academic

WIRED: The Geomagnetic Apocalypse ? And How to Stop It. ?For scary speculation about the end of ?

By Glenn Reynolds

WIRED: The Geomagnetic Apocalypse ? And How to Stop It. “For scary speculation about the end of civilization in 2012, people usually turn to followers of cryptic Mayan prophecy, not scientists. But that’s exactly what a group of NASA-assembled researchers described in a chilling report issued earlier this year on the destructive potential of solar storms. . . . Such a catastrophe would cost the United States “$1 trillion to $2 trillion in the first year,” concluded the panel, and “full recovery could take four to 10 years.” That would, of course, be just a fraction of global damages. Needless to say, shorting out the electrical grid would cause major disruptions to developed nations and their economies. Worse yet, the next period of intense solar activity is expected in 2012, and coincides with the presence of an unusually large hole in Earth’s geomagnetic shield, meaning we’ll have less protection than usual from the solar flares.” Plus this: “Kappenman also points out that when the transformers blow, they can’t be fixed in the field. They often can’t be fixed at all. Right now there’s a one- to three-year lag time between placing an order and getting a new one.” Plus, what we should be doing with the stimulus money.

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on April 25, 2009 (boomark / email).