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SCIENTISTS WARN OF $2 TRILLION ?SOLAR KATRINA:? Please respect FT.com?s ts&cs and copyright polic?

By Glenn Reynolds

SCIENTISTS WARN OF $2 TRILLION “SOLAR KATRINA:”

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The sun is waking up from a long quiet spell. Last week it sent out the strongest flare for four years ? and scientists are warning that earth should prepare for an intense electromagnetic storm that, in the worst case, could be a ?global Katrina? costing the world economy $2,000bn.

Senior officials responsible for policy on solar storms ? also known as space weather ? in the US, UK and Sweden urged more preparedness at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington. . . . Please respect FT.com’s ts&cs and copyright policy which allow you to: share links; copy content for personal use; & redistribute limited extracts. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights or use this link to reference the article – http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/67444b2c-3d13-11e0-bbff-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1EYO2Zqlr

The most intense solar storm on record, which ruined much of the world?s newly installed telegraph network in 1859, took place during an otherwise weak cycle. An 1859-type storm today could knock out the world?s information, communications and electricity distribution systems, at a cost estimated by the US government at $2,000bn.

In terms of terrestrial vulnerability, the biggest change since the 2000 peak is that the world has become more dependent on global positioning system satellites ? and not just for navigation. The world?s mobile phone networks depend on ultra-precise GPS time signals for their co-ordination.

One problem with our fiscal profligacy is that it makes us less able to prepare for, or recover from, major disasters.

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on February 21, 2011 (boomark / email).