This year has seen disaster come in all shapes and sizes -- from earthquakes to tsunamis, tornadoes, floods and wildfires. Now, an article on NewScientist.com points out a different type of disaster that could also have far-reaching effects but on a global scale.
The article discussed the dangers of a massive solar storm striking the Earth and the long-term effects upon satellites. Why is that a troublesome issue? If satellites go down -- and the space storm theory holds that a large enough solar blast could disable satellites in orbit around the Earth for as long as 10 years -- so goes much about life as we know it.
Do you like your television signal? If you like that Global Positioning System in your car, you can kiss it goodbye, but satellites are not the only things that would be affected by a massive solar storm.
Last week a massive power grid shutdown occurred in the Southwest, leaving millions of people in dark, sweltering heat. A strong enough solar storm would repeat that same story around the world and would affect billions of people in the United States alone. Electromagnetic waves from such storms can cause disruptions that could affect the Internet, cell service, landline phone service and so much more.
What would a massive power outage mean? Think about it -- the electricity goes down, what goes next? Electricity powers pumps that bring water to our homes, meaning that water supplies shut down. Food and medicine storage in refrigerators and freezers goes away. Communications are shut down.
Travel sources that rely upon electricity are no longer available. Got gas? Not anymore as gas pumps rely upon electricity.
Today, life as we know it is so dependent upon technology and each level is intertwined. It is a domino effect in that if one aspect goes down, it can bring down the whole row. During recent disasters such as the earthquake in Virginia on Aug. 23 and Hurricane Irene as well as Tropical Storm Lee, disaster of any type causes massive disruption but on a more focused level.
In Japan, the Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused massive death and destruction and shutdown of everyday life. The resulting affects upon the Fukushima nuclear plant added more disaster to the mix.
While currently, the sun is in an active cycle of activity, it is uncertain if -- or when -- a massive space storm could occur that would bring disaster on this scale. A 2003 series of 10 solar flares knocked out satellites and wreaked havoc on an instrument board on a Mars orbiter. Years earlier, a solar storm in 1989 caused a massive blackout of the power grid in Quebec.
Ultimately, as with any disaster planning, being prepared first of all for evacuation to safety then secondly preparing for loss of electricity is key to being ready.
Tammy Lee Morris is certified as a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member and is a trained Skywarn Stormspotter through the National Weather Service. She has received interpretive training regarding the New Madrid Seismic Zone through EarthScope -- a program of the National Science Foundation. She researches and writes about earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, weather and other natural phenomena.
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