"Once in a generation" solar storms... and living without electricity. [View All]

[Dover]

Here comes the sun...






Once in a generation solar storms could wreak havoc on earth.

The sun waking from a deep sleep may not sound like such a bad thing and years ago it might not have been.

However in today's world reliant on technology for the basics of everyday life, increasing levels of solar activity and the flares from the consequent 'space storm' could wreak complete havoc.

Nasa is telling us to prepare for a once in a generation storm which could result in widespread blackouts and leave us without critical communication signals for considerable periods of time.

The overheating of national power grids, mass disruption of air travel and the complete shut down of electronic items, navigation devices and major satellites are just some of the consequences of the sun reaching its maximum power in only a few years time...cont'd

http://itn.co.uk/3d2774dcc8bc71d9557055e4fca470e2.html


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Solar storms to erupt soon. What will be the impact on Earth?

Solar storms on their way. Natl Academy of Sciences: "Major solar storm could cause twenty times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina..."

The sun is about to get a lot more active, which could have ill effects on Earth. So to prepare, top sun scientists met Tuesday to discuss the best ways to protect Earth's satellites and other vital systems from the coming solar storms.

Solar storms occur when sunspots on our star erupt and spew out flumes of charged particles that can damage power systems. The sun's activity typically follows an 11-year cycle, and it looks to be coming out of a slump and gearing up for an active period.

"The sun is waking up from a deep slumber, and in the next few years we expect to see much higher levels of solar activity," said Richard Fisher, head of NASA's Heliophysics Division. "At the same time, our technological society has developed an unprecedented sensitivity to solar storms. The intersection of these two issues is what we're getting together to discuss."

Fisher and other experts met at the Space Weather Enterprise Forum, which took place in Washington, D.C., at the National Press Club.

Bad news for gizmos

People of the 21st century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily life. But smart power grids, GPS navigation, air travel, financial services and emergency radio communications can all be knocked out by intense solar activity....cont'd

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/active-sun-solar-storms-100609.html

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Solar Storms and The Power Grid
http://www.solarstorms.org/Spower.html

NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SWN/index.html

NASA
http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/predict.shtml





COULD YOU LIVE WITHOUT ELECTRICITY?

I assume there are some national emergency plans for such an event,
which is not to say it's something I'd rely on.
However, I would certainly lean toward SOME form of personal preparation
or plan rather than none.
While we have and can, of course, live without electricity we're certainly out of practice and
unprepared. So, here are a few sites that discuss the kind of preparations one might consider.


How To Survive Without Electricity

Situations Where There May Be No Electricity

It's interesting to read that electricity has only been a common household item in the last 50 or so years. Before that, people have survived for ages - so a lack of electricity for any duration of time is something that can be overcome. As human beings, we have had the experience and now have the added help of technological advances to survive without electricity.

In the short term, many of us experience power outages in our homes during the winter seasons where storms take out some local power lines. This might mean we are without power for the best part of a day. In the event of hurricanes, electricity may be cut for a more extended period of time (1-2 weeks). Generally speaking, short term survival can be overcome (with relatively little difficulty, just inconvenience - see below).

But what if some major crisis occurred and left entire countries without electricity for months or even years? Granted, odds are slim, but just what if it happened? Our grandparents and maybe our parents might have some ideas, having possible experienced this during their childhood. The majority of us wouldn't have a clue.

The aim of this hub is to set the scene for a situation where this is no electricity and look at options on how to survive in the short term and long term. Some photos of antique items are also presented, from my grandparents time, with a description of life during a time with no or little electricity. If we lost all electricity forever tomorrow, people now living in third world countries would be the best prepared for survival - they live through this scenario on a daily basis.

cont'd
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Survive-Without-Electricity

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How To Live Without Electricity
http://www.scribd.com/doc/27544472/How-to-Live-Without-Electricity

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Questions:

I wonder...are solar panels vulnerable to being knocked out by solar storms? Or is that a truly a good option? And what about electric cars?