[Roos_Girl]

I guess it's good the government is at least talking about this, appears to have a plan. Just looks like a lot of talking to me though; wasting time and money.

[Roos_Girl]

Ping

[Caipirabob]

So this is what they'll blame the black outs on? Got it.

Sounds like obama's planning to hang around a while.

[butlerweave]

Every stupid thing except their job

[catfish1957]

meaning no more new Taylor Swift singles

Can we get a solar flare just bad enough to make this happen?

[laplata]

Talk is cheap. They are doing nothing to “harden” the power grid.

[stormer]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_storm_of_1859

[john drake]

I’d a thought the White Hut was preparing for the coming revolution, as the peasantry finally rises up to take back their freedoms. Maybe I’m dreaming.

[butlerweave]

They have a plan if a comet hits or a super volcano goes off and blocks the Sun for 10 years , cut down all the trees and grow mushrooms on the wood pulp ,but they said nothing about where the Oxygen would come from with all plants dying

[hoagy62]

Anyone remember the big hole in the ground they were doing construction on near the White House? They wouldn’t tell us what that was for.

Could it be?

(Aw, dang....ran out of aluminum foil for my hat.)

[ALASKA]

The more likely threat comes from our enemies, not the sun. It is fairly cheap to guard against EMP. I hope our government is finally doing something about it......

[G Larry]

Uh...NO!

They are NOT “preparing”.

If they were they would incentivizing the manufacture of transformers and other key, long-lead parts for power stations.

By the way, NUCLEAR power plants would be the easiest to protect against EMPs. For some odd reason, they’re already pretty well shielded......

[mountainlion]

Deep underground bunkers is the answer they have, hundreds of them.

[Paladin2]

They aren’t preparing by funding more Muslim outreach?

[meatloaf]

Their plan is likely triage. Parts of the country will be left in primitive at best conditions. Others needed for continuity of government may get some consideration.

What is known but being ignored is when the main transformers at power stations are fried there are no ready replacements. There's only one facility that builds them in North America and that's in Canada.

Transformers of that size are built only when ordered. They are not stockpiled. Figure at least a year to build one. Now figure how long it will take to build possibly hundreds. Parts of this country will be without power for much longer than a few months.

The transformers are normally moved by rail due to the size. The schnabel cars that are used for transport are few and far between.

Add that fuel for transport, especially the large quantities needed for railroad use, is going to limited at best.

It adds up to a death knell for much of our society.

The photo below shows a schnabel car with a transformer.

[aomagrat]

Great. Now obama’s got the sun pissed at us too.

[fruser1]

Good time to point out to the eco Nazis that this is also what the world would be like under “green” energy.

Non-fossil fuels only meet about 10-15% of the energy demand. What that translates to for the mathematically illiterate enviros is that living on green energy would be like have your power out 27 days every month. Most people start getting pretty upset after just 1 day.

And the outage above is not just to your house, it’s also transportation. Imagine no gas/coal to power things up 27 days per month, so you can’t count on public trans either.

Oh yeah, and groceries would only be able to be delivered to the store at that same 10% rate - if even, considering the clerks and truck drivers have to live with the same absence of power...

I need to watch that Mad Max trilogy again.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

If Government is involved, we’ll be thrown back into the Dark Ages.

What’s that quote about the Government running the Sahara Desert and it running out of sand? ;)

[upchuck]

For a real-life look at what society will be like after an EMP, read the novel One Second After.

[redfreedom]

It is settled science that solar flares are unquestionably attracted to green house gasses. Without this magnetic attraction, we’d never be in danger.

Another scientist has been given a grant to see if there is a correlation between cancer causing pork meat and the solar flares attraction to earth.

I think we all need to turn in our guns and ask for protection.

[BobL]

While Solar Flares are certainly a valid concern, I’m much more worried about Iran or the Norks (or Russia or China, for that matter) sending us to the Stone Age via EMP blasts.

...but since worrying about nuclear attacks puts one in the same kook-house as worrying about martians attacking, I’m perfectly happy if we prepare for a Solar Flare, as the initial results from either will be similar (although I’d expect follow-up attacks from an EMP strike).