Posted on 09/24/2018 5:09:22 PM PDT by upchuck
The United States is vulnerable to a devastating electromagnetic pulse event caused by a high-altitude nuclear blast or solar superstorm, according to a recently published book.
Peter Pry, a former CIA analyst and author of the book EMP Manhattan Project, is urging the government to rapidly harden the U.S. electric power system against EMP similar to the three-year crash program to build the first atomic bomb in 1942.
"Today the United States and the world faces another existential threat—from an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) catastrophe that can be caused by nature or man, and topple the technological pillars of modern electronic civilization," said Pry, who served on a congressional EMP commission in the early 2000s.
The book contains fresh assessments of the EMP threat produced by a more recent congressional commission last year that concluded the United States would suffer millions of deaths from a major EMP incident.
EMP was discovered in the 1960s during above-ground nuclear tests. The tests showed a nuclear blast created a pulse capable of disrupting or destroying electronic devices over large areas, in some cases over 1,000 miles away.
The latest EMP commission found the United States is confronted with "a present and continuing existential threat from naturally occurring and manmade electromagnetic pulse assault and related attacks on military and critical national infrastructures."
An EMP event would produce an electric power outage over large areas of the country that could last for a year or longer.
Emergency systems, such as generators, also are vulnerable to damage from EMP.
EMP events would disable critical supply chains and plunge the entire country into living conditions similar to those of centuries ago prior the use of electric power.
"An extended blackout today could result in the death of a large fraction of the American people through the effects of societal collapse, disease, and starvation," the commission stated in its July 2017 report. "While national planning and preparation for such events could help mitigate the damage, few such actions are currently underway or even being contemplated."
William R. Graham, former head of the EMP commission, stated in a preface to the book that a nationwide electrical blackout of one year "could kill millions, perhaps prove fatal to most Americans, by starvation, disease, and societal collapse."
"EMP is a civilization killer," Graham said.
Read the rest at the link...
I do not “believe” in a high-altitude EMP. Why? Because it would take an enormously powerful EMP to take out a significant portion of the power grid. I suppose the pulse could be directed at a particular facility, but how many EMP generators would be required to do significant damage? Just my somewhat-educated opinion, but I think this is much ado about nothing.
Most power companies are in the process of or have already installed enhanced grounding to their facilities.
The military does not hesitate to include EMP requirements in their specifications, Lots of their stuff is hardened, and engineers can do a lot of hardening in the civilian world. I would bet that a lot of designs have taken this into consideration. (I have no direct knowledge of this, but using proper shielding would be a good start.)
Did you fill out the required TPS report?
The latest EMP commission found the United States is confronted with "a present and continuing existential threat
from naturally occurring and manmade electromagnetic pulse assault
and related attacks on military and critical national infrastructures."
"An EMP event would produce an electric power outage over large areas of the country that could last for a year or longer."
It has been predicted that the loss of electrical power could result in the loss of 90% of the U.S. population within one year.
"If Ye are prepared, Ye shall not fear !"
Prepared means spiritual, physical, emotional, financial, and life supporting skills and conditioning
to sustain whatever trials you may have to endure,
and for an unknown, indeterminate length of time until common sense or civility returns.
Even the Scriptures instruct us to:"Gird up your loins", which doesn't mean for us to put on pantyhose(!), but rather to practice preparation.
Have you ever gone camping in winter (without a tent) ?
Ever cooked over wood, or coal without a stove ? (our grandparents did !)
Know how to pluck and clean a chicken that you've harvested (our grandparents did !)
Know how to use and construct a "spring house", or know alternatives to electrical refrigeration (our grandparents did !)
Know the difference between hybrid and heirloom seeds, and how to garden and save improved seed varieties (our grandparents did !)
Many of these basic life-skills have been somewhat lost, or forgotten, due to the convenience of "Giggle","Fakebook" or "Twikkle" searches.
But these skills can be found in the "Fox Fire" Series of books; consider being proficient in 2 or 3 of these skills to improve your survival.
H/T to Tadslos !
Thanks for the ping.
Lights Out is a good read. Patriots for the truth. Enemies Foreign and Domestic for an eye opener and Unintended Consequences for a real truth teller.
“Because it would take an enormously powerful EMP to take out a significant portion of the power grid. “
a 1-kiloton blast can create an EMP almost as strong as a 100-kiloton blast. That creates a vast area of the atmosphere when exposed to gamma rays that emits a brief but powerful RF pulse. Because the atmosphere for thousands of mile around (for a sufficiently high nuclear detonation) is effectively an “antenna” everything underneath is effectively in the “near field” where fields do not decay exponentially - but decay linearly.
Your conclusion is incorrect.
“One Second After” is the most terrifying book (and the saddest) that I’ve ever read. For a while, I regretted that I ever read it.
I would much rather be vaporized, at ground zero, in a nuke blast than to live through that particular scenario. At least that would be a quick death.
Fear porn at its best.
Insurance expenditures. Nothing crazy about that.
As owner of the book “One Second After” and having been a multiple certified and licensed electronics technician for over 47 years, with relatives having worked in the electrical and national grid systems, there is some information on EMP that is exaggerated.
The electrical companies have been hardening the 69kV, 115kV and 230kV 3-phase transmission systems for decades. I don’t know about the 500kv or higher systems. The substations have been hardened for decades and that effort continues as technologies advance.
The problem is local wiring that serves as electromagnetic pickup “antennas”. The longer the unshielded wiring the greater the gain (voltage). Shielding does work. Solid shields vice mesh or braided shield are nearly perfect. Your car or truck electronics will survive. Your phone and small unconnected electronics will very more than likely be fine. Unshielded DC wiring between an A/C converter brick and an electronic device (USB, audio, HDMI, etc.) will be a problem. It’s devices plugged into your street feed if you don’t have a house-wide surge system installed at your service panel that are most susceptible. Even with that the home wiring makes a great antenna.
It will have to be a truly spectacular device(s) designed to generate an EMP to be be effective. Those will be only the nuclear big boyz that can not only generate it but also must deliver correctly.
Probably for the same reasons we don't have a border wall: sloth, politics, and political payoffs.
It did in the Northeast Blackout of 2003 some years ago.
There’s a lot of debate about the effects of the EMP and how far reaching it would be, but the thing that I think is most probable in that book is the breakdown of society that would ensue and the die off of people from various causes.
Perhaps EMP or solar flare will be G-d’s judgement on this nation of liars/baby killers/commandment breakers...fzzzzzt! See ya!
Thanks for the facts, logic, and sanity.
The EMP threat is real, but has been tremendously exaggerated.
I have read the congressional report. I know people who supported EMP localized testing facilities.
You are correct.
FWIW, your prayers are doing more to defend us from malevolent attacks than anything our military or “intelligence agencies” can muster. God Bless and thank you!
Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
I respectfully disagree.
Those people will kill and harm anyone around them to get their free stuff.
Remember, those people have The Gibs, and The Gibs does not stop just because society has imploded.
It is up to all the good folks to kill all those bad folks, but no one wants to do the heavy lifting.
I mull this concept because there are poor people living near me, and they will descent upon my neighborhood like grasshoppers looking for a meal post SHTF.
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