Sunspot Doom!

[Della]

Sunspots could soon disappear for decades: study

September 15, 2010 http://www.physorg.com/news203746768.html

Sunspot formation is triggered by a magnetic field, which scientists say is steadily declining. They predict that by 2016 there may be no remaining sunspots, and the sun may stay spotless for several decades. The last time the sunspots disappeared altogether was in the 17th and 18th century, and coincided with a lengthy cool period on the planet known as the Little Ice Age.

Solar flare 'could paralyse Earth in 2013'

21st September 2010 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1313858/Solar-flare-paralyse-Earth-2013.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

A massive solar flare could cause global chaos in 2013, causing blackouts and wrecking satellite communications, a conference heard yesterday.

Nasa has warned that a peak in the sun's magnetic energy cycle and the number of sun spots or flares around 2013 could generate huge radiation levels.

[...]

Defence Secretary Liam Fox, who delivered the keynote address at an international conference on the vulnerability of electricity grids around the world, warned that modern societies' dependence on technology leaves them vulnerable to such events.

So are we going too freeze to death or shall we cook? On the one hand I like to Ski, but not in June, on the other I like to go to the beach but I don't want to be eaten by cannibals straight from Mad Max.

The future is rated "B"

http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2010/09/future-is-rated-b.html

We now live in a realm of compulsory fiction, reinforced through repetition in the echo-chamber of the media, which makes truth irrelevant. Once the media start ranting and raving like that, it becomes hard for them to stop,

I hope that you are beginning to see a pattern here: first a country goes a little bit senile, then noticeably demented, then completely stark raving running-around-naked-smearing-feces-all-over-yourself insane. Then it hurts itself. Individual insanity is rare, but group insanity is, unfortunately, the bane of societies that are nearing their end.

[Frank Hovis]

I wish I'd bought beans...

[fluffy666]

I wish I'd bought beans...

The thing is, this is one of those 'events' that could actually happen, and although it probably would not be as bad as suggested, would not be fun.

It does show how hard it is - especially in a world where public action is frowned upon - to take the basic actions needed to avoid the threat. That is basically ' put a a satellite at the lagrange point between the Earth and Sun for early warning, and make sure that electric grid operators have a direct feed from that satellite to they can do an emergency shutdown if required'. Not particularly expensive in the scheme of things. But there you go.,

[CHF]

The thing is, this is one of those 'events' that could actually happen, and although it probably would not be as bad as suggested, would not be fun.

It does show how hard it is - especially in a world where public action is frowned upon - to take the basic actions needed to avoid the threat. That is basically ' put a a satellite at the lagrange point between the Earth and Sun for early warning, and make sure that electric grid operators have a direct feed from that satellite to they can do an emergency shutdown if required'. Not particularly expensive in the scheme of things. But there you go.,

you bloody socialist. Or is it fascist today? Probably a statist actually.

Working together? Pah!

The market will fix it!

[thod]

The report I saw on this suggested that we could protect the electrical grid with a set of circuit breakers. For only £100 million. The question that comes to my mind is "why should I pay for this?" The grid is a private company when it comes to profit but a public utility when it comes to spending. I say order the power companies to install these measures and they pick up the costs. If they don't want to do so, fine them £100 million for every day the grid is down.

[Pole]

The report I saw on this suggested that we could protect the electrical grid with a set of circuit breakers. For only £100 million. The question that comes to my mind is "why should I pay for this?" The grid is a private company when it comes to profit but a public utility when it comes to spending. I say order the power companies to install these measures and they pick up the costs. If they don't want to do so, fine them £100 million for every day the grid is down.

swine-flu jabs were many times more than that and it's now all forgotten...

£100 m is nothing for the gov.

barely 2 mins of extra printing.

[ollk]

There is at least one positive thing in all this - If the sun is going to be as active as they say in the next cycle we will be in for a treat for Auroras Suggest you all sign up here

[6538]

I'm under 40 and have lived through innumerable "disasters" that were supposed to devastate the planet/humanity. Stangely, I must be living in the only part of the world which missed them all and where the news media hasn't reported the almost planet-wide death and destruction surrounding me.

Quite simply, I don't belive a word of it.

[AteMoose]

Either will happen again as both have happened in the past, both have caused prolonged cold periods and warm periods. We coped in the past and we will cope again, its not a problem. The Uk has had prolonged winters with temperatures dropping to -30, and had baking summers, when it was suitable to grow grapes in greenland...

[fluffy666]

I'm under 40 and have lived through innumerable "disasters" that were supposed to devastate the planet/humanity. Stangely, I must be living in the only part of the world which missed them all and where the news media hasn't reported the almost planet-wide death and destruction surrounding me.

Quite simply, I don't believe a word of it.

So you are saying that the 1859 event didn't happen and all the people who observed thew aurora were making it up?

There is such a thing as looking at things rationally, determining the realistic threat level and doing the minimum required to stop it being a threat.. unfashionable, I know.

[JustYield]

Fancy that, the sun's activity has a significant effect on the earth's climate. But some men still think that man is more significant than the sun. Go figure. When it snows in Singapore I might care.

[Della]

I think what you guys are missing is that these are these are opposite disasters, like a hysterical similitaneous prediction of dying of flooding and dying of drought.

What'll actually happen for those people that waste their time worrying about unlikley ways to die is that they will spend all their time worrying, worrying, worrying and then die in some deeply dull way, having wasted all the time in thier life, and having never bothered to actually live at any point.

[ccc]

Who cares. Shit happens and something seriously nasty is guaranteed to occur one day and a lot of us will be ******ed. No point worrying about it. The sort of people who worry about it to the point of obsession are not usually the sharpest tools in the box. See this story from Jockland yesterday. Greenpeace protesting against deep sea drilling in the Atlantic. A choice quote:

Mr Rask said: “Instead of drilling for the last drops in fragile environments like this, oil companies should be developing the clean energy technologies we need to fight climate change and reduce our dependence on oil."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/transport-environment/protest-in-chains-prevents-shetland-drilling-1.1056682

Perfectly reasonable you would think. Until you find out how these 'activists' actually got onto the vessel in question to protest..

They used 2 high powered speedboats.

You couldn't make it up.

[fluffy666]

Fancy that, the sun's activity has a significant effect on the earth's climate. But some men still think that man is more significant than the sun. Go figure. When it snows in Singapore I might care.

Did you read the article ??

[JustYield]

Did you read the article ??

Did you understand the point I was making?

[fluffy666]

Did you understand the point I was making?

Umm, no. Feel free to elaborate.

[RichB]

What'll actually happen for those people that waste their time worrying about unlikley ways to die is that they will spend all their time worrying, worrying, worrying and then die in some deeply dull way, having wasted all the time in thier life, and having never bothered to actually live at any point.

Yeah, much better to play in the road when you are 8, get it over and done with.

[ccc]

Yeah, much better to play in the road when you are 8, get it over and done with.

Yes but there is a big difference here.

Stand in a road at the age of 8 ? Your action has a very large chance it will have an impact on your entire Universe.

Look up at the Sun and try to think about how we can change it - to hopefully survive a little longer on our piddly insignificent planet ? Nah not much point really IMO.

[fluffy666]

There really is some bizzare logic going on here..

This is a known problem: Solar flares can cause serious damage to electric grids (indeed, all electric equipment connected to a long cable); this has happened, in reality, in Canada in 1989.

Normally, we don't notice because they are not strong enough to get through the magnetosphere, only high latitudes such as Canada notice.

However..

Once every hundred years or so, the sun emits a much bigger flare; these have the potential to cause the same loss of and damage to electric grids and other equipment at much lower latitudes. Such as the US and Europe.

With decent observations, there would be enough warning time to throw the breakers and avoid the damage to critical transformers and other grid components; this is not particularly expensive, especially compared to repairing the damage.

Does any of this register??

[Della]

Yeah, much better to play in the road when you are 8, get it over and done with.

I was saying of worrying about unlikley ways to die is a waste of time, playing on the road when you are 8 it is apparently a far more likely way to die than than death through sunspot hijinks.

Having said that when I was 8 I did play on the road, we wern't house-children trapped in the computer world like nowadays, we used to have carts, skateboards, skates, and allsorts we used on the street, we played games on the street as well, if there was a car we simply got out of the way.

[General Melchett]

I've decided I want to choose which unlikely Doom befalls me.

I'm going to be kidnapped by aliens and never get to come back to the is fecking nuthouse of a country/planet ever again.

That'll do me nicely.

['Bart']

I wish I'd bought beans...

I'm having that put on my tombstone.

Assuming I'm not plonked into a body bag and chucked into a mass grave by gas mask wearing soldiers.

I'm off to watch "The Road" to cheer myself up!

['Bart']

I'm going to be kidnapped by aliens and never get to come back to the is fecking nuthouse of a country/planet ever again.

That'll do me nicely.

You are Billy Pilgrim and I claim my £5.

[ccc]

There really is some bizzare logic going on here..

This is a known problem: Solar flares can cause serious damage to electric grids (indeed, all electric equipment connected to a long cable); this has happened, in reality, in Canada in 1989.

Normally, we don't notice because they are not strong enough to get through the magnetosphere, only high latitudes such as Canada notice.

However..

Once every hundred years or so, the sun emits a much bigger flare; these have the potential to cause the same loss of and damage to electric grids and other equipment at much lower latitudes. Such as the US and Europe.

With decent observations, there would be enough warning time to throw the breakers and avoid the damage to critical transformers and other grid components; this is not particularly expensive, especially compared to repairing the damage.

Does any of this register??

Yep see what you are saying. I was just looking at the subject at a more general level.

[General Melchett]

You are Billy Pilgrim and I claim my £5.

Curses, rumbled again.