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The EMP Threat: All It Would Take Is A Couple Of Explosions To Send America Back To The 1800s
TEC ^ | 04/07/2015 | Michael Snyder

Posted on 04/07/2015 7:40:59 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Our entire way of life can be ended in a single day. And it wouldn’t even take a nuclear war to do it. All it would take for a rogue nation or terror organization to bring us to our knees is the explosion of a couple well-placed nuclear devices high up in our atmosphere. The resulting electromagnetic pulses would fry electronics from coast to coast. Of course this could also be accomplished without any attack. Scientists tell us that massive solar storms have hit our planet before, and that it is inevitable that there will be more in the future. As you will read about below, the most recent example of this was “the Carrington Event” in 1859. If a similar burst from the sun hit us today, experts tell us that life in America could suddenly resemble life in the 1800s, and the economic damage caused could potentially be in the trillions of dollars. This is one of the greatest potential threats that we are facing as a nation, and yet Barack Obama has essentially done nothing to get us prepared.

The technology necessary to conduct such an electromagnetic pulse attack against the United States has become much more accessible in recent years. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, even rogue nations such as North Korea and Iran either already have or will soon have the capability to hurt us in this way…

Rogue nations such as North Korea (and possibly Iran) will soon match Russia and China and have the primary ingredients for an EMP attack: simple ballistic missiles such as Scuds that could be launched from a freighter near our shores; space-launch vehicles able to loft low-earth-orbit satellites; and simple low-yield nuclear weapons that can generate gamma rays and fireballs.

If a successful, large scale EMP attack ever did take place, it would be a catastrophe beyond anything that the United States has ever seen before. The EMP Commission, which was established by Congress, says that it is likely that most of us would end up dead

What would a successful EMP attack look like? The EMP Commission, in 2008, estimated that within 12 months of a nationwide blackout, up to 90% of the U.S. population could possibly perish from starvation, disease and societal breakdown.

In 2009 the congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, whose co-chairmen were former Secretaries of Defense William Perry and James Schlesinger, concurred with the findings of the EMP Commission and urged immediate action to protect the electric grid. Studies by the National Academy of Sciences, the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the National Intelligence Council reached similar conclusions.

If you are a terrorist, a dictator or a fanatic that is looking for a “killshot” for the United States, those kinds of numbers would certainly get your attention.

And it was recently reported by WND that the Iranian military has already been playing around with such a scenario…

Peter Vincent Pry, who is executive director of a congressional advisory group called the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, raised the alarm as the agreement is about to be finalized.

He said U.S. military officials have confirmed such an Iranian plan.

“Iranian military documents describe such a scenario – including a recently translated Iranian military textbook that endorses nuclear EMP attack against the United States,” Pry wrote in a recent column in Israel’s main online media network, Aruz Sheva.

“Iran with a small number of nuclear missiles can by EMP attack threaten the existence of modernity and be the death knell of Western principles of international law, humanism and freedom,” he said.

Very chilling stuff.

And of course there are many, many others out there that would love to see the U.S. taken down other than just the Iranians.

Meanwhile, our power grid is far more vulnerable than most Americans would dare to imagine.

In previous articles, I discussed a recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report which stated the following…

“Destroy nine interconnection substations and a transformer manufacturer and the entire United States grid would be down for at least 18 months, probably longer.”

Are you starting to get the picture?

Our entire way of life depends upon electricity. If you take away that electricity, our society is transformed literally overnight.

A successful EMP would be an utter nightmare for this nation. Just consider what U.S. Representative Scott Perry had to say about a potential attack last year

The consequences of such an attack could be catastrophic; all electronics, power systems, and information systems could be shut down,” Rep. Scott Perry said in prepared remarks during an EMP hearing in May held by the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. “This could then cascade into interdependent infrastructures such as water, gas, and telecommunications. While we understand this is an extreme case, we must always be prepared in case a rogue state decides to utilize this technology.”

In essence, suddenly nothing would work and just about everything that we take for granted would suddenly be gone.

In a previous article, I spelled out some of the implications of such an event…

-There would be no heat for your home.
-Water would no longer be pumped into most homes.
-Your computer would not work.
-There would be no Internet.
-Your phones would not work.
-There would be no television.
-There would be no radio.
-ATM machines would be shut down.
-There would be no banking.
-Your debit cards and credit cards would not work.
-Without electricity, most gas stations would not be functioning.
-Most people would be unable to do their jobs without electricity and employment would collapse.
-Commerce would be brought to a standstill.
-Hospitals would not be able to function normally.
-You would quickly start running out of medicine.
-All refrigeration would shut down and frozen foods in our homes and supermarkets would start to go bad.

And as I mentioned above, all of this can happen even without an attack.

A direct hit from a major solar storm can cause the exact same thing.

In fact, NASA says that there is a 12 percent chance that such a storm will hit us during the next ten years…

NASA is warning that there’s a 12 percent chance an extreme solar storm will hit Earth in the next decade, sending out massive shock waves that would knock out grids across the world.

The economic impact of this doomsday scenario could exceed $2 trillion — or 20 times the cost of Hurricane Katrina, according to the National Academy of Sciences.

In recent years, we have been really lucky.

There was a close call in 2012 and another one in 2013.

The following is an excerpt from an upcoming book that I have co-authored with Barbara Fix that will soon be published entitled “Get Prepared Now”…

Most people have absolutely no idea that the Earth barely missed being fried by a massive EMP burst from the sun in 2012 and in 2013. And earlier in 2014 there was another huge solar storm which would have caused tremendous damage if it had been directed at our planet. If any of those storms would have directly hit us, the result would have been catastrophic. Electrical transformers would have burst into flames, power grids would have gone down and much of our technology would have been fried. In essence, life as we know it would have ceased to exist – at least for a time. These kinds of solar storms have hit the Earth many times before, and experts tell us that it is inevitable that it will happen again. The most famous one happened in 1859, and was known as the Carrington Event. But other than the telegraph, humanity had very little dependence on technology at the time. If another Carrington Event happened today, it would be a complete and utter nightmare. A study by Lloyd’s of London has concluded that it would have taken a $2,600,000,000,000 chunk out of the global economy, and it would take up to a decade to repair the damage. Unfortunately, scientists insist that it is going to happen at some point. The only question is when.

So keep an eye on the sun.

The giant ball of fire that we revolve around has started to behave very erratically, and it has the power to end our way of life at any time.

In fact, scientists tell us that we are about to get hit with a “glancing blow” on April 7th…

A filament of magnetism stretching halfway across the sun erupted during the late hours of April 4th (22:00-23:00 UT). The eruption split the sun’s atmosphere, hurling a CME into space and creating a “canyon of fire,” shown in a movie recorded by the Solar Dynamics Observatory: The glowing walls of the canyon trace the original channel where the filament was suspended by magnetic forces above the sun’s surface. From end to end, the structure stretches more than 300,000 km–a real Grand Canyon.

Fragments of the exploding filament formed the core of a CME that raced away from the sun at approximately 900 km/s (2 million mph): image. Most of the CME will miss Earth, but not all. The cloud is expected to deliver a a glancing blow to our planet’s magnetic field could on April 7th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

The event of April 7th is not going to cause us major problems. But someday there will be a solar storm that will.

Personally, I cannot even imagine what life would be like without electricity.

Because we have become so deeply dependent on technology, most of us would have absolutely no idea how to live without it.

An electromagnetic pulse attack would be one of the fastest ways to cripple America and end the dominance of the United States in world affairs. And in this day and age, there are hundreds of millions of people around the planet that would love to see that happen.

So to not take steps to protect our power grid from such an attack is very foolish. But that is precisely what Barack Obama (and presidents before him) have chosen to do. We have technology which would mitigate the damage from an electromagnetic pulse, but rather than spend the money Obama has decided to just hope that it will never happen.

Up to this point, we have been fortunate.

But someday, our luck may run out.


TOPICS: Military/Veterans; Science; Society
KEYWORDS: emp; terrorism
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To: SeekAndFind

Not quite the 1800’s. In some ways I think we’d be better off, and in other ways we’d be worse.

Even without electricity, most people nowadays have a basic understanding of germs and how diseases spread. We know that cats are an asset, not a sign of witches. We know more about nutrition than we ever did then. We know what kind of advances are possible, and the more technically-minded will be able to rig up things that people in the 1800’s could only dream about.

On the other hand, few people these days know how to raise and prepare their own meats. Few people can start a fire without a book of matches. Too many people have no idea where food comes from. Too many people have become so dependent on a constant barage of inputs, that they literally go insane when that stream is cut off.

I think if the power went off, it would be a mixed bag. Some people would do well, some would give up and die, and some would die slowly after struggling to adapt but not knowing how.

We have one asset right now that people in the 1800’s never had. We have so much information right at our fingertips! Learn what you can, while you can. Even if you never need it, you’ll be glad you took the time.


101 posted on 04/07/2015 10:40:36 AM PDT by Ellendra (People who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with.)
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To: Las Vegas Ron

“Given that I know of his history and accomplishments in his field, if he says there is a problem, I’ll believe what he has to say.”

I believe him too.


102 posted on 04/07/2015 10:40:56 AM PDT by RFEngineer
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To: RFEngineer
That’s the point I’ve been trying to make on this thread to the chagrin of some - it’s a problem - we just don’t know how bad it’s going to be.

That's the way I look at it too...we're I full agreement.

I do like these threads though, sometimes they are enlightening, but mostly amusing to watch.

103 posted on 04/07/2015 10:45:22 AM PDT by Las Vegas Ron ("Medicine is the keystone in the arch of socialism" Vladimir Lenin)
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To: Las Vegas Ron

Really if we’re getting nuked EMP is going to be in the collateral damage zone. Certainly it will add to the level of suck, but it’s not going to be a handful of nukes kicking the country into the 19th century, it’ll be more in the “and top of everything else most of Connecticut is without power”. There are just really no good indications that it’s a serious threat, especially as a primary attack. One of the things people forget on this is that altitude miles are, from a practical perspective, a lot longer than horizontal miles. They talk about detonation altitude of 400KM (about 250 miles), well that’s where the ISS is, not exactly a like altitude for a device.


104 posted on 04/07/2015 10:52:43 AM PDT by discostu (Bobby, I'm sorry you have a head like a potato.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I love when the EMP threads come up every year or so. Fascinating science fiction. It also got me into the show “Revolution” that’s on Netflix. Great show!


105 posted on 04/07/2015 10:57:49 AM PDT by thefactor (yes, as a matter of fact, i DID only read the excerpt)
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To: All

EMP a touchy subject usually.

EMP is a Cause. The Result is the same as several other natural disasters.

No Food in Wally world or Kroger or where ever you shop. I seriously doubt people will be worried about electronic equipment.

Why there is no Food or water is not important.

2 Weeks with strained food/water supplies the social fibre of the USA will collapse. Think Katrina or Ferguson

Something else looms larger than a Solar burst or EMP attack but the results will be just as bad I fear.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-08-11/california-drought-transforms-global-food-market


106 posted on 04/07/2015 1:03:27 PM PDT by Bailee
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To: Bailee

Sorry I left one out.

http://www.drought.gov/drought/area/ca


107 posted on 04/07/2015 1:07:06 PM PDT by Bailee
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To: Kartographer

I understand what you’re saying. I am just generally very skeptic of things. For instance, I don’t believe in man made global warming. I don’t believe the universe “created itself because it had too” ..... I don’t believe the earth is billions of years old, I don’t believe Mars once had life on it even though its way to far away from the sun to support life, I don’t believe in the locknest monster, I don’t believe in the DaVinci Code, I don’t believe Joseph Smith was a prophet, I don’t believe man evolved from apes, I don’t believe in dark matter, I don’t believe black holes exist, I don’t believe in tears in the space time continuium... etc etc. And I’m just not convinced a bomb over the center of the united states will fry everything with a diode or computer chip. That’s just me.... you know...


108 posted on 04/07/2015 2:06:58 PM PDT by kjam22 (my music video "If My People" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74b20RjILy4)
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To: Bailee

California is next to the Ocean and they are having a water shortage? I’m just saying.... you can’t feel sorry them.


109 posted on 04/07/2015 2:22:27 PM PDT by kjam22 (my music video "If My People" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74b20RjILy4)
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To: RFEngineer
The threat is real. We just don’t have any idea of the actual impact. It could be minor to catastrophic. We don’t know

If we knew who did the EMP attack, the retribution would be catastrophic.

110 posted on 04/07/2015 2:32:03 PM PDT by CommerceComet (Ignore the GOP-e. Cruz to victory in 2016.)
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To: CommerceComet

“If we knew who did the EMP attack, the retribution would be catastrophic.”

That seems like a given, but we are in the age of Obama. I cannot say with certainty that this would be so. Still, that’s what makes it such a good asymmetrical weapon. North Korea, for instance, doesn’t have much to lose - and if they were in the throes of a coup, for instance, I wouldn’t doubt that someone might accept that gambit.


111 posted on 04/07/2015 2:46:01 PM PDT by RFEngineer
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Comment #112 Removed by Moderator

To: concernedcitizen76

I don’t think that man Obama, if he is a man, has any conscience whatsoever. That’s what makes him so dangerous. God save America from this devil in a guise.


113 posted on 04/07/2015 7:42:23 PM PDT by concernedcitizen76 (Term limits. Repeal the 16th and 17th amendments. Sunset bureaucracies.)
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To: RFEngineer
I like how you put this.

in the absence of data of modern electronics and systems vulnerability to EMP, you have to treat critical systems like they will face the 800 lb gorilla. You also have to leave open the possibility that it’s actually a 1000lb gorilla.


Yeah, you do need to protect some things against it and we should, especially the power grid and so forth It is like protecting yourself from a heart attack or stroke if you are hypertensive by taking your blood pressure meds. I don't think every electronic thing would be blown out by EMP, most cars will run and so on, in that case, I don't think it will be the 1970's Irwin Allen disaster movie it is made out to me. However, in the aftermath, because we run on a just in time inventory system and the power grid itself, the societal effects could then resemble a 1970's era disaster movie. I'm an amateur radio operator so I've looked up info myself as well a it being a concern to me as well.
114 posted on 04/07/2015 7:59:58 PM PDT by Nowhere Man (Mom I miss you! (8-20-1938 to 11-18-2013) Cancer sucks)
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