Category Archives: EMP Electromagnetic Pulse

If an EMP from solar or a nuclear bomb wiped out one or all of 3 U.S. grids, up to 90 percent of Americans would die, and it would take years to replace the large transformers which are only made in 2 countries now.

Book review of Lights Out. A Cyberattack. A Nation Unprepared. Surviving the Aftermath

Preface.  This is one of three posts based on Ted Koppel’s book Lights out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath. There’s also these 2 posts based on this book: “Want to survive peak everything? Become a Mormon” and … Continue reading

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A Nuclear spent fuel pool fire could force millions to evacuate & cost $2 trillion

Preface. Nuclear cheerleaders love to talk about how safe nuclear power is.  You will never ever hear them talk about nuclear fuel pools because that would destroy their argument. Though like Limits to Growth and Malthusian overpopulation dismissed by capitalists, … Continue reading

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Want to survive Peak Everything? Become a Mormon

Source: Salt Lake Tribune. For Latter-day Saint families, preparing for emergencies is the norm Preface.  Ted Koppel’s book “Lights Out” highlights the many risks to the grid from cyber and physical attacks, electromagnetic pulses from weapons or solar flares, large … Continue reading

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A nationwide blackout lasting 1 year could kill up to 90% Americans

Preface. What follows is the 30-page testimony of Dr. Pry at a 2015 U.S. House of Representatives session that I’ve summarized. In addition to electromagnetic pulses from a solar event, nuclear weapon, or purpose-built equipment, cyberattacks can also bring down … Continue reading

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One less worry: the magnetic field flipping between north and south poles is not the end of the world

Preface.  The geomagnetic field reversal of polarity has occurred thousands of times in the geological past. We are overdue for another. Indeed, Earth’s dipole has decreased in strength by nearly 10% since it was first measured in 1840. It could … Continue reading

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Dangers of EMP exaggerated?

Preface. The article by Lewis (2017) below questions whether a nuclear bomb can really ruin our grid and cause societal collapse.  All the other posts in the Fast Crash/Electromagnetic Pulse category think otherwise. The most hopeful study that EMP effects … Continue reading

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Nuclear Regulatory Commission accused of putting millions of lives and trillions of dollars at risk

[ Edwin Lyman and his co-authors in Science magazine have accused the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of putting millions of American lives at risk, due to “pressure from the nuclear utilities and a Congress sympathetic to the utilities’ complaints of … Continue reading

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Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) and other ways to bring down the electric grid

Preface.  At some point of energy decline the electric grid will fail, and civilization will take a giant step downward (financial systems gone, knowledge stored gone, computers / phones inoperable) and so on. Vaclav Smil (2015) in his book Energy … Continue reading

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The electromagnetic pulse EMP Threat: House of Representatives hearing 2005

[ Related articles: Russian hackers suspected in attack that blacked out parts of Ukraine How the weapon works (pdf): CRASHOVERRIDE Analyzing the Threat to Electric Grid Operations The EMP Commission estimates a nationwide blackout lasting one year could kill up … Continue reading

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The Devil’s Scenario – near miss at Fukushima is a warning for U.S.

[ The most likely event to trigger a loss of power long enough to cause a spent fuel pool zirconium fire meltdown and release of radioactive particles into the atmosphere is a nuclear or natural geomagnetic storm electromagnetic pulse (see … Continue reading

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