Nexus - 1603 - New Times Magazine-pages

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According to scientific data, storms of such size occur about once in five centuries. But events with half the intensity happen every 50 years. The last one took place on 13 November 1960 and disturbed the Earth's geomagnetic fields, upsetting the operation of radio stations. ow, our dependence on radio-electronic devices is so immense that increased solar activity could disable life-support systems all over the world, and not only on the surface. Poor space weather makes all orbital systems malfunction. A heavy solar storm can cause disruption to space-based navigation systems. ASA is now sounding an alarm because the North American continent is so close to the north magnetic pole and is the most vulnerable to solar activity. A study by the Metatech Corporation revealed that an impact similar to that of 1859 would incapacitate the entire electricity grid in North America. Even the relatively weak magnetic storm of 1989, provoked by solar activity, caused an accident at a Canadian hydro- electric power plant that left six million people in the United States and Canada without electric power for nine hours. A study by the US National Academy of Sciences also outlines grim possibilities on Earth for a worst-case- scenario solar storm. Modern power grids are so interconnected that a big space storm—the type expected to occur about once a century—could cause a cascade of failures that would sweep across the United States, cutting power to 130 million people or more in this country alone, the new report concludes. Such widespread power outages, though expected to be a rare possibility, would affect other vital systems. "Impacts would be felt on interdependent infrastructures with, for example, potable water distribution affected within several hours; perishable foods and medications in about 12-24 hours; and immediate or eventual loss of heating/air conditioning, sewage disposal, phone service, transportation, fuel resupply and so on," the report states. Outages could take months to fix, banks might close, and trade with other countries might halt. "Emergency services would be strained, and command and control might be lost,” according to the researchers, led by Daniel Baker, director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Solar Cycles and Human Behaviour Could cycles of war and peace be tied to cycles of the Sun? Some researchers claim that geomagnetic storms affect brain waves and hormone levels, causing a number of different reactions, predominately in males. While a few women may also experience changes during these storms, they generally seem less affected by the Sun's behaviour. Reacting to changing hormone levels, some men may become increasingly irritable and aggressive, while others may instead become more creative. An increase in solar activity is found to increase psychotic episodes in individuals who already suffer from unstable psychological states. While we might relate such behaviour to a full moon, in 1963 Dr Robert Becker and his colleague, Dr Howard Friedman, demonstrated that solar changes also lead to a noticeable increase in psychotic activity. Yet these reactions are not simply isolated to a few particularly sensitive or unlucky individuals. Evidence indicates that wars and international conflicts most often break out when sunspots are rapidly forming or rapidly decaying, as these are times when there are more intense geomagnetic storms. In addition, this increase in solar activity correlates to periods of more accidents and illness as well as an increase in crimes and 1860 1880 murders. The entire biosphere is affected by this electromagnetic pollution, and human behaviour seems to react accordingly. Not all geomagnetic storms are disruptive. But over time, these extremes in solar activity may also affect periods of Earthly conflict. The data on cycles of war and peace extend back at least 2,500 years. As early as 1915, some scientists were beginning to recognise connections between solar activity and human behaviour. This work began with Russian scientist 0 2000 300 200 100 1760 1780 1800 1820 1840 1860 1880 Date 300 200 100 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 Date NEXUS ¢ 35 Sunspot cycles from 1760 APRIL - MAY 2009 www.nexusmagazine.com