One In Eight Chance of a Financially Catastrophic Solar Storm By 2020

An anonymous reader writes "A privately employed solar scientist named Pete Riley estimates there's a 12 percent chance of a massive solar storm comparable to the Carrington Event in 1859 which resulted in breathtaking aurorae across the United States and other temperate regions of the globe. The electromagnetic surge from the 1859 event caused failures of telegraph systems across Europe and North America. A similar storm today could knock out power grids, GPS and communication satellites, data centers, transportation systems, and building and plumbing infrastructures and wreak $1 trillion or more of economic damage in the first year alone, according to a 2008 report from the National Academy of Sciences."

Re:What are the chances

[DamageLabs]

Let me just check my Mayan calendar...

Oh yes, there it is.

Re:What's much more important is...

[Anonymous Coward]

you must build... an ark, with two of every device

convert to electric, quick!

[Anonymous Coward]

Quick! Let's sell our gasoline fuel cars and buy electric cars! That way when the power grid is knocked out we'll be stranded!

Brilliant.

By Any Other Name

[RapidEye]

So, is "privately employed solar scientist" a euphemism for "crackpot scientist"?

With a bit of luck...

[hcs_$reboot]

...a Solar eclipse will happen at this very time.

If it WERE true

[dmomo]

I would retitle this submission "One in twenty chance of naturally-caused
  economic stimulus by 2020".

Be Prepared...

[jolyonr]

Print out your porn.

Re:Plumbing?

[BradleyUffner]

I would think that electronically controlled sewage treatment plants are at risk. Most people don't think about where their poo goes, but once it starts going nowhere, it will pile up very quick for communities.

That's alright, I live on top of a hill.

Re:What's much more important is...

[Oswald McWeany]

But how will I prevent my Androids trying to attack my Apples? Surely if you put two androids and two apples on the same ark the androids will attempt to eat the apples!

Re:What are the chances

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Let me just check my Mayan calendar...

Oh yes, there it is.

Is this a leap year?

Why? Do leap years make you jumpy?

Re:Plumbing?

[Roberticus]

I would think that electronically controlled sewage treatment plants are at risk. Most people don't think about where their poo goes, but once it starts going nowhere, it will pile up very quick for communities.

That would make this hypothetical event a literal shitstorm.

Re:What's much more important is...

[robthebloke]

Yes. I saw a documentary on the history channel about this. According to the program, the best protection is to get two sticks of Hazel, and use them to douse for ley lines near your house. Any device within 50 meters of a ley line should be protected using a conical cosmic ray deflector, which should be gently placed on top of the gadget, with the tip pointing skyward (don't point it at the ground, you'll just wake up the sleeping aliens!). Be warned that this won't fully protect your touchscreen devices though. There's something odd about capacitive devices, which will require your pet cat to be earthed at all times before they are fully protected. Those cuddly critters are serious conductors of cosmic rays. I've also gone to the extent of hanging some garlic on my front door too. Not sure what that does, but I figured it couldn't hurt....

Re:What's much more important is...

[Waffle Iron]

you must build... an ark, with two of every device

I assume it has to be an arc-proof ark?

Re:What's much more important is...

[Anonymous Coward]

Because the Good iBook costs about twice as much as it should, and there are other books out there that are better for much less.

Re:What's much more important is...

[tnk1]

Screw that, don't buy into this so-called 'conical cosmic ray deflector', which is probably some sort of fraudulent device.

Everyone knows that only Real Brazilian Power Crystals(tm) can actually help with this. Even the FDA would not deny that it is possible in English to have said that these crystals were very efficacious for dealing with solar storms and rheumatism.

Re:What's much more important is...

[Bemopolis]

Yes, but only because Eve was holding it wrong.