Don’t Say You Weren’t Warned

It’s been a busy few days (hence the lack of posts), but I’m never too busy to overlook an end-of-the-world story. Seems the target date is 2012, and it won’t even be caused by a presidential election, according to Wired:

For scary speculation about the end of civilization in 2012, people usually turn to followers of cryptic Mayan prophecy, not scientists. But that’s exactly what a group of NASA-assembled researchers described in a chilling report issued earlier this year on the destructive potential of solar storms.

Entitled “Severe Space Weather Events — Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts,” it describes the consequences of solar flares unleashing waves of energy that could disrupt Earth’s magnetic field, overwhelming high-voltage transformers with vast electrical currents and short-circuiting energy grids. Such a catastrophe would cost the United States “$1 trillion to $2 trillion in the first year,” concluded the panel, and “full recovery could take 4 to 10 years.” That would, of course, be just a fraction of global damages.

Good-bye, civilization.

Worse yet, the next period of intense solar activity is expected in 2012, and coincides with the presence of an unusually large hole in Earth’s geomagnetic shield.

That hole in the geomagnetic field is no doubt caused by SUVs and cow flatulence. Al Gore is already on the case, and will doubtless manage to make billions of grupniks on the solution. Regardless, the point is this: it’s never too late to start stocking up on beef jerky and bottled water.

Be prepared, boy scouts.

(Via Hot Air.)