Sunday, August 15, 2010

Flare for the Dramatic



Our highly technological modern society is great in a lot of ways...and really, really bad in one specific way: it's very delicate.

The electronics, computers, and circuit boards that run everything in our lives could be instantly fried by either a naturally occurring solar flare, or the "electro-magnetic pulse" of a single nuclear weapon fired high in our atmosphere.

Electricity would be shut off. Water, pumped from afar, would stop coming out of faucets. There would be no communications. Most recent cars wouldn't run. Access to food and emergency care would be cut off. And in the resulting chaos, there are estimates that as much as 90% of Americans could die.


As if that wasn't scary enough, we're now entering a new period of strong solar activity - with a major coronal ejection only a week ago.

The good news is that scientists have determined we could "harden" our electrical grid for $100 million dollars, and the House unanimously passed a resolution saying "Yes! Let's do it! Quick!"

But in the Senate, they said "where are the votes for us if we fund this?" and, not finding any, they killed it. And maybe us.


Of course, $100 million is a lot of money. But it's only 1/1650th of what congress added to our debt in just one week. And only 1/260th of what the Democrats just decided to give to teachers' unions to buy more votes for November.

By comparison, potentially saving the Earth seems like it could have been a pretty good deal. But since it didn't happen, we can all continue to look toward the sun...and hope for no change.

-


The good news is that cockroaches will survive.
The bad news is that they tend to vote Democrat.

7 comments:

Quite Rightly said...

On the good news side is that Obama won't be able to start more mischief using his Blackberry.

But then, on the bad news side, Pelosi won't be able to fly back to California.

Suzy said...

In these days its definitely good to see what God has to say about the end times in Revelation...although many professing "Christians" have made for themselves a bad reputation by doing idiotic things.... many world events seem to really be following along the same lines these days as Biblical prophecies.

Angry Hoosier Dad said...

You nailed it, Stilton. If this were an issue that generated votes, or letters to the Senate, they might have acted. Unfortunately we have a society that has two reactions: 1.(before a disaster) I don't understand it, so I don't care. 2.(afterwards) Why didn't the government do something about this.
The elected elites are what they are. No surprises there. I blame us. I'd like to think we've learned a thing or two since November, 2008, but I'm skeptical. Until the carts roll through the streets with a crier alongside calling out "bring out your dead", I just don't know.

pryorguy said...

Suzy...youre right on, for sure...we are definitely closer to a world government run by a single person, and we can thank O and his progressive buddies in large part. They are being used and dont even know it!

DougM said...

Uhm, Stilton ...
What your cockroach joke implies is that the 10% of Americans who survive will all be Democrats, then, right?

Anonymous said...

That saying is absolutely perfect since it pertains wether we survive or not.

"The good news is that cockroaches will survive,
the bad news is that they tend to vote Democrat."

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

DougM- Actually the 10% of Americans who survive will probably be independent survivalists who wouldn't be caught dead (literally) voting Democrat. But the filthy, scurrying insects who revel in garbage and skitter into the shadows are, by definition, Democrats.