Well I wasn’t. And now that I am I’m not sure I want to be.
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Imagine if suddenly…
the internet was down and
the cable was out and
all phone communication was impossible and
medical services were unavailable and
all transportation was shut down and
the entire electrical grid was off …
All at the same time.
Across the entire United States.
For weeks…or months…
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While the devastation caused by a nuclear weapon hit on a large U.S. metropolitan area would be horrific, the impact of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) would be worse. Because, although the aftermath of a direct nuclear attack would be almost unimaginable, it would be localized. Think Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As awful as the loss of life and destruction was, the rest of Japan survived and eventually recovered. An EMP attack could immediately blast America back to the 19th century – or earlier. For a long time.
An EMP is what occurs when a nuclear warhead is detonated above the earth’s atmosphere -causing sort of an electromagnetic energy tsunami which pretty much takes out the entire electrical system.
As the Heritage Foundation explains in “The Devastating Threat to Our Security”, there are three ways an EMP would damage the electrical infrastructure:
First, the electromagnetic shock can disrupt electrical devices. The second effect is similar to lightning—a power surge that would burn circuits and immobilize electronic components and systems. The third is a pulse effect that flows through electricity transmission lines, damaging distribution centers and fusing power lines. Any of these can cause irreversible damage to an electronic system.
And then…
Communications would collapse, transportation would halt, and electrical power would simply be nonexistent. Not even a global humanitarian effort would be enough to keep hundreds of millions of Americans from death by starvation, exposure, or lack of medicine.
Nor would the catastrophe stop at U.S. borders. Most of Canada would be devastated, too, as its infrastructure is integrated with the U.S. power grid. Without the American economic engine, the world economy would quickly collapse. Much of the world’s intellectual brain power (half of it is in the United States) would be lost as well. Earth would most likely recede into the “new” Dark Ages.
But don’t worry. I’m sure our highly responsible federal government is fulfilling their basic constitutional role of providing for the common defense by making sure we have an effective missile stem in place to neutralize an incoming attack … or not.
Well… NOT.
Which is why Heritage is calling for August 15th to be recognized as National EMP Awareness Day. While the U.S. apparently has some capability to intercept incoming missiles, we definitely need to develop a comprehensive plan. Along with funding for more research on the EMP threat to ensure that the country fully understands the scope of the danger and can prepare cost-effective countermeasures.
In addition, because a huge solar flare could have effects similar to an EMP, Heritage recommends developing a National Recovery Plan and a plan to respond to severe space weather emergencies.
There have been six national commissions and major independent U.S. government studies which concur on the significance of the danger represented by an EMP – and yet Congress just dithers as usual.
It’s time to –
make August 15 National EMP Awareness Day to wake up America’s leaders to the looming threat. An EMP strike should be recognized as a clear and present danger—one that could be devastating if it finds the nation ill-prepared.
The Heritage Foundation is hosting a panel event on the EMP threat today (8-15-11) from 11:00 to 12:30 am. Click HERE for details.
“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. “ ~ Thomas Jefferson ~
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If you still don’t feel “aware” enough watch 33 Minutes. It’s actually 59 minutes long, an eye-opening documentary about the nuclear threat (including EMPs) from rogue nations.
