Electronic Armageddon? Congress Worries That Solar Flares Could Spell Disasterhttp://beforeitsnews.com/news/79/745/El ... aster.htmlPowered by Translate
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Wednesday, June 16, 2010 1:53
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Astonishing new pictures from NASA that could help unlock the secrets of the sun -- 10 times clearer than high definition TV -- show giant flares and clouds of ionized gas erupting from the star.
High-energy electric pulses from the sun could surge to Earth and cripple our electrical grid for years, causing billions in damages, government officials and scientists worry.
The House is so concerned that the Energy and Commerce committee voted unanimously 47 to 0 to approve a bill allocating $100 million to protect the energy grid from this rare but potentially devastating occurrence.
The Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense Act, or H.R. 5026, aims "to amend the Federal Power Act to protect the bulk-power system and electric infrastructure critical to the defense of the United States against cybersecurity and other threats and vulnerabilities."
It cites electromagnetic pulses from geomagnetic or solar storms as the big threat to our energy distribution grid, and demands "an order directing the Electric Reliability Organization to submit … reliability standards adequate to protect the bulk-power system from any reasonably foreseeable geomagnetic storm event."
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