Some say one of the biggest existential threats to our civilization is an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP. But what is an EMP and should we be worried?
What is an EMP?
An EMP is essentially a massive electromagnetic energy burst that has the potential to destroy our electrical grid and, as a result, plunge the entire nation or a substantial portion of the world into darkness. It is estimated that 90% of humanity would perish if this occurred.
There are a variety of ways an EMP can occur. The most probable scenario involves a super solar storm.
The Solar Storms and EMPS
The last major solar storm to hit Earth occurred shortly before the American Civil War. In 1859, a solar storm known as the Carrington Event wiped out telegraph systems worldwide and caused them to burst into flames. It even destroyed the newly installed transatlantic cables that were miles beneath the ocean.
Of course, the Carrington event caused limited damage to our electrical systems because we did not have many of them at the time. Edison had not even created his lightbulb yet.
If a Carrington event were to occur today, however, it would wreak havoc on our lives. It could very well take out our electrical grids and collapse our entire modern civilization. Fresh water and sanitation systems would be destroyed, food would perish, gas pipelines would explode, airplanes would fall from the sky, and transportation would cease.
NASA estimates that the probability of a major solar storm is 12% per decade, so our leaders should take this threat seriously. But solar storms are not the only EMP-related risk our civilization faces.
EMP Caused by a Nuclear Weapon
An enemy state could also launch an EMP attack by detonating a nuclear weapon in space. According to EMP expert Dr. Peter Pry, various nations, including China, Russia, and even North Korea are capable of such an attack.
Terrorist Attack EMP
Even more troubling is the fact that a lone-wolf terrorist could also administer an EMP attack. As Dr. Pry explains, a lone terrorist could purchase an EMP suitcase, which is readily attainable – and discharge it near a substation with extra-high-voltage transformers.
Extra-high voltage transformers are essential components of our electrical grid that distribute electricity to our major cities. Consequently, if any of them were destroyed, it could cause a domino effect that could eviscerate one of America’s electrical grids. In other words, a single terrorist armed with a commercial EMP suitcase device could potentially wipe out power across the entire West coast or East coast of the United States.
This all sounds like science fiction but it isn’t. For example, in 2003, a tree branch collided with a high-voltage power line, resulting in a power outage in the Northeastern United States. Luckily, this incident did not destroy any critical transformers. But, the “Northeast blackout of 2003” demonstrated how vulnerable America’s electrical infrastructure is. It could not even withstand seemingly trivial interferences from tree branches.
Fortunately, there are steps we can take to prevent these dystopian blackout scenarios.
How We Can Protect Ourselves from an EMP attack
Experts estimate that we could protect our most vital energy infrastructure from EMP incidents for approximately $20 billion.
Yet for some reason, our political leaders who have no problem spending and wasting trillions of dollars annually, or handing over $40 billion to Ukraine, haven’t gotten around to hardening our electrical grid. Let’s hope they wise up soon.
Ashton Cohen is an attorney, investor, writer, and host of Ashton Cohen: The ELECTile Dysfunction Podcast.
Check out Ashton’s podcast with our nation’s foremost EMP expert, Dr. Peter Pry.
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