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EMP: The Very Real Threat

It sounds like the plot of a sci-fi movie: The sun emits an unusual burst of energy, and the resulting electromagnetic pulse permanently disables just about everything dependent on electronics: vehicles, planes, televisions, radios, computers, the whole electrical grid.  The resulting loss of power means there is no way to get water from reservoirs, no way of harvesting food or moving it to cities.  Even the military is paralyzed.

The scenario is becoming increasingly likely.  And it isn’t just a solar event.  A nuclear weapon could produce a similar event.  According to Rep. Trent Franks, (R-AZ) ,  who has introduced H.R. 3410, the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act,

“The threat of an electromagnetic pulse weapon represents the single greatest asymmetric capability that could fall into the hands of America’s enemies. Should a nuclear weapon from a rogue state such as Iran be detonated in Earth’s atmosphere at a sufficient height above the continental United States, the blast of electromagnetic energy could immediately cripple America’s electric power grid. Currently, the vast majority of the United States’ infrastructure is unsecured and exposed.

“According to some experts, just one properly placed EMP blast could disable so large a swath of American technology that between 70-90% of the United States’ population could become unsustainable.
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“The danger posed by electromagnetic pulse weapons, as well as naturally occurring electromagnetic pulses, has received increased attention over recent years from organizations including NASA, the National Association of Scientists, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.”

On May 8,  The House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Infrastructure Protection held a hearing to discuss the potential crisis.  Rep. Franks testified that “catastrophic civilian casualties” could be caused by an EMP.

It is certainly one of the infrastructure needs that could have been addressed by that $700 billion stimulus package that accomplished nothing tangible, and one which could lead to devastating future problems.