A key report has just been released outlining the extraordinary danger facing America from an electro-magnetic pulse. The troubling study, performed by the Air University-Lemay Center for Doctrine Development and Education, describes the apocalyptic crisis that would arise from an enemy attack, or a natural-occurring event emanating from the sun.
As noted in History.com, “On the morning of September 1, 1859, amateur astronomer Richard Carrington ascended into the private observatory attached to his country estate outside of London. After cranking open the dome’s shutter to reveal the clear blue sky, he pointed his brass telescope toward the sun and began to sketch a cluster of enormous dark spots that freckled its surface. Suddenly, Carrington spotted what he described as ‘two patches of intensely bright and white light’ erupting from the sunspots. Five minutes later the fireballs vanished, but within hours their impact would be felt across the globe. That night, telegraph communications around the world (essentially the only electronics of the period)began to fail; there were reports of sparks showering from telegraph machines, shocking operators and setting papers ablaze.”
If a similar event, also known to scientists as Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) , occurred today, our electronic-dependent nation would, according the study, face dramatic consequences. The Energy Matters organization notes that “All we can be certain of is that the Earth will sooner or later be impacted by another major CME, and probably sooner rather than later because major CMEs occur about once every 150 years and the last one – the Carrington Event – occurred 158 years ago.”
Among the most frightening problems would be the meltdown of nuclear power plants. As the report notes:
“Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to aid distressed nuclear power stations are presently very limited and wholly dependent on logistics that would likely suffer widespread regional or national interruption, thereby inhibiting response and recovery. Where the military is concerned, little planning has been done to mitigate potential impact on service members, installations, or critical missions that could be affected by areas of radiation arising from reactor or spent fuel pool leakage. The national response plan for distributing medications from stockpiles needed to aid recovery efforts is also dependent on logistics for distribution.
“Prolonged loss of power to these critical sites poses a risk of radioactive contamination to the Continental United States with consequentially disastrous impact to the economy and public health. Risks to military and civilian infrastructure and hardware would be similar due to jet-stream winds spreading radioactive materials. In all cases, consequence management of such impacts would be inherently complicated due to a reliance on federal and local logistics which are themselves dependent on EMS.”
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In aftermath of the Second World War, nuclear weapons scientists in the U.S. noticed the detrimental effects of atomic blasts on electronics. America’s early lead in the field of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) came as a result of its head start in this field. The report explains that “EMS is arguably the one domain that can rule them all. Failure to maintain technological dominance or freedom of operations in EMS can diminish or stop a modern nation’s broad civil and defense activities. Based on the totality of available data, the task force contends the second- and third-order effects of an EMS attack may be a threat to the United States, democracy, and the world order.”
Concern over America’s diminishing attention to this field has been brewing for decades. Over thirty years ago, warnings were issued by experts about the challenge. “However,” according to the report, “our collective knowledge…is the lowest point in recent history while the risks and threats are possibly the highest given the nature of widening knowledge and capability. The greater part of this institutional knowledge has diminished due to lack of training emphasis, attrition of experts, and focus on other strategic priorities such as counterinsurgencies and regional conflicts. In short, our institutional understanding has atrophied…
“The potential for an adversary to inflict damage on states through…attack has grown significantly. Today, all aspects of society, governance, and security have dependencies on the electromagnetic spectrum. However, power grids, telecommunications, and many command-and-control systems have not been designed to survive a hostile … environment. Once damaged by natural phenomena … or human induced phenomena…it may take months to years to recover…Multiple adversaries are capable of executing a strategic attack that may black out major portions of a state’s grid. An EMP attack affects all devices with solid-state electronics and could render inoperative the main grid and backup power systems, such as on-site generators.”
“Only a shift in public sentiment and government policy—at multiple levels—will result in a protection effort commensurate with emerging EMS challenges and their potential consequences. Therefore, the [task force] recommends the consideration of an executive order similar to the order establishing the Manhattan Project in the 1940s to create comparable momentum.”
Illustration: Pixabay