Some believe that science and belief in the Bible are contradictory.  They think that the Bible is an archaic volume of prose that has nothing to do with scientific fact.  The very opposite is true. There is much scientific fact throughout the Bible, and the more that scientists discover, the more they realize how accurate the Bible is.  They now must acknowledge that the universe is not the result of an accidental cosmic explosion of gasses, but the result of very complex and intricate design.  The established laws of physics point to the fact that Intelligent Design had its Hand in it all.  For instance, our solar system had to be designed so exactly in order to make life on earth possible.  Jupiter’s relative position with the Earth—it’s fixed distance of 40 light minutes from the earth and 2 ½ times the size and its weight allows for it to shield the Earth from destruction of comets and asteroids that could destroy it completely.  The exact position and mass of the planets have to be perfectly lined up in circular, horizontal orbits around the sun (unlike other galaxies) in order to allow for Earth’s temperature and gravity to maintain life.  This cosmic order points to a Creative Designer.  

Additionally, the fact that the galaxies are moving apart and their relative temperatures prove that there was a BEGINNING of matter, energy, space and time.  Renowned astrophysicist Dr. Hugh Ross states that all matter, space and time came into existence at one time.  Einstein’s General Law of Relativity shows the universe had a beginning and that it expands away from each other.  Temperature fluctuations show that the “Big Bang” model is correct as cosmic background radiation and the expansion of the universe demonstrate.  In other words, there was a “Big Bang”... God spoke, “Let there be...” and BANG—it happened!  Astronomy observes the past by seeing light waves and radio waves—showing there was a specific beginning of matter, energy, space and time.

Astronomy proves that light separated from darkness instantaneously.  (Sounds like Genesis 1, doesn’t it?!)  Astrophysics confirms there was a singular beginning of matter; that matter had to be created.  The cooling down of the universe, dark energy, the relation of the Milky Way, sun, moon and earth all point to Divine design.  The inception of the universe was an instantaneous, carefully fine-tuned, intelligently controlled phenomenon... not a random explosion.  Sir Isaac Newton said, “This most beautiful system of the sun, planet and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent Being.”  Dr. Charles Towne (recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for Physics and inventor of the Laser Beam) states, “Somehow intelligence must have been involved in the Laws of the Universe.”  Albert Einstein said, “Everyone who is seriously interested in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a Spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe—a Spirit vastly superior to man, and one in the face of which, we, with our modest powers, must feel humble.”  The first and last Word on the subject is, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth...” (Genesis 1:1)

Scientific discovery continues to prove the Biblical account of creation.  In the past researchers believed the earth to be billions of years old.  They assigned names to the various geological “ages.  They believed that bacteria developed 3.5 billion years ago, and that 530 million years ago living systems began to develop.  The Mesozoic Age, for example, supposedly spans 65 to 300 million years ago and has five divisions.  According to their theory, dinosaurs died off 64 million years ago and man did not appear until 2.5 million years ago, with modern man only appearing 60,000 years ago.  However, all of these arbitrarily assigned geological periods were not based on scientific fact.  There is no scientific technique to determine the age of rocks.  The earth is not billions or even millions of years old, as new scientific discovery proves.  In a 1950 Texas oil dig the Gulf Oil Company uncovered a fossilized human footprint in the “Permian Strata” of rock.   The Permian age stratus is supposedly 250 million years old. when (according to evolutionary theory) dinosaurs had not even developed.  And yet, they found scientific evidence that human beings existed during that period.  In Glenrose, Texas in 2000 a human footprint was found in the rock layer with a large dinosaur footprint on top of it.  There were water ripples in the strata, showing that these prints were made in mud, which had been quickly covered perhaps by lava, encapsulating both prints in the fossil record.  These prints were in the Cretaceous strata of rock, purported to be 110 million years old.  This totally shatters the entire evolutionary “Geologic column” that theorizes the earth as being millions of years old.  Geology also destroys the theory of evolution in that NOT ONE transitional life form for ANY species has ever been found.  In other words, there has never been a missing link in the fossil record or living record today.  Apes are still apes, humans are still human.  If apes evolved into humans, then why do apes still exist?  There is no transitional form between apes & humans... apes are still apes, and humans are still human.  The “great” missing link finds that anthropologists have found have actually turned out to be chimpanzee bones, not an intermediary species.  The human bones in Germany with somewhat hunched backs turned out to be modern man skeletons with signs of severe rickets— consistent with lack of vitamin D (sun exposure) in the Black Forest area in which they were discovered.

There are many other scientific discoveries that prove that the earth is very young, and that the earth’s strata did not develop over millions of years.   An example of this is poly-straight fossils.  These are fossils that transverse several strata of rock.  One very tall plant fossil was discovered in its upright position extending through several layers of rock that supposedly took 5 million years to deposit.  This particular plant was not a tree with a hard xylem, but a very tall reed type plant with a flaccid cambium.  This plant could not have maintained its upright position allowing layers of sediment to accumulate on it for even thousands of years, much less millions.  This fossilized plant (and many like it) that traverses many strata of sediment show that the layers of mud & sediment had to accumulate very quickly, which would be the case in a flood scenario.  The fact that there is the same sandstone sedimentary layers are found consistently all over the world show that at one time the whole earth was covered with water --allowing for the deposit of sediment to form the same strata world wide.  Archeologists frequently find fossilized marine life (sharks teeth, etc.) on the top of mountains.  This is scientific evidence that this world wide flood engulfed dry land, effectively drowning any creature that was not amphibious.  That sound a lot like Genesis, doesn’t it? 

“The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.  They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.  The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. Every living thing that moved on the earth perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind.”  (Genesis 7:18-21)

An interesting aspect about the world-wide flood as described in the Bible is that it mentions “the fountains of the great deep” were broken up.  (Genesis 7:11.)  This is consistent with underwater volcanic eruptions from cracks in the earth’s mantle (deep “broken up”) occurring. These eruptions allow for a very rapid deposition of lava to form layers of rock in a relatively short period of time.  When Mount Saint Helens erupted some time ago the nearby lake had lava accumulate in layers under the water in just a matter of days.  The layers looked like a mini Grand Canyon.  When looking at the lake bed without knowing that a volcano had deposited the rock layers, one might assume that it took hundreds of thousands or even millions of years for sediment to deposit and form the rock strata, when in actuality it took only a few days.   Scientific proof from fossils throughout the world points to the fact that at one time there was very rapid accumulation of sediment which covered plant & animal life.  These fossilized remains of plants & animals are intact without showing normal decomposition and deterioration.  This could not be the case if the sediment only gradually accumulated on their remains over many thousands (or millions) of years.  

Biology also proves that the Bible is very accurate.  The Biblical account of creation tells us that in the beginning of God created one man & one woman, and that the world was populated by this one set of parents.  DNA can trace the ancestry mitochondrial, which proves there was only one man and one woman from whom the whole world descended.  Additionally, the 6.5 billion Y genes show that all of the world’s population came from one gene pool (DNA) source.  This is consistent with the Biblical account of the flood, in which the only gene pool was Noah’s family who survived to repopulate the earth.  Had the flood not occurred, the population would be so large today (in the trillions) that the earth could not support life.  The population of 6.5 billion people alive today is consistent with what it would be given the eight individuals who began reproducing after the flood 4,500 years ago.

Additionally, the complexity of cells is such that even bacteria are not “simple” life forms.  Cells are specific and highly organized.  In each cell there are 60,000 proteins in exact arrangement.  If the proteins are not in the prescribed order the cell begins to biodegrade in a matter of minutes.  The odds that 60,000 proteins “self-organized” into effective arrangement to make cell function is 1 chance in 10 to the 4,478,000 power.  (Just 10 to the 50^th power mathematically has ZERO chance of occurring.)  It is impossible for proteins-- the basis for all cells—to have “randomly” arranged.  They did not evolve.  Proteins for cells had to be intelligently designed.

What about mutations in genes?  Doesn’t that result in “evolution?”  No.  Not evolution in which an entity changes to a different species.  THAT is the theory of “macroevolution” (the Darwinian Theory.)  Yes, MICROevolution DOES occur within a species genetic boundaries that allow for adaptability.  However, the changes are not due to new DNA being introduced, but existing DNA proteins that are allowed to express themselves given different environmental conditions.  In other words, a moth species may have the genetic DNA to express itself in a variety of colors (even as we have DNA from parents & grandparents that could result in some offspring being dark haired, and others in the same family having red or blond hair.)  If the conditions for the moth in the jungle favored longevity due to it’s green color camouflaging it, then eventually the gene pool would favor and change to eliminate, say, a white colored moth with the same DNA.  There is not a change of the DNA, but simply environmental conditions that allow for one trait or another to be dominant.  Within a species there is this “microevolution”... (small changes of characteristics expressed within the species.)  But there is no living or fossilized record of ANY entity changing from one species to another.  That is macroevolution—which is only a theory with no scientific basis.  In fact, macroevolution is genetically impossible.  It is genetically impossible for a chimpanzee to become a human or a human to degenerate into a chimpanzee.  There are 48,000,000 differences between the nucleotides of the DNA of a human and the nearest DNA of a chimpanzee.  A series of only 3 differences in nucleotides causes fatality of a species or causes the following generation to be sterile.  Genetically speaking, evolution is impossible.  The genetic code dictates that “like begets like” and that the genetic seed (code) that you sow is what you will reap.  There has never been evolution in which one species changes into another.  And the complexity of life-- even at the most “basic” level-- is such that it could not have occurred by random forces.  The whole ecosystem is so complex and interdependent on all the systems (the sun, water, air, plant & animal kingdoms) working together in order to maintain life that it had to be Intelligently designed.

Furthermore, the Biblical accounts of how the earth relates to the universe have proven to be 100% accurate.  In Job 26:7 the Bible states that God “hangs the earth upon nothing”.  Ancient philosophies often depict the earth as being held up by a god (perhaps in the form of a man, or an elephant, etc.)  However, when our astronauts & space probes sent back pictures of the earth, this ancient book of the Bible (Job) was validated completely… the earth hangs on nothing.  The Holy Scripture also describes the earth as being spherical and refers to the circumference of the earth.  Had the early explorers attended to Biblical truth they would not have worried about falling off the edge of a “flat earth” during their oceanic explorations.   Additionally, the Bible accurately describes undersea “rivers,” the wind and sea currents, oceanic underwater volcanic activity, the rain cycle, etc.  Also see the book of Leviticus.  In it God warned the Jews about the spread of disease and the need to quarantine and cleanse people and facilities to prevent death.  Only within these past 200 years has science discovered that disease is caused by micro-organisms.  The various cleansing & quarantine methods prescribed in the Bible to stop the spread of disease were millenniums ahead of their time medically.  

What does all of this mean?  It means that the Bible is an accurate record of how this world came into being.  It has never been successfully refuted scientifically or otherwise.  However, the purpose of the Bible is not so much to be a book on science (although it is that) but rather to be a roadmap from a loving Heavenly Creator to His children.  He has set out statutes to give us abundant life on earth and directions on how to get to heaven.  In it He describes how man through his own rebellion brought sin and death into the world.  In the Father’s love for us He did not leave us without hope.  He promised that the remedy for sin and death is through His Son, Jesus Christ:

 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life...  He that believes on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.”   (John 3)  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)  The Bible clearly teaches that there are not multiple ways to get to God.  The only way is through the Lord Jesus Christ.  Humble yourself before God and admit that you are a sinner.  Confess your sins to God and ask Him to cleanse you through Jesus’ shed blood sacrifice.  Then invite the Lord Jesus to be the Master of your life.  “For whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13)

Solar storms could have devastating consequences on Earth, scientists warn.

(ABC News Photo Illustration)

Hurricanes, blizzards and other earthly tempests aren't the only natural forces with the potential to sow catastrophe.

Severe weather in the sun's outer atmosphere could knock out much of the country's power grid, incapacitate navigational systems and jeopardize spacecraft, scientists say.

While the odds of a solar disaster are relatively small, scientists warn that we need to ramp up our defenses against solar storms, especially given our increasing dependence on technology that is so susceptible to radiation from the sun.

"It's one of those events that is of low probability but high consequence," Dr. Roberta Balstad, a research scientist with Columbia University's Center for Research on Environmental Decisions. "The consequences could be extreme."

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And Balstad and her colleagues emphasize that we've seen those extreme consequences before.

Solar Storms Cause Blackouts, Impair Communications

In 1859, a solar storm, also known as the Carrington event (after the astronomer Richard Carrington, who first recognized the cause) fried the telegraph system.

Another powerful space weather event in 1989 caused a blackout in Quebec, Canada. Other storms have led to diverted airplanes and impaired telecommunications satellites.

Earlier this year, a group of experts from around the country, including Balstad, issued a report to the National Academies of Sciences on the economic and social impacts of solar storms.

The point of the report was to raise awareness and encourage the government and private businesses to prepare for the long-term consequences of a major event.

"We tend to think that we're in control of nature, but we're not," she said. "What we need to pay attention to is our total dependence in all parts of lives on the electric grid, which is vulnerable. ... If there is some kind of disruption, we need to be ready to deal with it."

In the face of a "space weather" Katrina, she said we wouldn't be prepared.

The direct result of a space storm would be the breakdown of the electrical grid, the report warned.

John Kappenman, an analyst with Metatech Corporation, a company that studies the effect of electromagnetic interference on power systems, said in the report that damaged transformers take a long time to repair.

Chinese probe crashes into moon

The probe was launched in 2007 and mapped the moon's surface

A Chinese lunar probe has crashed into the moon in what Beijing has called a controlled collision.

The Chang'e 1 lunar satellite hit the moon's surface at 1613 local time (0813 GMT) at the end of a 16-month moon-mapping mission.

China launched the spacecraft in late October 2007 on a mission to survey the entire surface of the moon.

China's ever-more ambitious space programme includes plans for a space station and landing a man on the moon.

Future missions

Launched into space on one of China's Long March 3A rockets, the probe mapped the moon's surface using stereo radar.

Chang'e 1 was under the remote control of two stations in Qingda, eastern China, and Kashgar in the north-west of the country, the Xinhua news agency said.

China became only the third nation - after the Soviet Union and the US - to put a manned spacecraft in orbit in 2003.

State media said on Sunday China would launch a space module next year and carry out the country's first space docking.

"The module, called Tiangong-1, will provide a "safe room" for Chinese astronauts to live and conduct scientific research in zero gravity," Chinese state media said.

"Weighing about 8.5 tonnes, Tiangong-1 is able to perform a long-term unattended operation, which will be an essential step toward building a space station," it added.

Two years ago, Iceland was top of the UN living index. Now it is in the frontline of the global economic crisis after the failure of its banks, reports Sophie Morris in Reykjavik

Monday, 26 January 2009

ALAMY

Reykjavik: Iceland must confront the fact that it has been blighted by a man-made disaster

• More pictures

Just a few short years ago, Iceland had much to be proud of. The good times were rolling so fast that one expected the country's almost round-the-clock summer daylight to last all year. Business was booming, society overfed, and the capital, Reykjavik, was in vogue as a travel destination for rich revellers, gastronomes and culture lovers.

Iceland is a country of dramatic natural beauty: lunar landscapes, spouting geysers, sheer glaciers and craggy volcanic rock formations; an impressive but inhospitable isle floating in mid-Atlantic isolation. When, in 2007, it topped the UN's Human Development Index for its high standard of living, literacy and life expectancy, the tiny community of 310,000 felt they had proved their educated, hard-working and resilient character on an international scale.

The previous year, America had abandoned its long-standing naval air station at Keflavik. Symbolically, the move set Icelanders free from more than seven centuries of foreign domination, first as a Norwegian and then a Danish colony, and for the past 65 years, less formally, under the wing of the US.

"The Vikings" had risen again, and this is the admiring title the country bestowed upon the small group of aggressive businessmen whose high-risk investing bloated the island's economy to 10 times its GDP, buying up chunks of the British and Continental European high streets in the process. French Connection, Debenhams, Karen Millen, Oasis, Warehouse, Mappin & Webb, Hamleys and many more fell into Icelandic ownership. So did West Ham United football club. When Icelanders visited Copenhagen, they would strut into its smartest department store to buy expensive fashions from "their" shop. Like many British chains, it too was owned by the "Viking" Jon Asgeir Johannesson's Baugur group: one in the eye for the mother country.

Few stopped to consider, let alone fret over, whether their swift financial ascent would end in an equally steep plunge into oblivion. They were too busy flying to Barcelona for dinner, opening smart boutique hotels, investing in art, planning massive public buildings and buying Range Rovers and Audi Q7s – Iceland is one of the top car-owning countries in the world.

In October, Iceland's three main banks were nationalised and declared bankrupt. Overnight, any Icelander – and there were many – who had bought these status vehicles or invested in luxury new properties with a foreign loan found the value of their purchases plummeting as repayments soared. The currency, the Krona, fell to one quarter its value before trading in it was suspended. Thousands of hard-working couples nearing retirement age had placed their life savings in stocks with the Landsbanki, Glitnir and Kaupthing banks which led the crash. For many, every penny disappeared into the turbulent waters which connect Iceland with its American and European neighbours.

Frugal Icelanders have been stung too. Food and petrol costs are rising all the time and with interest rates nearing 20 per cent, domestic mortgages, even modest ones, are becoming impossible to service.

"The feeling is we are unable to look after our own affairs" says Hallgrimur Helgason, one of the country's leading novelists. "We were on our own for years and we went too far, too fast, in too little time. We behaved like children and the first thing we did when the stock market opened 10 years ago was go to London and buy toy stores and candy stores. Now we are bankrupt and there will be no money for years to come and we have more debts than we can ever repay.

"We're just like kids whose parents went away for the weekend and we trashed the entire house."

There is no word from the government yet on how it plans to repair the damage. What does that mean for the man on the streets of a country whose coffers are empty? Are we talking soup kitchens, sheltered housing and begging on street corners? Far from it. If you're as comfortable as Iceland was, the rot has its work cut out before it emerges on the surface.

The streets of the capital are clean and the people could not be more hospitable or charming. On Friday and Saturday nights, a succession of bars and clubs are packed out. Judging by the drunken state of most people, they are still spending money here.

Iceland's troubles did reveal themselves during last week's tumultuous events. Peaceful demonstrations began in Reykjavik's main square, outside the Althing (parliament) building, had begun in October immediately after the crash. Last week they erupted in the worst riots since it became a founding member of Nato in 1949. Rocks were hurled at police and the Althing. Its windows were smashed and the building set alight. Over 130 protesters received treatment after police used tear gas to disperse the crowd, and one police officer was seriously injured.

On Friday morning, human rights campaigner and protest organiser Hordur Torfason told a chilling anecdote to illustrate the desperation many Icelanders are feeling. He had received a phone call from a man who said that four generations of his family had lost everything. "He wanted me to help them build a gallows in front of the parliament building," says Torfason. "I asked him if this was to have some symbolic significance. 'No,' came the answer. 'A member of my family wants to hang himself in public.'"

"I said I would help them but not in this way," says Torfason. "But he killed himself two days ago."

Red Cross employees and volunteers are working overtime to prepare for depression and desperation. The relief agency has expanded and is setting up support groups and activities for the unemployed. "One of the effects of long-term unemployment is depression," says the agency's Thor Gislason.

More people are attending church, he says, not just for spiritual succour, but because food is sometimes provided for a nominal charge. Soup kitchens, emblematic of Eastern bloc poverty, might be going too far. "We believe people will be too ashamed to stand in line publicly for food," says Gislason, "so we will organise activities and volunteer work where food is involved instead."

Icelanders are known for their love of good food. Now is the beginning of a month when people celebrate local cuisine by dining out on traditional dishes, but one smart restaurant with a menu featuring pickled whale blubber, whale sushi and peppered whale steaks, cod liver, pickled herring, smoked puffin breast, reindeer meat and caviar, is empty save a handful of foreign diners. Panorama, a new gourmet restaurant on the top floor of the Centerhotel Arnarhvoll, has magnificent views over Reykjavik's harbour but is equally subdued. Over in Reykjavik's 101 Hotel, owned by the "Viking" tycoon Jon Asgeir Johannesson and renowned as a favourite haunt of champagne-loving Kaupthing bankers, there are a few suits and little else.

As many as 8,000 people braved the damp cold to demonstrate last week, the largest number to attend a public protest in the history of Iceland. On Friday, the Prime Minister, Geir Haarde, who has cancer, called an election for9 May and announced that he will not run again. Yet protesters called for his immediate resignation on Saturday. The government's efforts amount to too little, too late, they say. They want parliament dissolved, a new constitution, and an investigation of those politicians they believe accountable. "Every other person is basically bankrupt," said organiser Magnus Bjorn Olafsson. "This is a revolution and we want to create a new constitution like the French did."

All walks of life were evident at the protests; well-heeled Icelanders with their designer coats and dogs were as prevalent as any other group. For many, like Gudbjorg Bjornsdottir, 47, and Runar Mar Sverisson, 50, it was their first experience of protesting. "We thought it was time we showed our support," says Bjornsdottir, "It is not enough to sit at home. We are not here for our personal situation but for the injustice."

Asgerdur Einarsdottir, 43, attended a party last week attended mostly by architects and graphic designers. She was the only one there to have a job. She works in Iceland's remaining steady industry, tourism, for a tour operator which provides visitors with thrills such as snowmobiling up a glacier or driving through lava fields.

Before the crash, Iceland was prohibitively expensive. It is now far more accessible to foreigners but the running costs of her firm, owned by the parents of Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen, have gone up 110 per cent, and they are losing the lucrative business of indulgent corporate jollies.

On Reykjavik's main shopping street, Laugavegur, bargains are suddenly to be found: in Saevar Karl, a designer department store, most items are 40 per cent off. Its manager, Tomas Tomasson, notes that Iceland is now the cheapest place in the world to buy Prada.

Everyone blames greed, political corruption and lack of financial regulation for the mess, but most know they must share responsibility. "I feel partly to blame myself," admits writer Helgason. "We admired the brashness of the Vikings and we all got carried away. We are a young and immature society."

Torfason says: "Things are bad and they will get much worse. But it is unlikely anyone will starve. There are people with no fixed address here, but none on the street; you would freeze to death. There is no call to be desperate. We are small but we have resources."

This much is true. The seas are full of fish, geothermal energy and natural gas are abundant. Oil prospecting is beginning. But there is a risk that Iceland will give its riches away in a fire sale to the same Vikings who have already half-sunk the nation once.

Iceland has survived famine, volcanic eruptions and smallpox before. Now it must confront the fact that it has been blighted by a man-made disaster.

Iceland: The facts

*Population: 313,376

*Currency: Icelandic Krona (ISK)

*Unemployment in October 2008 1.9%; January 2009: 7%. Expected to rise to 8.6% in 2010.

*Inflation: 13.1%

*Interest rates 18%

*GDP per capita in 2007: $42,000

*GDP per capita now: $39,400

*The world's eighteenth largest island, Iceland has nearly 5,000km of coastline.

*Iceland's natural resources include geothermal power and diatomite, many rivers and waterfalls are used for hydroelectricity.

*Did not gain full independence from Denmark until 1944. Granted limited home rule in 1874.

*Althing, the Icelandic parliament, is the oldest functioning legislative assembly in the world, which was established in 930.

*In 2007 Iceland was ranked the most developed country in the world by the UN.

*The Apollo 11 astronauts trained in Iceland because of the terrain's similarity to the moon.

A new study from the National Academy of Sciences outlines grim possibilities on Earth for a worst-case scenario solar storm.

Damage to power grids and other communications systems could be catastrophic, the scientists conclude, with effects leading to a potential loss of governmental control of the situation.

The prediction is based in part on major solar storm in 1859 caused telegraph wires to short out in the United States and Europe, igniting widespread fires. It was perhaps the worst in the past 200 years, according to the new study, and with the advent of modern power grids and satellites, much more is at risk.

"A contemporary repetition of the [1859] event would cause significantly more extensive (and possibly catastrophic) social and economic disruptions," the researchers conclude.

'Command and control might be lost'

When the sun is in the active phase of its 11-year cycle, it can unleash powerful magnetic storms that disable satellites, threaten astronaut safety, and even disrupt communication systems on Earth. The worst storms can knock out power grids by inducing currents that melt transformers.

Modern power grids are so interconnected that a big space storm -- the type expected to occur about once a century -- could cause a cascade of failures that would sweep across the United States, cutting power to 130 million people or more in this country alone, the new report concludes.

Such widespread power outages, though expected to be a rare possibility, would affect other vital systems.

"Impacts would be felt on interdependent infrastructures with, for example, potable water distribution affected within several hours; perishable foods and medications lost in 12-24 hours; immediate or eventual loss of heating/air conditioning, sewage disposal, phone service, transportation, fuel resupply and so on," the report states.

Outages could take months to fix, the researchers say. Banks might close, and trade with other countries might halt.

"Emergency services would be strained, and command and control might be lost," write the researchers, led by Daniel Baker, director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

"Whether it is terrestrial catastrophes or extreme space weather incidents, the results can be devastating to modern societies that depend in a myriad of ways on advanced technological systems," Baker said in a statement released with the report.

Stormy past

Solar storms have had significant effects in modern time:

In 1989, the sun unleashed a tempest that knocked out power to all of Quebec, Canada.
A remarkable 2003 rampage included 10 major solar flares over a two-week period, knocking out two Earth-orbiting satellites and crippling an instrument aboard a Mars orbiter.
"Obviously, the sun is Earth's life blood," said Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics division at NASA. "To mitigate possible public safety issues, it is vital that we better understand extreme space weather events caused by the sun's activity."

"Space weather can produce solar storm electromagnetic fields that induce extreme currents in wires, disrupting power lines, causing wide-spread blackouts and affecting communication cables that support the Internet," the report states. "Severe space weather also produces solar energetic particles and the dislocation of the Earth's radiation belts, which can damage satellites used for commercial communications, global positioning and weather forecasting."

Rush to prepare

The race is on for better forecasting abilities, as the next peak in solar activity is expected to come around 2012. While the sun is in a lull now, activity can flare up at any moment, and severe space weather -- how severe, nobody knows -- will ramp up a year or two before the peak.

Some scientists expect the next peak to bring more severe events than other recent peaks.

"A catastrophic failure of commercial and government infrastructure in space and on the ground can be mitigated through raising public awareness, improving vulnerable infrastructure and developing advanced forecasting capabilities," the report states. "Without preventive actions or plans, the trend of increased dependency on modern space-weather sensitive assets could make society more vulnerable in the future."

The report was commissioned and funded by NASA. Experts from around the world in industry, government and academia participated. It was released this week.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090107-space-weather-storms.html