Coronal Mass Ejection headed to Earth on Oct. 30

The sleeping giant seems to have awoken.  Although the Sun is in a solar maximum, it has been relatively quiet - that is until recently.  The Sun has released three solar flares in the last three days. The latest flare was an X-class flare, which is the most intense flare the sun releases.  Be prepared for some solar storms on the 30th of October since the latest flare was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection (CME).  At the very least this CME will cause some beautiful auroras and at the most extreme ends can disrupt our satellites and power grids.  

Government Plans Power Outage Drills

I have long expressed concerns over a potential power grid failure, as have many other individuals and organizations.  Finally, this issue is gaining much needed focus from government officials.  A joint drill is scheduled to take place in the US, Canada, and Mexico.  This drill will include many agencies - FBI, terrorism experts, government agencies, and utility workers.  This drill is set to take place November 13 and 14 and will focus on government reactions to such a crisis.

Power Outages

Blackout impacts millions in Canada and 7 U.S. states

It was ten years ago that the power outages struck Canada and several U.S. states.  This event impacted seven states and there were over 50 million people without power.  Although there have been some improvements made to our power systems since that time, we still suffer from frequent power surges and are at risk of solar flares impacting our grid system.  The flare that took down the Quebec grid cost 1.5 billion dollars in damages, with 250 million of that cost being from destroyed perishables.  The relatively 'small' occurrence that happened 10 years ago caused a relatively small blip in our world - what would happen if another Carrington Event occurred in today's world?  The impact on our society and economy would be incalculable.

Transportation comes to a halt

Gas stations unable to pump gasoline