Doomwatchers: September 2011

INTRODUCTION

There’s a kind of doomsday feel to things right now - have you noticed? It’s not just that the Mayan calendar runs out on December 21st of next year. It’s not even the plethora of new warnings from astrophysicists, doctors and geologists about the possibly catastrophic events that are now known to be on the not-too-distant horizon. It has more to do with the zeitgeist, an undifferentiated sense that things can’t go on like they are forever.
And, of course, there are clues. Almost daily, items half-buried in news reports point to the Doom scenarios just lurking around the corner. Maybe you are too busy or too trapped in denial to notice them all, so this blog is here to help you keep track.

Friday, 23 September 2011

Something to Worry About Today

The Bad News: The UARS weather satellite will fall to earth today. Scientists say that the chances it will hit someone are about one in 3,200. That makes it more likely than accidental electrocution (about 1 in 5,000) but about the same as dying in a weather event (1 in 3,357).

Advice: Stay indoors. Wear rubber-soled shoes and a crash helmet.

Thursday, 22 September 2011

Something To Worry About Today

Today: Scientists have confirmed that there are worrying disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field. This band of electro-magnetic energy is what helps protect
us from harmful cosmic rays that emanate from other galaxies and even from our own sun.

The bad news: these gaps are growing rapidly. Some scientists predict such a reversal as early as 2012, with an unknown chaotic outcome.These invisible rays can cause diseases like skin cancer, disrupt navigation and digital communication and possibly even cause earthquakes. Without the screen of electromagnetic force that has always protected us, the Earth becomes a sitting duck. Huge gaps in the field have already been indentified, some of which are thousands of square miles in size. If they get big enough, the Earth’s magnetic field will actually flip over, something that hasn’t happened for 300,000 years.