The Sun: The Next Crisis?

The FT reports that a group of scientists are now predicting a $2 trillion cost to the next sun cycle and its crisis. You see the sun has an eleven year cycle of dormant versus active and we are slowly approaching the active cycle. Yet as any radio license holder know we always anticipate the active cycle since it enables long distance radio propagation. Yet despite the anticipation by amateur radio folks the FT states:

The sun is waking up from a long quiet spell. Last week it sent out the strongest flare for four years – and scientists are warning that earth should prepare for an intense electromagnetic storm that, in the worst case, could be a “global Katrina” costing the world economy $2,000bn. 

 If we were not terrified of global warming, cooling, population bombs, we now have sun spots. They continue:

It caused some radio communications problems and minor disruption of civil aviation as airlines routed flights away from the polar regions, said Dr Lubchenco...A more extreme storm can shut down communications satellites for many hours – or even cause permanent damage to their components. On the ground, the intense magnetic fluctuations can induce surges in power lines, leading to grid failures such as the one that blacked out the whole of Quebec in 1989.

 Frankly guys the ARRL and other radio Hams await the cycle, it allows for extensive long distance communications and as one who designed satellites for a living, Intelsat V for example, I find the fear that satellites will get messed up as a design flaw on the part of the designer! These things have been happening forever! No surprise.

One just wonders if these are just ploys to get me funding at a true time of financial concern.