Congress warned that EMP Strike could kill 90% of U.S. population...

[2aguy]

This is a problem that we need to fix......our reliance on our electrical grid is too important to our survival.....what if North Korea did this for China? They could take out the U.S. and have no repurcussions...

Congress warned North Korean EMP attack would kill '90% of all Americans'

"With the development of small nuclear arsenals and long-range missiles by new, radical U.S. adversaries, beginning with North Korea, the threat of a nuclear EMP attack against the U.S. becomes one of the few ways that such a country could inflict devastating damage to the United States. It is critical, therefore, that the U.S. national leadership address the EMP threat as a critical and existential issue, and give a high priority to assuring the leadership is engaged and the necessary steps are taken to protect the country from EMP," the experts told a House Homeland Security subcommittee

How about this scenario.....China uses North Korea to strike the U.S., then uses conventional forces to invade California and the West Coast.....to colonize the now Stone Age United States...if they did this in December....the dying off would be massive...

 

[EverCurious]

... I'm not buying the 90% figure, there's more than 10% in rural America who'd manage - hell I suspect there's more than 10% who are peppers in this country.

That said, yes, we need to plan for an EMP as we're very vulnerable. EMPS come from more than foreign nations, they come from space as well - there's actually a major disaster via EMP pointed right at us from another galaxy... We need kill switches to head off the damage, we need to started stockpiling replacement transistors, etc. I don't believe there's any scientific protection against this, but maybe we can get enough of a heads up to shut things down before the major damage is done - an automated system or something(?) so maybe do some research on that as well.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

An EMP attack would be quickly repaired. The US would not be in the stone age. Much of our infrastructure is already shielded. Cars and devices would be inoperable until the failed chip was replaced. EMP does not go on forever.

To say that an EMP attack would kill 90% of all Americans is a really stupid thing to say. Any car, truck, vehicle, not containing any computer parts would be completely uneffected.

 

[Pop23]

... I'm not buying the 90% figure, there's more than 10% in rural America who'd manage - hell I suspect there's more than 10% who are peppers in this country.

That said, yes, we need to plan for an EMP as we're very vulnerable. EMPS come from more than foreign nations, they come from space as well - there's actually a major disaster via EMP pointed right at us from another galaxy... We need kill switches to head off the damage, we need to started stockpiling replacement transistors, etc. I don't believe there's any scientific protection against this, but maybe we can get enough of a heads up to shut things down before the major damage is done - an automated system or something(?) so maybe do some research on that as well.

Agreed, but even 1/3 that number would be horrible. And what would follow, the metro areas fanning out to find food and water?

 

[Darkwind]

You guys understand that an EMP is not a blast wave that hurts people, right? I just want to be clear on that.


However, it does make the case for each family having enough stockpiles to survive at least a year without having to have refrigeration. I'm pretty sure the US could get the population back on its feet by then, and critical military functions are well hardened against this. Its a good idea to have a means of power generation that doesn't depend upon a utility too.

 

[EverCurious]

Related - here's the same statement "9 out of 10 American's die" in the May 8 2014 hearing - https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-113hhrg89763/pdf/CHRG-113hhrg89763.pdf

(I suspect its the same arguments, facts, figures and all)

 

[EverCurious]

You guys understand that an EMP is not a blast wave that hurts people, right? I just want to be clear on that.


However, it does make the case for each family having enough stockpiles to survive at least a year without having to have refrigeration. I'm pretty sure the US could get the population back on its feet by then, and critical military functions are well hardened against this. Its a good idea to have a means of power generation that doesn't depend upon a utility too.

I agree, though there is a good argument to be made that we /couldn't/ repair those transistors and shit that are blown out, there just are not enough of them on hand by even the folks who make them.

However, we can indeed survive just fine without electricity - we did it for thousands of years obviously.

 

[Darkwind]

You guys understand that an EMP is not a blast wave that hurts people, right? I just want to be clear on that.


However, it does make the case for each family having enough stockpiles to survive at least a year without having to have refrigeration. I'm pretty sure the US could get the population back on its feet by then, and critical military functions are well hardened against this. Its a good idea to have a means of power generation that doesn't depend upon a utility too.

I agree, though there is a good argument to be made that we /couldn't/ repair those transistors and shit that are blown out, there just are not enough of them on hand by even the folks who make them.

However, we can indeed survive just fine without electricity - we did it for thousands of years obviously.

Yep, and I know that the feds have contingencies for this.

 

[EverCurious]

... I'm not buying the 90% figure, there's more than 10% in rural America who'd manage - hell I suspect there's more than 10% who are peppers in this country.

That said, yes, we need to plan for an EMP as we're very vulnerable. EMPS come from more than foreign nations, they come from space as well - there's actually a major disaster via EMP pointed right at us from another galaxy... We need kill switches to head off the damage, we need to started stockpiling replacement transistors, etc. I don't believe there's any scientific protection against this, but maybe we can get enough of a heads up to shut things down before the major damage is done - an automated system or something(?) so maybe do some research on that as well.

Agreed, but even 1/3 that number would be horrible. And what would follow, the metro areas fanning out to find food and water?

Yeah no doubt it could get bloody /real/ fast, especially given the rift between urban and rural folks these days :/ That's when shit goes survival of the fittest, I think we know who's winning that contest... Up here that just means a stronger food chain, down there... its more like more disease...

 

[2aguy]

You guys understand that an EMP is not a blast wave that hurts people, right? I just want to be clear on that.


However, it does make the case for each family having enough stockpiles to survive at least a year without having to have refrigeration. I'm pretty sure the US could get the population back on its feet by then, and critical military functions are well hardened against this. Its a good idea to have a means of power generation that doesn't depend upon a utility too.

I agree, though there is a good argument to be made that we /couldn't/ repair those transistors and shit that are blown out, there just are not enough of them on hand by even the folks who make them.

However, we can indeed survive just fine without electricity - we did it for thousands of years obviously.

Some would survive.....but the lack of food, and water, would kill millions....and if they timed it for December...no heat in the middle of winter for millions.....

 

[EverCurious]

You guys understand that an EMP is not a blast wave that hurts people, right? I just want to be clear on that.


However, it does make the case for each family having enough stockpiles to survive at least a year without having to have refrigeration. I'm pretty sure the US could get the population back on its feet by then, and critical military functions are well hardened against this. Its a good idea to have a means of power generation that doesn't depend upon a utility too.

I agree, though there is a good argument to be made that we /couldn't/ repair those transistors and shit that are blown out, there just are not enough of them on hand by even the folks who make them.

However, we can indeed survive just fine without electricity - we did it for thousands of years obviously.

Yep, and I know that the feds have contingencies for this.

Do you have a linky on hand? I've been wondering what they were going to do with it since it all came up, but kind of forgotten to research it again.

 

[CarlinAnnArbor]

Any car, truck, vehicle, not containing any computer parts would be completely uneffected.

Do you understand what you just said?

No, cars would not function. You would not be able to buy gas.

Yes, there would be MASSIVE die offs.

Then the invasions begin.

 

[CarlinAnnArbor]

However, we can indeed survive just fine without electricity - we did it for thousands of years obviously.

No. Because we are now DEPENDENT upon electricity.

Expect the soulless creatures in our cities to become worse than animals in search of food.

 

[Darkwind]

You guys understand that an EMP is not a blast wave that hurts people, right? I just want to be clear on that.


However, it does make the case for each family having enough stockpiles to survive at least a year without having to have refrigeration. I'm pretty sure the US could get the population back on its feet by then, and critical military functions are well hardened against this. Its a good idea to have a means of power generation that doesn't depend upon a utility too.

I agree, though there is a good argument to be made that we /couldn't/ repair those transistors and shit that are blown out, there just are not enough of them on hand by even the folks who make them.

However, we can indeed survive just fine without electricity - we did it for thousands of years obviously.

Some would survive.....but the lack of food, and water, would kill millions....and if they timed it for December...no heat in the middle of winter for millions.....

Wood still burns, but there are some wouldn't make it. Hell, they likely won't make it if we don't have an EMP strike. Darwin is always lurking.

 

[ABikerSailor]

You know, EMP is a good argument for buying a classic car that is mid 70's or before.

No computer chips are needed for the engine, and in the event of an EMP event, if you have enough warning time, all you have to do is disconnect the battery, wait for it to pass, and then reconnect the battery to the engine.

Anything that is run by computers? Well...............that Hellcat engine you were so proud of a couple of months ago because it's super fast, is now just a large paperweight.

And, another thing you can do to try to preserve your things is to shut off the main breaker to the house.

 

[hjmick]

This is a problem that we need to fix......our reliance on our electrical grid is too important to our survival.....what if North Korea did this for China? They could take out the U.S. and have no repurcussions...

Congress warned North Korean EMP attack would kill '90% of all Americans'

"With the development of small nuclear arsenals and long-range missiles by new, radical U.S. adversaries, beginning with North Korea, the threat of a nuclear EMP attack against the U.S. becomes one of the few ways that such a country could inflict devastating damage to the United States. It is critical, therefore, that the U.S. national leadership address the EMP threat as a critical and existential issue, and give a high priority to assuring the leadership is engaged and the necessary steps are taken to protect the country from EMP," the experts told a House Homeland Security subcommittee

How about this scenario.....China uses North Korea to strike the U.S., then uses conventional forces to invade California and the West Coast.....to colonize the now Stone Age United States...if they did this in December....the dying off would be massive...

They won't listen. Most people won't.


One Second After by William R. Forstchen should be mandatory reading...

 

[EverCurious]

You know, EMP is a good argument for buying a classic car that is mid 70's or before.

No computer chips are needed for the engine, and in the event of an EMP event, if you have enough warning time, all you have to do is disconnect the battery, wait for it to pass, and then reconnect the battery to the engine.

Anything that is run by computers? Well...............that Hellcat engine you were so proud of a couple of months ago because it's super fast, is now just a large paperweight.

And, another thing you can do to try to preserve your things is to shut off the main breaker to the house.

As I understand it you can bypass the computer system on many cars. (I'd have to ask my husband for details.)

 

[Darkwind]

You guys understand that an EMP is not a blast wave that hurts people, right? I just want to be clear on that.


However, it does make the case for each family having enough stockpiles to survive at least a year without having to have refrigeration. I'm pretty sure the US could get the population back on its feet by then, and critical military functions are well hardened against this. Its a good idea to have a means of power generation that doesn't depend upon a utility too.

I agree, though there is a good argument to be made that we /couldn't/ repair those transistors and shit that are blown out, there just are not enough of them on hand by even the folks who make them.

However, we can indeed survive just fine without electricity - we did it for thousands of years obviously.

Yep, and I know that the feds have contingencies for this.

Do you have a linky on hand? I've been wondering what they were going to do with it since it all came up, but kind of forgotten to research it again.

No, I didn't save any of that research. Simple sheilding for critical systems isn't that hard though. We were shelding against EMP back in the 1980's when I was in the Air Force.

Plus, anything vacuum tube supplied would still work.

An EMP fries solid state circuitry and will slag a led battery, but not too much else.

A little something here. I hate to use wikipedia, but it was short notice.

In 2013, the U.S. House of Representatives considered the "Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act" that would allow the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to order emergency measures to provide surge protection for some 300 large transformers around the country.[45] The bill was introduced and referred to committee, but proceeded no further.[46]

The problem of protecting civilian infrastructure from electromagnetic pulse has also been intensively studied throughout the European Union, and in particular by the United Kingdom.[47][48]

As of 2017, several power utility companies in the United States have been involved in a three-year research program on the impact of HEMP to the United States power grid lead by an industry non-profit organization, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).[49][50]

Nuclear electromagnetic pulse - Wikipedia

 

[ABikerSailor]

You know, EMP is a good argument for buying a classic car that is mid 70's or before.

No computer chips are needed for the engine, and in the event of an EMP event, if you have enough warning time, all you have to do is disconnect the battery, wait for it to pass, and then reconnect the battery to the engine.

Anything that is run by computers? Well...............that Hellcat engine you were so proud of a couple of months ago because it's super fast, is now just a large paperweight.

And, another thing you can do to try to preserve your things is to shut off the main breaker to the house.

As I understand it you can bypass the computer system on many cars. (I'd have to ask my husband for details.)

While you might be able to bypass SOME of the systems on the engine, you will never get rid of all of them, especially if you have fuel injection (like most cars do today). Matter of fact, was watching an episode on Velocity channel where the Gas Monkey garage was trying to put a Hellcat into a mid 60's car for racing. Well, they did it, but trying to bypass the systems that weren't hooked up was a nightmare for them, as well as trying to figure out what was and wasn't necessary.

Nope, if you want an engine that will run without computer help, you're gonna have to go back to the mid 70's or earlier.

 

[EverCurious]

You guys understand that an EMP is not a blast wave that hurts people, right? I just want to be clear on that.


However, it does make the case for each family having enough stockpiles to survive at least a year without having to have refrigeration. I'm pretty sure the US could get the population back on its feet by then, and critical military functions are well hardened against this. Its a good idea to have a means of power generation that doesn't depend upon a utility too.

I agree, though there is a good argument to be made that we /couldn't/ repair those transistors and shit that are blown out, there just are not enough of them on hand by even the folks who make them.

However, we can indeed survive just fine without electricity - we did it for thousands of years obviously.

Yep, and I know that the feds have contingencies for this.

Do you have a linky on hand? I've been wondering what they were going to do with it since it all came up, but kind of forgotten to research it again.

No, I didn't save any of that research. Simple sheilding for critical systems isn't that hard though. We were shelding against EMP back in the 1980's when I was in the Air Force.

Plus, anything vacuum tube supplied would still work.

An EMP fries solid state circuitry and will slag a led battery, but not too much else.

And blow out all the transistors on the grid - meaning all that shit's useless paperweights.

Who the hell uses vacuum tubes anymore? Audiophiles are the only ones I can even think of

Meh I'll see what I can dig up on gov plans tomorrow.