Mark Levin interviewed Peter Pry (on April 22, 2018) about the dangers of nuclear and solar Electromagnetic Pulses (EMPs). Peter Pry is the executive director of the “Task Force on National and Homeland Security” (EMP Task Force). According to their web page, the EMP Task Force is an official Congressional advisory board recognized by the Ethics Committee and is a 501c3 non-profit organization.
Synopsis of the Levin/Pry Interview:
EMP is an acronym for ElectroMagnetic Pulse. Dangerous EMPs can be caused by super-atmospheric nuclear bomb detonation (30-300 km altitude) or by strong solar storms. They are dangerous because they can destroy the electric grid and all electronic devices over wide areas. Because of our dependence on electronics and electricity, the EMP Task Force estimates that 90% of our population could die within one year of a nuclear EMP attack or very strong solar storm that brings down banking, food and water distribution, medical care, and communications systems.
Solar storm EMPs capable of destroying electronics on Earth happen every 100 to 150 years. The last most damaging solar EMP happened in 1859, caused auroras southward to the Caribbean, fried telegraph equipment at northern latitudes, and even damaged the first trans-Atlantic cable which had been finished in 1858. The most recent potentially-damaging solar storm happened in 2012 and luckily its EMP missed the Earth causing us no damage.
The US electric grid is dependent on an array of about 2,000 Extra-High voltage (EHV) transformers and associated controlling equipment and it is not protected from an EMP. It is divided into 3 parts: an eastern grid, a western grid, and the Texas grid. Although the electric grid is part of our critical infrastructure, it is privately owned and the owners do not want to protect it against damaging EMP or invite any government regulation upon themselves. This recalcitrance and foreign policy objectives of former presidential administrations account for the reasons why the electric grid has not been protected. EMP task force estimates that it would cost $1-$2 billion to protect the grid.
In the event of a large EMP, the EHV transformers could melt down and become unusable. We have less than 1% of replacement EHV transformers on hand and we do not make them in the USA. We import them from South Korea and Germany. China and Russia make their own EHV transformers. They weigh hundreds of tons and are difficult to move. The world can only produce 200 of these transformers per year and there are 10,000 worldwide. If half of our EHV transformers were destroyed by an EMP, it would take 5 years to replace them given world-wide production capacity.
The Obama administration refused to address the issue of nuclear EMP because it went against foreign policy objectives related to global de-nuclearization and the Iran deal. To their credit, the Obama administration allowed a task force to endlessly study solar storm EMP although they did nothing to protect the electric grid or make us independent of other nations for our EHV supply. Any acknowledgement of the possibility of another country using a single nuclear weapon to destroy the USA went against Obama’s argument to other countries that they didn’t need a nuclear program because they would need hundreds of nukes to compete with the USA so they shouldn’t bother. Such acknowledgement would also force the conclusion that the Iran nuclear deal was a mortal threat to the USA because they would only need one nuke and delivery system to do an EMP attack.
How can our Electric grid be protected?
The electric grid can be protected in same way that the military protects its systems using Faraday cages, special surge protectors, and EM blocking devices.
How can we protect ourselves and our electronics from EMP?
Be prepared with an off-line generator, food, water, solar panels, and Faraday cages for electronics. In the event that you don’t have a proper Faraday cage, your electronics can be placed in insulation inside a metal garbage can with a lid to protect them from the surge.
Protecting Ourselves From Future Increases in EM Inundation
All this talk about Faraday cages and protection from an EMP and electromagnetism in general made me think of how cryptocurrencies and people might be protected from EMP and high-energy EM waves like those from the upcoming 5G network. As we become more and more inundated with EM waves, will people seek out Faraday cages or have them in their backyards or even sleep in them to escape the constant background hum? Faraday cages might be important to self-healthcare in the very near future. Already, people use Faraday cages on their cryptocurrency mining rigs to stop EM interference from rig to rig or with their home wifi. This is a good thing because they are protected from potentially damaging EMP.