2012 : is the world ending? and what happens after that?

[James1057]

geeeeez...thats like...too soon! lol I;m a bit funny to stuff like this though like people have said earlier they predicted this would happen for the millenium. But i dont understand all the science part because im dumb butit is still scary. I just hope it happens quick.

 

[ninanina19]

Interesting Information...
I really enjoy reading things like this....
I went to wikipedia and I always get lost on that site because I will type in one thing....the page will show information and then I will keep clicking on another "blue" word....and I keep going further and further down the "rabbit hole".....
I it!!!!!

LOL, I do that too almost everytime I'm on there.

 

[lollicandy]

I don't know Sylvia Browne said we've got 95 more years today on Montel. I just don't know who to believe anymore!

 

[wrngco]

makes me think:

why go to school
why take care of bills
why take care of your credit

not true at all puh-leeze
I'll buy all of Barney's and a Rolls


OH WHY DIET EITHER

 

[Ferdinanda]

^^^ I wanna look fabulous when I die. And if the world ends when I'm still young...oh gee. XXp

 

[xPedro]

I can't wait for this day, I can't stand living anymore!!!

 

[Ferdinanda]

f*ck that, i'll strip that hot guy in my PE class and molest him.

You're on to something Heather....

 

[silk skin paws]

I don't want to think about this I firmly believe that sooner or later mankind will self-destruct. I don't believe in any divine entity it's the inner working of us all. I don't want to turn this into a political discussion but a few weeks ago I read that natural disasters were on the rise. This includes floods, storms, droughts, wild fires, earthquakes and landslides.

Unfortunately many lives are lost or ruined and many more to come. And for the most part the people affected the most by these disasters aren't the wealthy people or rich countries. If storms, droughts, and wildfires and other natural disasters hit the big whigs often or severe more would done to help curb this problem which is most likely tied to environmental disruption by humans.

Predicting the end date would only bring panic I'm not convinced that people want to change their ways. They'll place the blame on others instead of taking a good look at the reflection in the mirror. This will cause more havoc and frictions.

On topic of natural disasters the Indonesian earthquake of 2004 changed the shape of the planet and speed up the rotation. It's not unusual but the difference is noticeable.

The full episode of History Channel's Mayan Doomsday Prophecy is on youtube. I can't embed. I'm watching right now.

 

[lollicandy]

^About the natural disasters thing. A lot of the damage/casualties incurred when natural disasters happen is due to the # of people; globally there's more humans than ever. And we're building and living in areas that we really shouldn't (for example in California where wildfires would rage before rampant urban planning/building) etc. Personally, I think we should take a step back and think what are we doing wrong (not morally/religiously lol) but as in where we build/how we live.

As for the frequency of things like earthquakes, sometimes these things increase in cycles and that includes the temperature of the earth, warming up or cooling down. I'm not saying pollution and global warming doesn't exist but its not unheard of. Imagine what those people in SE Asia thought when Krakatoa happened!! They were feeling effects of that in Europe and that was way back in what around 18th c.? Earlier?

 

[silk skin paws]

It's true as society increases more and more people are living in disaster prone areas. It could be the rise of sea level or climate change (human interferences or natural progression). The fast pace of climate change and natural disasters since recent years is alarming and people affected by natural disasters is up three times since 1990 and storms are more severe. Change happens but for whatever reason this change is quicker. I'm not sure if there's a graph of storms and other natural disasters in 18th or so centuries there should be. I'll have to do some more research.

 

[Zen]

^ Umm, you guys are aware this whole end of the world by 2012 is all based off
of the old Mayan folklore stories?

 

[silk skin paws]

The age old world is ending debate is quite interesting. Now there's some scientific evidence that something major or problematic may happen in the next few years.

 

[Mchunu]

2012: Is the world ending, and what happens after that?

This is a very serious matter that could effect all humanity and should be taken very seriously. This devastation is predicted to be even worse than hurricane Katrina!

A new study from the National Academy of Sciences outlines grim possibilities on Earth for a worst-case scenario solar storm.
Damage to power grids and other communications systems could be catastrophic, the scientists conclude, with effects leading to a potential loss of governmental control of the situation.
The prediction is based in part on a major solar storm in 1859 that caused telegraph wires to short out in the United States and Europe, igniting widespread fires.
It was perhaps the worst in the past 200 years, according to the new study, and with the advent of modern power grids and satellites, much more is at risk.
"A contemporary repetition of the [1859] event would cause significantly more extensive (and possibly catastrophic) social and economic disruptions," the researchers conclude.

When the sun is in the active phase of its 11-year cycle, it can unleash powerful magnetic storms that disable satellites, threaten astronaut safety, and even disrupt communication systems on Earth.
The worst storms can knock out power grids by inducing currents that melt transformers.
Modern power grids are so interconnected that a big space storm — the type expected to occur about once a century — could cause a cascade of failures that would sweep across the United States, cutting power to 130 million people or more in this country alone, the new report concludes.
Such widespread power outages, though expected to be a rare possibility, would affect other vital systems.
"Impacts would be felt on interdependent infrastructures with, for example, potable water distribution affected within several hours; perishable foods and medications lost in 12-24 hours; immediate or eventual loss of heating/air conditioning, sewage disposal, phone service, transportation, fuel resupply and so on," the report states.
Outages could take months to fix, the researchers say. Banks might close, and trade with other countries might halt.
"Emergency services would be strained, and command and control might be lost," write the researchers, led by Daniel Baker, director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
"Whether it is terrestrial catastrophes or extreme space weather incidents, the results can be devastating to modern societies that depend in a myriad of ways on advanced technological systems," Baker said in a statement released with the report.
Stormy past
Solar storms have had significant effects in modern time:
— In 1989, the sun unleashed a tempest that knocked out power to all of Quebec, Canada.
— A remarkable 2003 rampage included 10 major solar flares over a two-week period, knocking out two Earth-orbiting satellites and crippling an instrument aboard a Mars orbiter.
"Obviously, the sun is Earth's life blood," said Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics division at NASA. "To mitigate possible public safety issues, it is vital that we better understand extreme space weather events caused by the sun's activity."
"Space weather can produce solar storm electromagnetic fields that induce extreme currents in wires, disrupting power lines, causing wide-spread blackouts and affecting communication cables that support the Internet," the report states. "Severe space weather also produces solar energetic particles and the dislocation of the Earth's radiation belts, which can damage satellites used for commercial communications, global positioning and weather forecasting."
Rush to prepare
The race is on for better forecasting abilities, as the next peak in solar activity is expected to come around 2012.
While the sun is in a lull now, activity can flare up at any moment, and severe space weather — how severe, nobody knows — will ramp up a year or two before the peak.
Some scientists expect the next peak to bring more severe events than other recent peaks.
"A catastrophic failure of commercial and government infrastructure in space and on the ground can be mitigated through raising public awareness, improving vulnerable infrastructure and developing advanced forecasting capabilities," the report states. "Without preventive actions or plans, the trend of increased dependency on modern space-weather sensitive assets could make society more vulnerable in the future."
The report was commissioned and funded by NASA. Experts from around the world in industry, government and academia participated. It was released this week.
Copyright © 2009 Imaginova Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,478024,00.html

'Catastrophic' sun storm possible, NASA warns


13:00 AEST Sat Jan 10 2009
2 days 3 hours 42 minutes ago


By ninemsn staff
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A NASA image of a solar storm in 2002.
Related links:
PHOTOS: Solar eruptions



A once-in-a-century solar storm would threaten catastrophic destruction if a worst-case scenario event transpired, a new NASA report has found.
Governments would be powerless to curb the loss of crucial infrastructure including power grids, potable water and sewage disposal, the report said, potentially crippling our way of life for months.
The forecast is based in part on a similarly sized solar storm that took place in 1859, which melted telegraph wires and ignited widespread fires in Europe and the United States, Fox News reports.
If a repeat event happened now, scientists warn the consequences would be far more serious — even "potentially catastrophic" — because modern technologies have made our infrastructure more inter-reliant.
The danger lies in the sun emitting solar flares so intense that they produce magnetic pulses with the force to destroy power grids by melting transformers.
The power outages could spur a series of devastating consequences:
"Impacts would be felt on interdependent infrastructures with, for example, potable water distribution affected within several hours; perishable foods and medications lost in 12-24 hours; immediate or eventual loss of heating/air conditioning, sewage disposal, phone service, transportation, fuel resupply and so on," the report writes.
"Emergency services would be strained, and command and control might be lost."
The sun operates on an 11-year cycle, with the next "active" phase due in 2012 likely to present the nearest danger.
Though worst-case storms are only expected to occur once every hundred years, smaller solar flares have caused major disruptions in modern times.
In 1989, a sun storm was so powerful it blacked out the whole province of Quebec in Canada — an area almost the size of Queensland.
Another event in 2003 knocked out two satellites circling the Earth and destroyed a piece of equipment on a Mars orbiter.
"Obviously, the sun is Earth's life blood," NASA spokesman Richard Fisher was quoted as saying.
"To mitigate possible public safety issues, it is vital that we better understand extreme space weather events caused by the sun's activity."

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/717066/catastrophic-sun-storm-possible-nasa-warns

 

[Mchunu]

Is a 'Katrina-Like' Space Storm Brewing?


Scientists Worry We Aren't Prepared for Event That Could Zap Government, Cost Trillions


By DAVID KERLEY
Jan. 9, 2009

U.S. scientists worry we aren't ready for a solar space storm that could knock out our electricity, our cell phones, even our water supply.

In this file photo, the sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft has imaged many erupting filaments lifting off...
In this file photo, the sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft has imaged many erupting filaments lifting off the active solar surface and blasting enormous bubbles of magnetic plasma into space. U.S. scientists worry we aren't ready for a solar space storm which could knock out our electricity, cell phones, even our water supply.
(Courtesy NASA/JPL )

The chances of that happening are small, but it is a possibility as we move into an active period of solar storms.
How do they know? Well, it's happened before. Back in 1859, a solar eruption resulted in telegraph wires burning up.
Of course, the world is now covered in wires and wireless devices that could be vulnerable.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) gathered experts from around the country to look at the economic and social costs from these space storms. While they didn't make any recommendations, the scientists hope their report is a wake-up call.
"We're not trying to be alarmist," said Dan Baker, who is the lead author of the report, "but we are trying to show how our systems are interconnected."

The sun is on a fairly regular schedule. Every 11 years, solar activity flares up. The next "maximum" active period is expected in 2012.
During those active times, the sun spits billions of tons of matter toward Earth that can cause electromagnetic storms that interfere with just about all of our electronic systems.
How bad would the "Katrina Space Storm" be for us earthlings? Well, the NAS report suggests the storm could cascade through our modern world.

First, the electric grid would be vulnerable, and could be shut down. It's the first big domino that, the report says, could lead to "disruption of the transportation, communication, banking, and finance systems, and government services; the breakdown of the distribution of potable water owing to pump failure; and the loss of perishable foods and medications because of lack of refrigeration."
Not a pretty picture. The scientists say if even one region or country is affected, the problems could spread to the rest of the world.
If you thought Katrina was expensive, this space storm would dwarf it. The report estimates "$1 trillion to $2 trillion during the first year alone ... for the societal and economic costs of a 'severe geomagnetic storm scenario' with recovery times of four to 10 years."

Might Have to Go Analog

Satellites and GPS systems could be knocked out.
As ABC's Clayton Sandell has written for this site before: "Solar storms could make GPS receivers unable to lock onto a satellite signal, rendering them useless. The effect could last for minutes or more than a day. You may be reduced to -- gasp -- stopping to ask for directions."

"The civilian use of GPS has really taken off only in the last few years, so we really do expect to see a much wider impact in this upcoming cycle," said Douglas Biesecker, a solar physicist at the Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado, run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Sales of so-called personal navigation devices -- those manufactured by companies like Magellan and Garmin, for example -- have skyrocketed in recent years. In 2004, worldwide sales of GPS units were about 2 million. By 2007, that number had jumped to about 27 million, according to technology analysts at ABI Research.

A failure of the GPS system could have serious ramifications for flying. The Federal Aviation Administration is trying to move to an air traffic control system based on GPS.
But the country is not making a lot of plans for the next big solar storm.
"Our society isn't geared toward dealing with these kinds of possibilities," said Baker, referring to the fact that a huge solar storm is a rare occurrence. "We are more concerned with short-term possibilities."
Solar weather isn't like the weather here on Earth. Meteorologists can track a storm for days and give residents plenty of warning of what is coming. That's not the case with space weather.
"We can't predict [a coming space storm] with any great lead time of accuracy," Baker said.
What he and his colleagues can predict is that we are not ready for "the big one" when it comes to solar storms.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/JustOneThing/story?id=6615005&page=1

 

[kriszti.md]

i hope this is just a fake alarm like the one about asteroid 2003 QQ47, or the Y2K bug. i really hope.

 

[Fabulyss]

Blah, blah blah blah blah...every generation goes through this social hysteria where they believe they'll be the last. This is a manifestation of that fear.

 

[seanutbutter]

The key words in these articles are "worst case." The media is always out to scare the public, this being no exception. NASA researched what could happen in the deadliest situation possible, and the news, as usual, has interpreted this as what is absolutely going to occur. Read this article from Universe Today and you'll feel much better, I promise.

 

[Belowen]

2012 has always been the year rumoured to be the "changing of consciousness" as far as human life goes... Interesting that this might happen in that year.

 

[kriszti.md]

thanks for the article seanutbutter.
yep, so weird... somehow a lots of doomsday theories put it to the year of 2012, even more 2012 december...:/

 

[CharlottefromCA]

The Mayan Calendar predicts 2012 i think, but i agree, every generation has this doomsday prediction =/