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posted by chromas on Friday March 29 2019, @11:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the or,-you-know,-Carrington-events dept.

In what could potentially be one of the most, or least, significant actions of his term in office, President Trump Tuesday signed an Executive Order requiring federal agencies to strengthen critical infrastructure against ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP) attacks.

EMPs occur for a variety of natural and man-made reasons including, most notably, Nuclear Explosions and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), either of which could potentially take out entire sections of the country's electrical grid and other infrastructure and capabilities, requiring require years or decades to recover from.

Members and supporters of the decommissioned US Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse have long warned of the possibility of an EMP attack, with some individuals, such as Peter Pry, who previously led the congressional EMP commission, asserting that an EMP attack on America could kill off 90% of the US population.

This is because a man-made EMP has the advantage of being highly asymmetrical. A small country able to pull one off would cause potentially massive disruption to a large tech dependent country such as the United States.

Past EMP related coverage here, here and here


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 30 2019, @04:38AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 30 2019, @04:38AM (#822230)

    I know some people here who reload their cartridges and shotgun shells due to cost. Is that common at all in the US?

  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday March 30 2019, @11:33AM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday March 30 2019, @11:33AM (#822294) Journal
    Cost is relative. I'm sure it's common in the US as well.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 30 2019, @01:07PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 30 2019, @01:07PM (#822323)

    It's not uncommon. A lot more people have been in recent years due to rising costs of ammo, but it's still relatively cheap to buy unless you're shooting for fun every day.