The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a federal agency that focuses on the condition of the oceans and atmosphere, said a severe solar storm could cause global disruptions in GPS systems, power grids, satellite communications, and airline communications.
According to a report by the National Research Council in 2008, a solar storm similar to the ones in the past could cause up to $2 trillion dollars in damage across the globe today.
The NOAA predicted four “extreme†solar emissions which could threaten the planet this decade. Similarly, NASA warned that a peak in the sun's magnetic energy cycle and the number of sun spots or flares around 2013 could enable extremely high radiation levels.
A report by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory said that over the standard 40-year license term of nuclear power plants, solar flare activity enables a 33 percent chance of long-term power loss, a risk that significantly outweighs that of major earthquakes and tsunamis.
Here are four out of the eleven paragraphs in the story, these paragraphs specifically state government or private agencies that did the studies that this article references. These paragraphs also list the findings of these studies. The studies were not named, however anyone with an IQ over 100 and access to the internet could easily find what studies they are referencing.
In the first paragraph itself there is this link:
http://hken.ibtimes.com/articles/195225/20110809/nasa-sun-unleashes-an-earth-directed-x6-9-class-solar-flare.htm This is another article on the website that goes into more depth of what exactly solar flares are etc. You will notice that in this article they site an NOAA satellite as the source of the data, and also site NASA as a source of their information. If this is not good enough for you, here is the NOAA website, have fun!
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
The second paragraph that I have quoted references a report by the National Research council from 2008. Once again they have provided the source, this time the year, and the findings of the report. The specific report took a quick google to find. It is here, if you would like to look at it.
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/archivos_pdf/severespace_weatherevents.pdf
The third paragraph I have quoted has more NASA and NOAA referenced material.
The fourth paragraph quoted references a report by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Another quick google led me to the document sited. This is a link to it.
http://www.ornl.gov/~webworks/cpr/v823/rpt/51089.pdf
I don't really understand why you felt the need to blast this article. However, given the fact that I easily found the research that they clearly reference, I feel that your criticism was unfounded.
