Jim Winkler, minister of the church, was the first to take the podium at the July 2 noontime press conference in sweltering 95-degree heat, just days after millions in the area had lost electric power during a brutal storm.

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By unleashing a massive pulse of electromagnetic radiation sweeping over the planet, a severe solar storm could potentially knock out the electric power grid, silence radio and satellite communications and disrupt GPS navigation systems.

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When a major storm or natural disaster is expected, electric utilities begin their standard preparations to organize crews, trucks, and equipment.

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Now there is growing concern that a really big storm might collapse much of the global electric grid, particularly in places with long high-voltage transmission lines such as Australia, Canada, China and the United States.

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My husband and I wasted gas driving around after the storm, trying to find a place with an open electric socket where I could plug in my dead laptop to finish a deadline project.

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