America, You Must Not Look Away (How to Finish Off the NRA) ...a letter from Michael Moore

[spin]

262. A catastrophe of Biblical proportions is possible. ...

For example:

150 Years Ago: The Worst Solar Storm Ever
by Robert Roy Britt, Editorial DirectorDate: 02 September 2009 Time: 09:40 AM ET

On Sept. 2, 1859, an incredible storm of charged particles sent by the sun slammed into Earth's atmosphere, overpowered it, and caused havoc on the ground. Telegraph wires, the high-tech stuff of the time, suddenly shorted out in the United States and Europe, igniting widespread fires. Colorful aurora, normally visible only in polar regions, were seen as far south as Cuba and Hawaii.

***snip***

The solar storm of 1859 was three times more powerful than one that cut power to an entire Canadian province in 1989. Experts say if it happened today – and it could – the result might be unthinkable.

If a storm that severe occurred today, it could cause up to $2 trillion in initial damages by crippling communications on Earth and fueling chaos among residents and even governments in a scenario that would require four to 10 years for recovery, according to a report earlier this year by the National Academy of Sciences. For comparison, hurricane Katrina inflicted somewhere between $80 billion and $125 billion in damage....emphasis added

***snip***

The sun operates on an 11-year cycle of activity. The next peak is expected in 2013. Forecasters recently revised their prediction for just how powerful that peak might be, downgrading it to mild. But the sun is unpredictable, and even during a mild period of activity – such as right now – major flares can kick up colossal storms.
http://www.space.com/7224-150-years-worst-solar-storm.html

How a supervolcano can threaten Earth
By Amanda Sealy, CNN
updated 10:27 AM EDT, Thu August 30, 2012

***snip***

Geophysicist Bob Smith first called Yellowstone a "living breathing caldera" in 1979. He now heads the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory at the University of Utah.

***snip***

With all of this heat just sitting, waiting beneath Yellowstone, what exactly would it look like if it were all to blow? Smith and other scientists all have scenarios and every one is bleak.

In Smith's book, "Windows into the Earth," he says, "Devastation would be complete and incomprehensible." Before the super eruption, large earthquakes would likely swarm the surrounding areas until the huge blast that would erase Yellowstone completely off the map.

After the initial eruption, clouds of gas and rock would burn everything in its path with temperatures reaching to hundreds of degrees Celsius. Ashfall would cover the western United States and also enter the jet stream with the potential to cripple air transportation and threaten the world's food supply.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/30/us/wus-supervolcanoes-yellowstone

But while I do realize that really bad things can happen to our world, I and most other gun owners are not "Doomsday Preppers."

I do usually have a two week supply of nonperishable food in my home, battery powered lights and radios and extra batteries and other supplies such as an emergency medical kit. That's not for an "End of the World as we know it" scenario but merely because I live in Florida and have experience with tropical storms and hurricanes. I personally have no desire to rush to the grocery store at the last minute to stock up on emergency items and find the shelves bare.

Of course I also have firearms and some ammo. I have firearms because I enjoy target shooting. My small supply of ammo is due to the fact that all this crap about gun bans makes it hard to find ammo when I want to go shooting.

If the sun decides to suddenly fry the earth or Yellowstone blows up we all we be in deep shit. I don't lay awake at night worrying about it and I do not want to spend all the money that I have for retirement to prepare for such an event. Chances are such an event will not occur in my lifetime and if it does, I doubt any preparations I had made even if I did spend all my funds would be sufficient.