clipped from io9.com

A major solar storm could unleash a burst of geomagnetic fury on Earth's power grid. Recently a group of scientists released a report asking whether our high tech society could survive in bad space weather.

The report, published by the National Academies for the US Government, explains how previous solar storms of typical magnitude took out the Quebec power grid in Canada 20 years ago - and interrupted the telegraph system back in the nineteenth century.

What if a really big solar storm hit? The likely outcome would be global blackout. Not only would you be cut off from the warm, friendly internet, but airplanes would lose directional systems, water and energy grids would go offline, phone and hospitals would be without power.

The report explains that we are entering a period of greater solar activity, and that people working with electrical grids and other systems vulnerable to space weather could easily install shielding to protect against stray particles and geomagnetic bursts.