To: Fellow-denizens of planet Earth
Ladies & Gentlemen:
Evidently, we face the ultimate survival test for our civilization. Dr. Paul LaViolette has determined that indeed both our species' recent history and that of the crust of our planet, have been both gradual and catastrophic. However, the catastrophes are of first and most immediate concern, since they relate to periodic "superwaves" or volleys of cosmic rays from the Galactic Center itself. The Galactic Center is an incredibly superdense region only about as big as the sphere enclosing Jupiter's orbit: it is about 23,000 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius.
Superwaves appear normally to endure for up to hundreds or thousands of years, dating from the time of first arrival of superwave cosmic-ray showers in the Solar System, as shown by recent Russian ice-core samples from the midst of the Continent of Antarctica. As shown by LaViolette, they characteristically, result, in a chain reaction of violent events -- effects which in combination, it appears, can pose a serious hazard to human and most other crustal life on Earth.
Apparently, our civilization -- alike earlier ones -- could be destroyed by such an event, as matters stand, if we don't successfully defend ourselves. When? Evidently unknown. Tomorrow is possible. Or a hundred years from now. Or a thousand. We do seem to be somewhat overdue on an average scale.
It appears that cosmic-ray volleys travel at nearly light speed -- meaning we will have little or no warning, perhaps only minutes, of their imminent arrival. The volley or volleys with our civilization's name on it would already be well on its way from the Galactic Core. From the time a superwave hits, we should have about four months maximum warning before the first of a chain of irreversible worst effects strike -- an effect which inevitably will then precipitate all the others both singly and in combination.
Four months, as matters stand today, would not be nearly enough time to ward off a superwave's progressive, inexorable, devastation of our civilization and our environment (planetary surface):
We need to defend not only our planet, but logically the first line of defense is the Solar System itself. Because superwave-induced changes in the Sun will cause some of the worst damage to the human species unless we avert them by somehow shielding the Solar System. For example, due to drastic, superwave-caused, solar-flare activity increase, central electrical power all over the globe could immediately and permanently be cut off. Solar flares could increase by factors of many hundred times, covering the Sun, as cosmic dust invades the solar system and the Earth's atmosphere, initiating a permanent, everyday, day-long darkness along with great heat from dramatically increased infrared radiation. This heat will initiate great drying, conflagrations, sweeping the planet -- grass, trees, homes and forests will be burned -- while great ocean evaporation proceeds to return as torrential downpours then the snow and ice of a New Ice Age (this in fact seems to be the mechanism initiating Ice Ages -- they begin with, are precipitated by, cosmic dust brought in by Galactic Core superwave volleys). In the heating period preceding the Ice Age, mountain glaciers and the ice caps will undergo drastically increased melting rates, possibly initiating devastating floods.
Clearly drastic advances in the sciences of aeronautics and astronautics are not only desirable, but they are absolutely urgent and imperative.
Reference: Earth Under Fire, by P. A. LaViolette, 1997, 2005 (Bear & Co., Rochester, VT).
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