Would a nuclear meltdown of all 6 reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex in Japan mean the end of the world as we know it?  Of course not.  But it would be a complete and total nightmare.  Back in 1986, the Chernobyl meltdown spread nuclear radiation all over the northern hemisphere.  According to some estimates, over a million deaths can be attributed to that disaster.  Unfortunately, now we are facing a situation that could develop into the equivalent of "many Chernobyls".  Radiation levels are rising all over northern Japan and millions of Japanese are trying to figure out what to do.

Should those living in Tokyo stay where they are or should they go?  Many Japanese are already voting with their feet.  Right now there is a mass exodus of people out of the city of Tokyo.  But if everyone in region wanted to flee, where would they all go?  The truth is that there are over 30 million people in and around Tokyo.  There is no way that they can all go some place else.

If something is not done quickly, this is going to turn into an unprecedented nightmare.  Unfortunately, the authorities that are handling this in Japan don't seem to have any answers.  One anonymous senior nuclear industry executive told The Times Of India that Japanese power industry managers are "basically in a full-scale panic" and that "they don't know what to do".

The biggest problem at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex right now is the spent fuel rods.  The spent fuel rods remain extremely hot and extremely radioactive for years after they are done being used in a nuclear reactor.  In order to keep them cool, they are kept in huge pools of water.  In the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex, someone decided that it would be a good idea to locate these spent fuel rod pools near the top of the buildings where the nuclear reactors are housed.

Posted below is a video which explains all this in great detail.  Rachel Maddow is perhaps the most liberal news anchor in all of television, and a lot of what she says is complete and utter nonsense, but in this instance she does a really good job of breaking down exactly what spent fuel rods are and why they are a bigger threat right now than the nuclear reactors are....

If these spent fuel rods are not submerged in water they will degrade very, very rapidly and if hundreds of them are allowed to degrade that would be a complete nightmare.

A recent article by Paul Joseph Watson noted that there are approximately 600,000 spent fuel rods being stored at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex....

The Fukushima Daiichi plant has seven pools dedicated to spent fuel rods. These are located at the top of six reactor buildings – or were until explosions and fires ravaged the plant. On the ground level there is a common pool in a separate building that was critically damaged by the tsunami. Each reactor building pool holds 3,450 fuel rod assemblies and the common pool holds 6,291 fuel rod assemblies. Each assembly holds sixty-three fuel rods. In short, the Fukushima Daiichi plant contains over 600,000 spent fuel rods – a massive amount of radiation that will soon be released into the atmosphere.

Each of these 600,000 spent fuel rods is a potential "dirty bomb".

Are you concerned yet?

What is even more frightening for those of us that live in the United States is that the jet stream takes air from over Japan and transports it directly to the west coast of the United States.

The following YouTube video demonstrates this very clearly....

Everyone agrees that radiation from the nuclear disaster in Japan will reach the United States.

The debate is over whether or not it will be enough to be harmful to human health.

Hopefully we will not be facing high levels of radiation in the United States, but it is always good to be prepared.

So what should one do if the worst happens?

Well, I would recommend checking out an article entitled "How To Survive Nuclear Armageddon" by Tom Horn.  It contains a wealth of information on how to deal with nuclear fallout.

Right about now there are lots of people in Japan that wish they had that type of information.

If the worst case scenario plays out and all 6 of the nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex melt down it will not be the end of the world, but it would be an unprecedented disaster.

Let us hope and pray that such a thing does not happen.  But right now the nuclear crisis in Japan is getting worse by the day.

So what do you all think about the unfolding nuclear nightmare in Japan?  Please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below....

Some are calling it the "Aflockalypse".  Others are calling it the end of the world as we know it.  All over the globe, thousands of dead birds are dropping out of the sky and millions of dead fish are washing ashore.  So just what in the world is going on?

Well, the truth is that nobody knows for sure why large numbers of fish and large numbers of birds are dying all over the planet.  There are some that believe that this is happening because we are getting closer to the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012.  There are others that believe that HAARP or other secret government programs were involved.  Still others are convinced that all of this is happening because the earth is experiencing a pole shift.  Yet other explanations involve UFOs, the BP oil spill or even the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Of course most scientists are attempting to come up with more "rational sounding" explanations for this phenomenon.  Some are blaming extremely cold weather for all of these deaths.  Others claim that loud noises or other trauma could have caused these events.  There are other scientists that have even suggested that birds are falling dead out of the sky due to "indigestion".

So do any of these explanations really hold up to scrutiny?  The truth is that none of them seems satisfactory at this point.

Some in the mainstream media are trying to dismiss the whole story by claiming that mass bird deaths and mass fish deaths "occur regularly", so there is really nothing to be concerned about.

Really?

Is anyone actually going to buy that?

Just consider what we have seen over the past couple of weeks....

*According to officials in Maryland, two million fish have washed up dead on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.

*More than 3,000 red-wing blackbirds fell out of the sky dead in the Arkansas town of Beebe on New Year's Eve.

*Approximately 40,000 dead crabs recently washed ashore near Kent, England.

*Large numbers of dead birds were also found in Kentucky right around Christmas.

*Hundreds of snapper fish have been discovered dead along the shores of New Zealand.

*Approximately 500 dead blackbirds and starlings were recently found in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana.

*Approximately 100,000 fish washed up dead on the shores of the Arkansas River recently.

*More than 150 tons of fish known as "red tilapias" have washed up dead along the shores of Vietnam.

*Dozens of dead birds have been now been found near the town of Sullivan, Missouri.

*Thousands of gizzard shad have washed up along the waterfront in Chicago, Illinois in recent days.

*More than 100 dead birds have just been found near Geyserville, California.

*Approximately 200 American coots were recently discovered dead on a highway in Big Cypress Creek, Texas.

*Thousands of turtle doves recently fell out of the sky dead onto roofs and cars in a little Italian town called Faenza.

*Dozens of dead birds were recently discovered in the town of Constanta, a small village located 160 miles east of Bucharest, Romania.

*Somewhere around 100 tons of dead fish, primarily sardines, were found on the beaches of Paranagua, Brazil a few days ago.

Are we actually supposed to believe that all of this is perfectly "normal"?

No, something is going on here.

But nobody seems to have an adequate explanation.

One thing is for certain - 2011 sure is off to a very weird start.

So do you think that you know why all of these fish and birds are dying?  If so, please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below....

Is the earth breaking up?  In 2010, volcanoes all over the world are erupting at an alarming pace.  Combined with the dramatic increase in large earthquakes that we are seeing, all of this is more than a little unsettling.  Is this just an anomaly or are we entering a time of increased seismic activity?  Are volcanoes along the "Ring of Fire" and elsewhere in the world going to erupt even more frequently as we get closer to 2012?  Nobody knows for sure, but it certainly seems like something strange is going on.  So far, most of the volcanic eruptions have been in areas that are not densely populated, but as many civilizations throughout history have learned, a significant volcanic eruption can wipe out an entire city in a single day.  In fact, there are quite a few dormant "super volcanoes" throughout the world that could literally bring about the end of the world as we know it.  Hopefully we won't have to deal with any of these "super volcanoes" for a while, but if dozens of smaller volcanoes keep erupting around the globe we are soon going to have some very serious problems on our hands.

The earth really does seem to be breaking up in 2010.  Just consider the following list of some of the major volcanic eruptions around the globe that we have seen this year....

*Indonesia's infamous Anak Krakatau volcano has come to life and is spewing ash and flaming rocks.

*Mount Merapi in Indonesia has erupted for a third time, and locals are reporting that this most recent eruption was the loudest and the strongest one yet.

*Right now there are 22 volcanoes in Indonesia that are showing increased signs of volcanic activity.

*Two major volcanoes on Russia's Siberian Kamchatka peninsula both erupted on October 28th.  The volcanoes produced ash plumes that reached heights of up to 33,000 feet, and ash clouds traveled as far as Alaska.

*A spokesperson at the Icelandic Civil Protection Department said on Monday that water now pouring from Iceland's biggest glacier could signal that a volcano underneath is about to erupt.

*Earlier this year, an eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano caused cancellations of thousands of flights in Europe because of the giant ash cloud that it produced.

*The Popocatépetl Volcano in Mexico  has been continually erupting since January 2005.

*The Philippine government insists that it is prepared for a possible eruption of the Taal volcano as it begins to show signs of life.

*Costa Rica's Arenal volcano erupted in May, spewing geysers of lava, ash and toxic gases from its crater and forcing the evacuation of the national park where it is located.

*Guatemala's Pacaya volcano, which is located 50 kilometres south of Guatemala City, surprised many when it began erupting several months ago.

*A volcano in Ecuador known as Tungurahua (The "Throat of Fire") came to life earlier this year, exploding continuously throughout one crazy night.

So is all this related to the 2012 phenomenon?

Is this evidence that we are in the end times?

Could it be that human activity is causing these eruptions somehow?

Or is all of this just an anomaly that we really shouldn't be concerned about?

Please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion....

This summer will be talked about for a long, long time.  All over the globe, millions upon millions of people are wondering what in the world is causing all of the crazy weather in 2010.  The truth is that there is always unusual weather around the globe, but this summer it has seemed like the end of the world as we know it in many areas.  The greatest heatwave in recorded history has sparked massive wildfires all across Russia.  Monumental rainfalls have caused horrific flooding in Pakistan and China.  In many other areas, a very serious lack of rain is playing havoc with crops.  So is all of this just an anomaly or the start of a new trend?  Nobody really seems to know.

What does seem certain is that the people of Russia will remember this summer for the rest of their lives.  As you read this, tens of thousands of people are pouring out of the city of Moscow in an attempt to escape the worst heat "in 1000 years".

This terrible heatwave has sparked an unprecedented number of wildfires all over Russia.  In fact, the Russian army has actually been called in to battle the wildfires which are threatening literally dozens of towns and villages.

So just how much damage is being done by these wildfires?

Well, it is being reported that Russia’s record heat wave may have already taken 15,000 lives and cost the Russian economy $15 billion.

In fact, the heat wave has had such an impact on wheat crops that the Russian government has banned all grain exports for the rest of this year.

And that is really bad news considering the fact that Russia is one of the biggest grain exporters in the world.

But Russia is not the only nation that is experiencing really weird weather.

Hundreds of all-time temperature records are being set across the United States, Europe and Japan.

In other areas of the world, too much rain is the big problem.

For example, the U.K. has just experienced their wettest July ever.

Flooding is a big problem in other parts of Europe as well.  Rivers are overflowing and thousands are being evacuated across Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic.

However, the flooding in Europe pales in comparison to the truly historic flooding that is going on in Asia right now.

Rescuers were recently spotted piling muddy bodies into trucks in China where more than 1,100 people have died from landslides caused by unprecedented flooding.

But nothing tops what is going on in Pakistan at the moment.

Approximately 1,600 people have been killed and 2 million more have been left homeless by flooding that is so bad that it is almost impossible to put it into words.

The United Nations has already rated the flooding in Pakistan as the greatest humanitarian crisis in recent history.  More people have been affected by the Pakistan flooding than the Southeast Asian tsunami of a few years ago and the recent earthquakes in Kashmir and Haiti combined.

That is what you call a major disaster.

It seems like very few areas of the world have avoided weather problems this summer.

Unfortunately, bad weather means that world food supplies are being seriously affected....

*An 80 year old farmer in the state of Maryland says that this is the worst drought that he has ever seen.

*World wheat stockpiles are projected to fall to a two-year low as demand rises and production falls.  As noted above, the Russian government has already banned all grain exports for the rest of this year.

*Europe's second biggest grain producer, Germany, says that its harvest will fall 12% or more in 2010.

So how will all of this impact you?  Well, expect to start paying more at the supermarket.  Food prices around the world are already beginning to rise substantially.

Ouch.

So what is causing all of this crazy weather?

Well, it has been reported that meteorologists monitoring the atmosphere above the northern hemisphere believe that unusual holding patterns in the jet stream are to blame for both the extreme heat in Russia and the floods in Pakistan.

However, Swiss and German scientists say that the crazy weather is happening because the sun is burning hotter than usual.

In any event, there are only a few weeks left in the summer of 2010, so hopefully things will get back to normal soon.

Although considering how unusual last winter was, perhaps we should start preparing now for the winter of 2010/2011.

What in the world is up with all the earthquakes that we have been seeing lately?  Earthquakes are up dramatically in 2010 and there are no signs that the rate of large earthquakes is slowing down.  So is this increase in earthquakes significant?  Of course many of you already know that Jesus warned us in Matthew 24:7 that earthquakes would be one of the signs of the end times: "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places."  In addition, many who have studied the 2012 phenomenon are warning that we will be seeing increased geological instability as we approach that date.  So should we be bracing for the end of the world as we know it?  Well, not yet, but certainly the dramatic increase in earthquakes in 2010 has got to be a real concern for all of us.

The reality is that it seems like there is a major earthquake somewhere in the world almost every single day now....

*According to a preliminary report by the U.S. Geological Survey, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake shook British Columbia, Canada on Monday.

*A strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, around 30 minutes after a similar quake shook the same area.

*A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Northeast Taiwan’s Ilan County on Sunday.

*The U.S. Geological Survey says that a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Alaska at 9:56 p.m. Saturday and was centered in the Bering Sea about 930 miles west of Anchorage.

*The largest earthquake ever recorded near the capital rattled Washington, D.C. early last Friday.

*It was reported that a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit near the coast of central Chile last Wednesday.

Are you starting to get the picture?

Magnitude 6 earthquakes are happening so frequently now that they don't even really make headlines anymore.

The truth is that 2010 has been a really extraordinary year for earthquakes.

The massive quakes that caused so much damage in Haiti and Chile have captured most of the headlines this year, but those quakes are far from alone.  In fact, it was recently reported that earthquakes are up 151 percent in 2010.

That is a very substantial increase.  Earthquakes have been popping all over the "ring of fire", but they have also been occurring in some very unusual and diverse places around the world as well....

-A massive 7.5-magnitude earthquake recently struck under the Indian Ocean near India's Nicobar and Andaman Islands.

-At least 400 people died and thousands were injured by a huge magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit western China's Qinghai province earlier this year.

-Thousands of unsettling "ice quakes" have been detected on Washington's Mount Rainier in 2010.

-A tsunami warning was issued for Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the area earlier this year.

-In just one week alone, there were over 2000 earthquakes in the region around California.

-There was one point when more than 100 earthquakes rattled the California-Mexico border region in just a few hours.

So could the "big one" strike the United States soon?

That is a legitimate question.

The truth is that scientists have been expecting the "big one" to hit California for a long time.  In fact, they say that California is actually overdue.

Other scientists are warning that we could soon see an absolutely massive earthquake along the New Madrid fault line in the center of the United States.

For much more on the threat that earthquakes pose to the U.S., please read the following articles that we published previously....

*Could The Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill Cause A Massive Earthquake Along The New Madrid Fault Line?

*Will California Be The Next One To Be Hit With A Killer Quake?

Many skeptics are dismissing all of these earthquakes as a "coincidence" and are insisting that things will get back to "normal" very soon.

But will they?

Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion....

What in the world is causing all of these sinkholes in 2010?  While there have always been sinkholes, 2010 has truly been a banner year for them.  The colossal sinkhole in Guatemala made the most headlines, but the truth is that dozens of massive sinkholes have been appearing in China and giant sinkholes have even been opening up and swallowing cars in the United States.  So is all this a sign that something significant is happening?  Should we be preparing for the end of the world as we know it?  Will we see even more sinkholes and sudden geological changes as we approach 2012?

Nobody really knows, but what everyone can agree on is that 2010 has been an amazing year for sinkholes.  Just consider the following examples....

*The most famous sinkhole of 2010 of course was the one in Guatemala that was caused by Tropical Storm Agatha.  It was so massive that it swallowed not only a 3 story building, but also an entire street intersection.

*Sinking land has developed into a gigantic 80-meter diameter hole on a school playground in southern China.

*In China on June 4th, the road surface suddenly collapsed on the Zhejiang Huang Qu Nan highway heading towards Nanping.  A huge sinkhole measuring 8 meters in diameter and 10 meters in depth suddenly appeared right in the middle of the road.

*In fact, massive sinkholes have been popping up all over China in recent months.

*A massive sinkhole at a condominium complex in Florida has swallowed a car and authorities say that it is still growing.

*More than 100 sinkholes have been recorded this year in Hillsborough, Polk and Pasco counties by the Florida Geological Survey.

*Another stunningly large sinkhole recently swallowed a car in one St. Louis neighborhood.

*In Milwaukee, Wisconsin a utility truck recently fell into a huge sinkhole that suddenly developed in the middle of the street.

*The city council of Mobile, Alabama has approved an emergency expenditure to repair a sinkhole large enough to swallow a car.

*A massive sinkhole that recently appeared on the Trans-Canada Highway east of the Alberta-Saskatchewan border was so huge that it totally stopped traffic in both directions until it was repaired.

So could it just be a coincidence that we are seeing so many sinkholes around the globe?

Or is something else going on?

The truth is that earthquakes are up significantly in 2010, and all kinds of weird earth changes are going on.

So will we see even more earth activity as we approach 2012?

Nobody knows for sure, but it definitely looks like we are in for an interesting ride.

There is a very important aspect of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill crisis that hardly anyone is talking about.  You see, it is not just an "oil spill" that BP has unleashed on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.  What BP has done is that they have uncorked an "oil volcano" that is violently spewing oil and gas out of the floor of the Gulf of Mexico so violently and with such pressure that it is beyond the capacity of human technology to control it.  Millions upon millions of gallons of oil have already been pumped into the Gulf of Mexico, and millions upon millions more will continue to be pumped into the Gulf before all of this is over.  So could all of this violent activity on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico spark seismic activity in the region that could potentially be absolutely catastrophic?  Could this "oil volcano" cause an earthquake along the New Madrid fault line that is so powerful that it could bring about "the end of the world as we know it" for those living in the area?

Those are legitimate questions.

Nearly 200 years ago, earthquakes rattled the New Madrid fault line that were so powerful that they are still talked about today.  Fortunately, at the time the areas impacted were not highly populated so the damage was minimal.  But similar earthquakes today would impact millions of people.

The truth is that there were four earthquakes in 1811 and 1812 along the New Madrid fault that were estimated to have been magnitude-7.0 or greater.  It was reported that those quakes opened deep fissures in the ground and that they were felt as far away as Boston.

There are even those who believe that someday an earthquake will strike the New Madrid fault that will be so powerful that it will rip a hole in the center of the United States and will allow the Gulf of Mexico to pour in and create a new body of water in the middle of the continental United States.

Now, let's hope that such a thing will not happen in our lifetimes, but according to scientists, the potential for a nightmarish earthquake in the area of the New Madrid fault is very real.

But what does that have to do with the Gulf of Mexico? 

Well, a retired Texaco geologist-geophysicist named Jack M. Reed who has been studying the geology of the Gulf of Mexico for over 40 years believes that the Gulf of Mexico is currently tectonically active.

In fact, Reed believes that it is the Gulf of Mexico that is the likely origin for New Madrid seismic activity.

According to Reed, there is evidence that the New Madrid seismic zone is directly connected with geological features in the Gulf of Mexico....

"This northeast trending earthquake zone appears to connect with the northeast trending Monroe Uplift, the LaSalle Arch and, possibly, to an active seismic zone located in and around Sabine Lake on the Texas-Louisiana border."

Not only that, but Reed believes that the key to unlocking the mystery behind the New Madrid fault zone lies in examining the "deeply buried tectonics" in the Gulf....

"This entire zone through the United States is suffering some type of tectonic activity that I believe is tied to the deeply buried tectonics in the Gulf of Mexico."

So has BP disturbed those "deeply buried tectonics" by drilling such a deep well?

Let's hope not.

Because if the "Big One" does hit the New Madrid fault, the cities of Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri will essentially be destroyed.  In addition, there would be devastation in a host of surrounding states including Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Indiana, Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee.

So just how bad would the damage be?

Well, according to a study publicly released this week by the University of Illinois, it is projected that a 7.7-magnitude earthquake along the New Madrid fault would leave 3,500 people dead, more than 80,000 injured and more than 7 million homeless.

And that is just what a 7.7-magnitude earthquake would do.

If the "Big One" ever hit the New Madrid fault it would be "game over".

So let us hope that the "oil volcano" that BP's very deep drilling has unleashed will not cause any significant geological events.

Because it if does, the results could be absolutely catastrophic.

Even a weak earthquake on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico could send a tsunami hurtling towards the Gulf shore that could kill thousands and which could push oil and water miles inland.

The truth is that we have been monkeying with geological forces that we do not truly understand and that we cannot control.

Let us just hope that the damage that we have done is not too great.

***UPDATE***

We wanted to share with you this absolutely stunning eyewitness report about what is going on in the heart of the New Madrid fault zone area that was originally reported on another website....

I live on the new madrid fault. And I can tell you this.

The surface rupture of the roads and highways is out of control.

Also, everyday of the week the structure of my moms home is "cracking" and shifting. You can hear the walls and the surface crack.

Nearby is a dollar general store. In that parking lot there are 3 flagpoles that "vibrate" violently. (not shaking from wind) Each and everyday, the roads "blow" up potholes. U.S. 41 is ruptured severely.

Interstate 65 is also badly damaged. They keep trying to repave them but it doesn't work.

The cline ave bridge at points is closing.

This bridge and off ramps leads right into Inland steel and LTV steel and BP amoco.

So far, I believe 5-7 bridges have been shut down or are scheduled for closing because they are unsafe.

I monitor the earthquakes daily. And as you know there are far too many happening too quickly.

I believe the general public has been misled. In my opinion, the 2012 shift is happening now, but everyone has been conditioned to believe that they still have time to prepare for the main event.

Thats b.s. It doesn't happen all at once.

In Momence Illinois, some of the buildings are beginning to "sink".

In cedar lake Indiana, the same is happening.

The bottom line is this; Buildings are cracking, parking lots can't be fixed, roads and bridges are closing every week, sidewalks are sinking and sinkholes are opening everywhere. At time day or night, you can literally feel the earth "vibrate" below your feet.

I'm in Northwest Indiana, and I believe we are about to get hit with a earthquake of biblical proportions. We are surrounded by propane, natural gas and bp amoco refineries.

And, Im more than concerned what will happen when the new madrid erupts.

best regards

Bob

Could one massive burst of radiation from the sun cripple satellites in orbit and fry electronics all over the Earth?  Could a gigantic solar storm change life as we know it in an instant?  Well, if we are to believe what some scientists from NASA are saying, the answer to both questions is yes.  In fact, they are telling us that huge electromagnetic pulses from the sun could cripple our electrical grid for years, causing billions (if not trillions) of dollars in damages.  Now the truth is that the sun is not going to cause "the end of the world", but as our society continues to become increasingly dependent on high technology, scientists warn that there is a very realistic possibility that solar storms could cause a very serious disruption in our lifestyles - especially as we approach the next solar maximum in 2013.

So just what are solar storms?

Well, solar storms occur when eruptions from the Sun send massive amounts of charged particles and radiation in the direction of Earth.  But the level of activity on the sun is not constant.  Sometimes there is a lot of activity on the sun and sometimes there is very little.  Solar activity usually follows an 11 year cycle, and right now the sun is moving into a period of increased activity.

The funny thing is that there has been very little solar activity for most of the past two years.  In fact, the absence of sunspots has very much surprised scientists who study the sun.

So what exactly has been going on?  Why has there been such a lack of sunspots in the last couple of years?

Well, some scientists postulate that the sun's magnetic activity may be diminishing.  Other believe that our sun may actually be shrinking.

The reality is that something seems to be happening, and many are beginning to wonder if the weird activity on the sun has something to do with 2012.

This current solar cycle is just not going as scientists had predicted.  The sun began to calm down in late 2007 (as predicted), and there was not supposed to be much solar activity in 2008.

But just how low the level of solar activity was in 2008 was absolutely shocking to scientists.

In 2008, the sun was spot-free 73 per cent of the time, which was an extreme dip even for a solar minimum.

In fact, it represented the lowest amount of sunspots since 1913.

In 2009, scientists were expecting solar activity to get back to normal, but it still didn't happen.

Finally, in mid-December, the largest group of sunspots to emerge for several years appeared, but the overall number of sunspots has still been far below expectations.

So what does all of this mean?

Nobody is quite sure what to make of it.

In fact, David Hathaway, a physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, seems as puzzled as the rest of us....

"This is solar behavior we haven't seen in living memory."

So will a much less active solar minimum also mean a much more active solar maximum once we get to 2012 and 2013?

That is what some scientists are beginning to warn us of.

In fact, NASA scientists recently warned that the Earth could be hit with unprecedented levels of magnetic energy from solar flares after the Sun wakes "from a deep slumber" as we approach 2012 and 2013.

So why are 2012 and 2013 years to watch?

Well, every 22 years the Sun’s magnetic energy cycle peaks, and every 11 years the number of sun spots hits a maximum.

It turns out that both of these events are going to take place in 2013, and scientists are warning us to brace ourselves for the massive amounts of radiation that the sun will produce at that time.

Just to give you an idea, one gigantic solar storm can unleash a billion times more energy than a nuclear bomb.

Scientists tell us that a really bad solar storm could devastate a vast array of equipment that we depend upon every day including communication satellites, emergency medical systems, electrical grids, air traffic control equipment, home computers, iPods and GPS units.

Richard Fisher, head of NASA's Heliophysics Division says that the threat is very real and that we need to be ready....

"The Sun is waking up from a deep slumber, and in the next few years we expect to see much higher levels of solar activity. At the same time, our technological society has developed an unprecedented sensitivity to solar storms."

According to The National Academy of Sciences, a "century-class" solar storm could cause twenty times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina.

20 times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina?

Yes, the threat we face from solar storms is very real.

In fact, the U.S. Congress is so concerned about it that they are taking action.  The Energy and Commerce committee of the U.S. House of Representatives recently voted 47 to 0 to approve a bill allocating 100 million dollars to protect the U.S. energy grid from solar storms.

So how bad are things going to get?

Well, as we mentioned earlier, solar storms are not going to cause the end of the world, but things could get very interesting as we approach 2012 and 2013.  Considering how many other signs are pointing to those years as being significant, it may be wise for all of us to start making emergency preparedness more of a priority.  We could be in for quite a ride.

As the environmental nightmare that the ruptured BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has unleashed upon humanity becomes more apparent, there are some burning questions that we desperately need answered.  The truth is that it has now become exceedingly obvious that BP has been lying to us all along.  Researchers have doubled their previous estimate and now say that up to 1.7 million gallons a day may have been escaping into the Gulf of Mexico ever since this disaster began.  If this new figure is correct, that means that over 90 million gallons of oil have gushed into the Gulf of Mexico in the 53 days since the rig exploded.  To put that in perspective, that would be eight times the amount spilled during the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989.  The truth is that we are looking at the end of the world as we know it for those living along the Gulf of Mexico.  It is hard to even put into words how horrific this nightmare is.  But the sad thing is that there is still a lot about this oil spill that we do not know.

The following are 17 questions about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that we desperately need answers to....

#1) Why is the FAA shutting down the airspace above the Gulf of Mexico oil spill?  Do they not want anymore pictures taken of the area?

#2) What is BP doing so much to keep the press away from the oil spill?

#3) Should we be concerned that birds are flocking north by the thousands?

#4) If the smell of the oil on some beaches is alrady so strong that it burns your nostrils, then what in the world is this oil doing to our wildlife?

#5) When BP officials say things like "we discovered things that were broken in the sub-surface" and when they say that the damaged well was leaking "out to the side, into the formation", what does that mean?

#6) Is there evidence of multiple oil leaks possibly coming from other rigs?

#7) Has the Gulf of Mexico oil spill caused additional ruptures in the sea floor?

#8) Why are scientists finding concentrations of methane at up to 10,000 times normal background levels in Gulf waters?

#9) About a third of all rescued birds have died so far - but what is the death rate for the birds that have not been rescued?

#10) BP is being accused of trying to manipulate the search results on sites like Google and Yahoo.  So what is it that they are trying so desperately to hide?

#11) If "70% or 80%" of the protective booms are doing absolutely nothing at all, then what is going to stop the millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf from eventually reaching shore?

#12) If BP starts burning a large amount of the excess oil, won't that be really bad for the air?

#13) Houston attorney Tony Buzbee claims that he has new evidence which shows that Deepwater Horizon’s managers knew that the oil rig had major problems before its explosion on April 20th.  Does that mean that there is clear negligence involved here?

#14) If Kevin Costner's oil-cleanup machines work so well and could have kept the oil from getting to the shores of the Gulf coast, then why did BP wait for so long before purchasing some?

#15) Why are three states along the Gulf of Mexico preparing for a massive call up of thousands of National Guard members?

#16) If the primary dispersant that BP has been using, Corexit 9527, ruptures red blood cells and causes fish to bleed, then why are they continuing to use it?

#17) Is there a serious risk that the entire Gulf of Mexico could become one gigantic dead zone if the oil is not completely stopped soon?

With each passing day, the environmental horror being caused by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill becomes more apparent.  Some of the most unique wildlife habitats in the world are being obliterated, entire species are being threatened with extinction and scientists are telling us that the Gulf of Mexico will never be the same again during any of our lifetimes.  This is not just another Exxon Valdez or Hurricane Katrina.  This is the end of an entire way of life for millions of people and for millions of birds, animals and fish.  It is impossible to even put a price tag on what we are all losing as a result of this spill.  BP will never make enough money to repay the damage that has been done already.  And yet the oil just keeps gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.  It is a nightmare that we can't wake up from and from which there is no escape. 

Each day the news just seems to get worse.  In fact, if you really dig into the news reports that are coming out about this spill it quickly becomes apparent that there is a whole lot more going on than we have been told.

The following are 9 horrific facts about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that will blow your mind....

#1) According to an iReport on CNN, "significant amounts of oil" are floating ashore in the Florida Keys.

#2) Some workers are now finding dead dolphins rotting in the shore weeds along the Gulf coast.

#3) Scientists are telling us that the primary dispersant that BP has been using, Corexit 9527, ruptures red blood cells and causes fish to bleed.

#4) Professor Prosanta Chakrabarty of Louisiana State University says that she believes that "every fish and invertebrate contacting the oil is probably dying".

#5) There are new reports that fishermen all over the Gulf of Mexico are becoming seriously ill from breathing the toxic brew being created by this oil spill and BP's response to it.

#6) Transocean, the firm hired by BP to operate the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, recently announced that it will distribute $1 billion in dividends to shareholders even as oil continues to pour into the Gulf of Mexico.

#7) Not only that, but Transocean also has announced that it will make a $270 million profit on the insurance policy for the damaged oil rig.

#8) Matt Simmons, an energy adviser to former president George W. Bush, recently went on national television and claimed that "there's another leak, much bigger, 5 to 6 miles away" from the leaking riser and blowout preventer which everyone has been watching on the underwater cameras.

#9) Unfortunately, this disaster is far from over.  In fact, some experts are now warning that the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico may continue gushing until December.
 

What in the world is going on out there?  Is somebody trying to tell us something?  In 2010, there have been more plagues of "Biblical proportions" than during any other year in recent memory.  It is not quite the end of the world as we know it yet, but things are getting quite creepy out there.  So is there a pattern to all of this, or do we just happen to be in a very bad year? 

Whatever the explanation is, the truth is that 2010 is one of the most unusual years in ages.

The following are just some of the recent plagues and disasters that have been reported around the globe....

*It is being reported that earthquakes are up 151 percent in 2010.

*Costa Rica's Arenal volcano erupted on Monday, spewing geysers of lava, ash and toxic gases from its crater and forcing the evacuation of the national park where it is located.

*Scientists are warning that another much larger volcano in Iceland is showing signs that it may be about to erupt.

*A plague of rats has gobbled up vast swathes of grasslands in north China.

*Unprecedented flooding has displaced more than 600,000 people in the Asian nation of Sri Lanka.

*Scientists have identified four new strains of the Ug99 wheat-killing fungus that could wipe out the global wheat supply.

*A tsunami warning was canceled Friday for Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean after the threat from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake had passed.

*Gigantic storms recently dumped nearly 20 inches of rain on many areas of the southeast United States, killing at least 27 people and putting many areas of Nashville, Tennessee completely under water.  In fact, it is being reported that the damage to the city of Nashville alone is close to a billion dollars. 

*Motorists on a highway in northern Greece were recently brought to a standstill by "millions" of frogs that were attempting to cross a major road.

*The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is now officially the worst oil spill in U.S. history and is turning vast areas of the Gulf of Mexico red.

Of course we all know about the horrific killer earthquakes in Haiti and in Chile earlier this year.

So just what in the world is going on?

Is there an explanation for why all of these things are happening?

Or is it just a coincidence that so many bad things are taking place?

Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion....

The environmental horror caused by the massive oil spill spreading rapidly throughout the Gulf of Mexico is becoming more apparent by the day.  In fact, it would be very difficult to understate the damage that all of this oil is already doing to a very intricate ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico or the danger that this oil spill represents if it continues to spread.  Hundreds of species of animals and plants are at risk.  Millions of living things in the Gulf of Mexico are going to die.  The entire region is going to be an environmental nightmare for years - perhaps decades.  This really is "the end of the world as we know it" for hundreds of thousands of people living in the Gulf region who depend upon the Gulf of Mexico for their economic survival.  What we are witnessing is the death of an entire region of the planet - and perhaps more than that if this thing continues to spread. 

Yes, this disaster is really, really, really bad.  Just consider the following quote from Richard Charter of the Defenders of Wildlife....

"It is so big and expanding so fast that it's pretty much beyond human response that can be effective. ... You're looking at a long-term poisoning of the area. Ultimately, this will have a multidecade impact."

So just how much oil is flowing into the Gulf of Mexico at this point?

Well, BP spokeswoman Ayana McIntosh-Lee said on Monday that the damaged well is releasing 210,000 gallons of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico.  Barack Obama is calling this oil spill a potentially unprecedented environmental disaster.  In fact, federal officials have already closed a portion of the northern Gulf of Mexico to all fishing.

It would be hard to underestimate how serious this is for folks who live along the Gulf coast.  Residents of the Gulf region are starting to fear that the damage from this oil spill will be worse than the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

One Louisiana resident recently put it this way....

"A hurricane is like closing your bank account for a few days, but this here has the capacity to destroy our bank accounts."

But there are signs that this disaster is going to get even worse before it starts to get better.

It is being reported that a confidential government report on the disaster in the Gulf makes it clear that the Coast Guard now fears the damaged well could become an unchecked gusher shooting millions of gallons of oil per day into the Gulf.  One Alabama newspaper has posted excerpts from this alarming report....

"The following is not public," reads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Emergency Response document dated April 28th that was posted on . "Two additional release points were found today in the tangled riser. If the riser pipe deteriorates further, the flow could become unchecked resulting in a release volume an order of magnitude higher than previously thought."

If that report is even partially true, then we may not have even seen the worst of things yet.

Even if things remain as they are, it is already being projected that this could be the most costly environmental disaster in history.

Estimates vary at this point, but it is being reported that some analysts are already projecting that the costs related to the oil spill could exceed 14 billion dollars.  The cost to the fishing industry in Louisiana alone could top 3 billion dollars, and it is being projected that the tourism industry in Florida could lose even more than that. 

But the truth is that it is way too early for estimates, because as long as the damaged well keeps gushing oil the nightmare is only going to get worse.

So how long until things get better?

Well, U.S. Representative Charlie Melancon of Louisiana has made a couple of statements about this disaster which are extremely chilling....

"The best-case scenario is that this lasts for a couple of weeks."

"The worst case is that we've got several months to go."

In fact, the Obama administration and BP are both now indicating that the worst case scenario is more likely.  Officials said on Monday that it might take up to three months to completely seal off the leaking oil well.

That is not good news.

BP is certainly freaked out about all of this, and they are already trying to claim that it was not "their" accident that caused all of this.

Tony Hayward, the CEO of British Petroleum, told NBC's Meredith Vieira on Monday that his company was not responsible for creating the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico but that they are responsible for cleaning it up....

"It wasn't our accident, but we are absolutely responsible for the oil, for cleaning it up, and that's what we intend to do."

That sad thing is that this is the type of world we live in - a world where the lawyers are in charge and nobody takes responsibility for anything.

For once it would be really nice to see a CEO stand up and admit responsibility for something.

But that just isn't going to happen.

Meanwhile, the more we learn about this oil spill the more frightening it becomes.

The reality is that we simply do not know at this point just yet how incredibly destructive this disaster may become.  In his recent article, "The Oil Mess - The Takedown Of World Economy?", George Ure posted a message from one of his readers this is extremely troubling.  The reader is a very experienced engineer, and his diagnosis of the danger that we are facing from this oil spill is incredibly frightening.  If what he says is true, then we are headed for a complete and total nightmare....

A reader who is an engineer of considerable experience says watch this one evolve carefully because it is destined to continue to grow and he shares this long (but worthy) explanation why:

"Heard your mention of the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico this morning, and you (and most everyone else except maybe George Noory) are totally missing the boat on how big and bad of a disaster this is.

First fact, the original estimate was about 5,000 gallons of oil a day spilling into the ocean. Now they're saying 200,000 gallons a day. That's over a million gallons of crude oil a week!

I'm engineer with 25 years of experience. I've worked on some big projects with big machines. Maybe that's why this mess is so clear to me. [and is so unclear to the millions without such knowledge]

First, the BP platform was drilling for what they call deep oil. They go out where the ocean is about 5,000 feet deep and drill another 30,000 feet into the crust of the earth. This it right on the edge of what human technology can do. Well, this time they hit a pocket of oil at such high pressure that it burst all of their safety valves all the way up to the drilling rig and then caused the rig to explode and sink. Take a moment to grasp the import of that. The pressure behind this oil is so high that it destroyed the maximum effort of human science to contain it.

When the rig sank it flipped over and landed on top of the drill hole some 5,000 feet under the ocean.

Now they've got a hole in the ocean floor, 5,000 feet down with a wrecked oil drilling rig sitting on top of is spewing 200,000 barrels of oil a day into the ocean. Take a moment and consider that, will you!

First they have to get the oil rig off the hole to get at it in order to try to cap it. Do you know the level of effort it will take to move that wrecked oil rig, sitting under 5,000 feet of water? That operation alone would take years and hundreds of millions to accomplish. Then, how do you cap that hole in the muddy ocean floor? There just is no way. No way.

The only piece of human technology that might address this is a nuclear bomb. I'm not kidding. If they put a nuke down there in the right spot it might seal up the hole. Nothing short of that will work.

If we can't cap that hole that oil is going to destroy the oceans of the world. It only takes one quart of motor oil to make 250,000 gallons of ocean water toxic to wildlife. Are you starting to get the magnitude of this?

We're so used to our politicians creating false crises to forward their criminal agendas that we aren't recognizing that we're staring straight into possibly the greatest disaster mankind will ever see. Imagine what happens if that oil keeps flowing until it destroys all life in the oceans of this planet. Who knows how big of a reservoir of oil is down there.

Not to mention that the oceans are critical to maintaining the proper oxygen level in the atmosphere for human life.

We're humped. Unless God steps in and fixes this. No human can. You can be sure of that."

What in the world is going on?  The number of earthquakes that we are seeing in the United States and around the world is getting scary.  In the past week alone, there have been over 2000 earthquakes in the region around California.  In fact, the whole area has been shaking like a leaf ever since a 7.2 earthquake rattled the western United States and Mexico on Easter Sunday.  In particular, the area from Los Angeles down through the Baja peninsula is just being hammered with quakes.

So is this an indication that the "Big One" is on the way soon?

Well, it isn't the end of the world just yet, but considering the number of big earthquakes that are hitting the rest of the world, we all need to start sitting up and paying attention.

What has happened already this year in Haiti and Chile could very well happen anywhere along the "Ring of Fire".

But it just isn't the Ring of Fire that is in the danger zone.  Massive earthquakes have started to pop up all over the place.

In fact, at least 400 people have died and thousands have been injured by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that just hit western China's Qinghai province.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake stuck southern Spain on Monday approximately 14 miles to the southeast of the city of Granada.

It seems like almost every single week now there are reports of massive earthquakes happening somewhere in the world.

The earth is starting to shake.

Nobody seems to know why it is happening or if it will stop, but it is happening.

So what is going to happen next?

Is the shaking going to get even worse?

Is a devastating earthquake going to hit the United States?

We'll just have to wait and see.

Buckle up and get ready - this is going to be a very interesting ride.

The great tragedy of the 7.0 earthquake that essentially destroyed the nation of Haiti has many wondering if that nation can ever recover.  In fact, as you read this Haiti continues to be a disaster zone of unprecedented magnitude.  Lots of money has been raised by celebrities, but victims of the earthquake in Haiti are still absolutely desperate for food and water.  

But even as Haiti struggles to recover from the greatest disaster in that nation's history, information is coming to light that the key to a brighter future for the Haitians may have been lying under their feet all this time.  It turns out that there are massive reserves of gold and oil in Haiti.  These abundant natural resources could be used to rebuild Haiti and give those people an incredibly bright future - if someone else does not sweep in and steal those resources first. 

I'll have to admit when I first heard about oil in Haiti I was quite skeptical.

After all, why wouldn't we have heard about it by now if they had it?

Well, the reality is that there are vast untapped oil reserves in many areas of the globe, and Haiti's have not been developed due to the violence and political instability that have ravaged that nation for decades.  Not to mention the fact that Haiti does not possess the technical expertise to exploit those resources.

But apparently they do exist.

According to a report in the French newspaper Le Post, scientists Daniel and Ginette Mathurin say that  Haiti's oil reserves are larger than those of Venezuela.

In fact, Daniel Mathurin says that Haiti's oil reserves are so much larger that they are not even worth comparing....

"An Olympic pool compared to a glass of water that is the comparison to show the importance of oil Haitian compared to those of Venezuela."

That is an amazing statement considering the fact that Venezuela is one of the world's major oil producers.

But Daniel and Ginette Mathurin are not the only ones making these claims about oil in Haiti.

In a paper dated March 27, 2004, Dr. Georges Michel detailed the history of oil discoveries in Haiti and explained why they have not been exploited yet. 

According to Michel, the big oil companies know about the massive reserves of oil in Haiti but in the 50s and 60s there was almost too much oil to go around so they decided that those reserves were not needed at the time and that they would be kept in reserve until later....

[The attitude of these big multinational oil companies was] "We shall keep the Haitian deposits and other such layers of deposits in reserve for the 21st century when the Middle Eastern jackpot are depleted."

In fact, it was apparently known as far back as 1908 that Haiti has substantial reserves of oil.

But those poor people have been kept in abject poverty all this time when they could have been benefiting from all of this oil.

Not only that, but Haiti also apparently possesses a great deal of gold as well.

A United Nations study in the 70s indicated Haiti could be littered with gold and copper deposits.  However, the same political violence and recurring coups that have kept the oil in Haiti from being exploited have also kept the gold from being mined.

So how much gold does Haiti have?  Well, the former president of Dominican Petroleum Refinery recently said that Haiti has vast untapped reserves of gold and iridium (a little known and rare mineral that is vital for the construction of spacecraft) and that these resources should be used to pay off the Haitian foreign debt.

And he is not alone in his assessment.

Back in 2007 a geologist with 27 years of experience hunting for gold was asked what he thought the chances of discovering huge amounts of gold in Haiti were.  This is how he responded....

"I don't think there's a question of whether there's a good deposit here. It's a question of whether we can develop it here in Haiti."

In fact, analysts are predicting "a stampede into Haiti" if the existence of large gold deposits there can be confirmed.

So one of poorest nations in the world turns out to be just brimming with oil and gold....

Do you think that those resources will be used to rebuild Haiti and to give those people a truly bright future?

Don't count on it.

In fact, now that Haiti has essentially been destroyed, troops are pouring in and politicians are already talking about starting business ventures in the country.  To many in Washington, Haiti's natural resources are considered "strategic reserves" of the United States.

You see, for decades Haiti has been viewed by many as being essentially "owned" by the United States.  The U.S. government has done little to actually help the nation of Haiti get on the right path, but they maintain a huge presence there.  In fact,  the U.S. constructed its fifth largest embassy in the world in the nation of Haiti.

But perhaps that is just a coincidence.

The key will be to watch what happens to Haiti's natural resources as the rebuilding of that nation proceeds.

Will all of the gold and oil be used to help the people of Haiti, or will the gold and oil be exploited by ruthless foreigners?

The world will be watching.

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti a couple days ago is the biggest national disaster in the modern history of that nation.  Because most of Haiti's buildings were never designed to withstand an earthquake, the devastation has been multiplied.  The earthquake has transformed most hospitals, houses, schools, roads and grocery stores into piles of rubble.  At this point reports are coming in that virtually all vital infrastructure in Port au Prince appears to have been totally destroyed. 

One CNN reporter recently described the situation in Port au Prince this way....

"The vast majority of downtown Port-au-Prince is a mess of dead bodies, rebar and concrete."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is comparing the Haiti earthquake to the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people five years ago.

So just how many are dead?

Nobody is going to have an official number for quite some time.  The truth is that there are so many bodies buried under the rubble that it could take weeks to dig them all out. 

Right now there is no place to put all the dead bodies that have already been recovered, so they are literally being piled in the streets.  Early estimates of 100,000 dead have now been dismissed as being far too low.  In fact, according to one report, up to half a million people are feared dead and another three million have been made homeless by the Haiti earthquake.

Half a million dead?

In a nation as small as Haiti, that would be a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions.

The truth is that Haiti was already one of the poorest countries in the entire region.  Now that their capital has been essentially destroyed, the poverty and suffering for those who have survived is only going to multiply.

Fortunately it appears that the world is very eager to send aid to Haiti so hopefully the suffering can be minimized.

But the tragedy in Haiti is causing many to wonder what area will be hit next.

In particular, many of those who study earthquakes believe that California is way overdue for "The Big One".

Now, a flurry of recent earthquake activity all over the state of California is raising concerns that California could be next. 

A very large number of small earthquakes have been reported all over the state of California in the last 7 days.

So could we see a tragedy on the scale of what is happening in Haiti occur in the state of California someday?

Well, the truth is that we could see something far worse.

While a 7.0 would not do as much damage in most areas of California as it did in Haiti, the reality is that California is likely to see a much more powerful earthquake someday.

In fact, there are many who believe that we will see an earthquake that is so bad someday that it will cause a portion of California to actually slide into the ocean.

The belief that "The Big One" will one day hit California is so prevalent that even Time Magazine has done a major story about it.

So far the state of California has been relatively fortunate.  It has seen a couple substantial earthquakes over the past couple of decades, but the true "killer quake" has not struck yet.

When it does, it could make the situation in Haiti look like a Sunday picnic.