As the Sun Awakens, NASA Keeps a Wary Eye on Space Weather

Read entire article here:

" The National Academy of Sciences framed the problem two years ago in a landmark report entitled "Severe Space Weather Events—Societal and Economic Impacts." It noted how people of the 21st-century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily life. Smart power grids, GPS navigation, air travel, financial services and emergency radio communications can all be knocked out by intense solar activity. A century-class solar storm, the Academy warned, could cause twenty times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina.
Much of the damage can be mitigated if managers know a storm is coming. Putting satellites in 'safe mode' and disconnecting transformers can protect these assets from damaging electrical surges. Preventative action, however, requires accurate forecasting—a job that has been assigned to NOAA."
------
Note: Rest assured - the government is "on it."

IF YOU HAVE AN APPLE: Here is a great widget that allows you to monitor sunspot activity. Sunspot 1.0
http://mac.rbytes.net/cat/dashboard-widgets/information/sunspots/