South

[Clive]

?

[Storm]

I don't want to get all doom-n-gloom on you, but the Mayan calendar actually predicts a magnetic field reversal in 2012.  Apparently, previous magnetic field reversals have caused things like ice ages.  The Mayans were pretty far ahead of their time and studied astronomy and solar cycles.  While often mischaracterized in the media, the Mayans had science that accurately charted out solar cycles and understood that gravitational fields of celestial bodies, as well as the earth's own magnetic field, affect many ecosystems and life forms.

[Gumby]

Electronics may be the least of our concerns. There is a theory that suggests that these reversals correspond with major changes in evolution. As the poles flip, dangerous levels of intense solar X-rays, gamma rays, and deadly dangerous ionizing particle radiation are allowed to hit the surface of the earth, while the ionosphere/magnetosphere (our "shield," if you will) is down.

The theory is that within hours, about 99 percent of all life on earth is instantly killed by the intense radiation. Those few 1 percent of survivors, hidden in caves, in holes in the earth, or under water are highly deformed, damaged and mutated by the intense radiation causing direct damage to the DNA molecules in their reproductive cells. But the radiation damage is not visible in those survivors, but it is clearly seen in their direct offspring. Or at least those who aren't sterile from all the radiation.

Of course, no one knows for sure, but that would be a pretty awful scenario.

[MediumTex]

The theory is that within hours, about 99 percent of all life on earth is instantly killed by the intense radiation. Those few 1 percent of survivors, hidden in caves, in holes in the earth, or under water are highly deformed, damaged and mutated by the intense radiation causing direct damage to the DNA molecules in their reproductive cells. But the radiation damage is not visible in those survivors, but it is clearly seen in their direct offspring. Or at least those who aren't sterile from all the radiation.

Gumby,

You should get a job doing voice-over work in zombie films.

That was awesome.

[Gumby]

The theory is that within hours, about 99 percent of all life on earth is instantly killed by the intense radiation. Those few 1 percent of survivors, hidden in caves, in holes in the earth, or under water are highly deformed, damaged and mutated by the intense radiation causing direct damage to the DNA molecules in their reproductive cells. But the radiation damage is not visible in those survivors, but it is clearly seen in their direct offspring. Or at least those who aren't sterile from all the radiation.

Gumby,

You should get a job doing voice-over work in zombie films.

That was awesome.

Oh, I'm definitely not taking credit for that. I copied the exciting parts from some quack website that was all about zombies and the end of the world. But, I believe that Bill Bryson did briefly cover the subject of radiation sterility from a magnetic pole flip in A Short History of Nearly Everything. So, I wouldn't rule it out.