THE experts call it 鈥渄ependency creep鈥�. The global positioning system has grown to become a pillar of modern life at a time when our local star has been calm. Over the coming years, however, worsening space weather is likely to cause GPS failures on a weekly basis.
According to a recent National Academy of Sciences , every signal failure could cost a single offshore oil rig as much as $2 million, as GPS is used to keep the platform in place. And light aircraft without backup navigation systems could encounter unprecedented dangers. This is just the tip of the iceberg, yet politicians are unlikely to react to warnings of possible space weather catastrophes. Perhaps more traditional ways of catching their attention 鈥� devastating loss of lives and money 鈥� will do the trick (see 鈥淪pace weather: worse than hurricane Katrina鈥�).