For Henry Schwartz it may be the most important event he has ever organized.
“What’s important about this is the timing,” he says. “There’s never been a conference like this anywhere.”
What has become the mission of the chairman of Elma based Steuben Foods and Elmhurst Dairy is educating and moving to action folks in Western New York who have never heard of electromagnetic pulse (EMP).
“What I have learned in the last seven to 10 months is that the most expected terrorist attack, both in the United States and Israel, is an EMP attack,” Schwartz said Sunday night. “So I decided to do something about it.”
On Wednesday and Thursday, Schwartz will gather some 600 people, including scientists, members of Congress, terrorism experts and even former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, to draw attention and bring on action to what he views as the EMP threat.
“Our audience will be the citizens of Western New York,” he said. “I think the citizens (here) will set an example for how the rest of the country should respond.”
EMP is a burst of electromagnetic energy triggered by natural or manmade sources. It originates naturally from the sun in the form of solar flares, but can also be generated through detonation of a nuclear device in the earth's atmosphere.
A Department of Homeland Security disaster guide for the public explains an EMP “acts like a stroke of lightning but is stronger, faster and shorter.”
Schwartz and others believe such an event could knock out America’s electrical, communications, transportation and other infrastructure grids for months or even years.
An Air Force veteran, who worked in a unit that controlled nuclear-tipped missiles, Schwartz says he knows about what an EMP event could mean.
“Once the grid goes down, nothing will function,” he said. “There’ll be no food, no water, no heat. I’ve met with senior military leaders here and not a single one of them felt this was a far out possibility.”
Schwartz said Congressional commissions and committees have tried to call attention to the immediate EMP threat from rogue states or terrorist groups using a missile to detonate a nuclear warhead miles above the United States, but few have heeded those warnings.
Experts have warned an EMP attack, with even a modest nuclear device, could disable or burn out everything from cell phones and personal computers to vehicle ignitions and air traffic control systems without harming people. Some defense experts say the country’s vulnerability to such an attack increases as we grow more dependent on electronic devices in every day life.
Schwartz says American’s need to be prepared to “harden” their electrical infrastructure to meet the threat.
“It’s easy for people to (prepare) to provide their own food, water and electricity,” he said.
Yet, Schwartz has unveiled plans to “harden” his local food-processing plant by making plans to drill gas and water wells that would allow him to continue to supply food in a crisis.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will address the conference in a taped message.
“I’ve believed for a long time that EMP may be the greatest strategic threat we face,” Gingrich says in the message. “Without adequate preparation its impact could be so horrifying that we would, in fact, basically lose our civilization in a matter of seconds.”
Local News
NIAGARA FALLS: Trying to make an EMPACT
More than 600 attendees will focus on threat to country’s electrical infrastructure at conference
- Local News
-
-
Falls cops arrest pot and heroin dealers
- Staff cuts, large tax increase being considered to fill N-W's $10.M deficit
-
Police searching for jewelry thief caught on tape
-
Child run over be car on Niagara Avenue
Falls Traffic Division investigators said an 11-year-old boy was struck after he darted into the street, in front of a car as it pulled away from a stop sign.
-
Gerber resigns from SPCA board; calls for adding veterinarian to staff
A Town of Niagara veterinarian and long-time member of the SPCA of Niagara Board of Directors has stepped down.
Dr. William Gerber submitted his resignation on Tuesday. It was effective immediately. -
Militello paid $50K to leave Niagara-Wheatfield
Former Niagara-Wheatfield Superintendent Carl Militello is receiving a $50,000 from the district, according to a separation settlement agreed to on Feb. 1.
-
Joseph Davis State Park gets some green
Officials in the Town of Lewiston received approval Thursday to spend a significant portion of the community’s incoming greenway funds on the redevelopment of Joseph Davis State Park.
-
Has NYPA relicensing agreement led to a revival?
A state senator is calling for an audit of the low-cost power and cash used in the last seven years by Niagara County entities that have shared in the benefits of the 50-year relicensing agreement with the New York Power Authority.
-
Autopsy unable to determine cause or time of Judith Burr’s death
An autopsy by an Erie County Medical Examiner has failed to determine either the time of death or the cause of death of Judith Burr.
-
Search continues for Falls jumper
State Park Police were still searching Thursday for a Falls man who jumped from the rapids bridge at Goat Island on Wednesday morning.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
