WHY THE POWER OF NATURE MUST ALWAYS BE RESPECTED

IN THE SPACE of my short lifetime, technology has advanced at a tremendous pace.  From the humble beginnings of mass computerisation n the late 1970s, to the ubiquitous dominance of digital age, human beings continue to challenge new frontiers as we progress into the future. The growth of the internet has heralded a new age of globalisation, opening up markets which were considered impenetrable just 15-years-ago.  People are no longer restricted to purchasing the majority of their goods at the local store.  Throughout large swathes of the globe, consumers can acquire the exact product they desire at the simple click of a button.

     Virtually every industry has been affected by the dawning of the digital age.  Advanced computer systems dictate the way businesses operate; people are now almost wholly reliant upon SatNav technology to plan anything but the most basic of journeys; the aeronautical industry are wholly reliant upon artificial intelligence to ensure flights reach their destinations safely, and even in warfare, the growth of drone technologies means human beings who operate these machines are effectively absent from battlefield situations.

A polar shift would dramatically alter the earth's magnetic field, causing havoc with our technology 

However, as we become more dependent upon new scientific innovations, we should not become complacent. Our planet is by far the most powerful force to which humans are directly subject.  The earth resembles the moving hands of an infinite clock.  Subject to periodic cycles, science has established that certain events - including the shift in polar alignment - shall always occur.  The last Polar Shift happened almost 800,000 years ago.  Should another Polar Shift happen within the space of our lifetime, our way of life would change dramatically.  Even by occurring gradually, satellite and digital technology would fail.   Reliant upon the gravitational forces of the Earth, a change in the polar alignment would render SatNavs', mobile phones, I-Pads, Laptops and the internet, useless.  And with the UK conversation to Digital now complete, Britain would lose all its main methods of audio and visual communication.

     In the early and mid 1980s a gradual shift in polar alignment may not have been too traumatic.  However, should such an event happen now, the results would be catastrophic.  Our dependence upon modern technology has reached a stage that many would find it impossible to function.  People would not be able to communicate effectively, and the barriers in place to prevent anarchy - barriers which were so ruthlessly breached last summer during the UK riots - would be temporarily removed.

     Innovation and change are by no means undesirable.  For it is only through change we humans have the ability to develop our full potential.  However, when faced with clearly uncertain variables, mechanisms must be in place to ensure that when an event as traumatic as a Polar Shift occurs, society will be able to deal effectively with the situation.