I remember that summer in 2003, the death tolls in central Europe were shocking, because it mainly affected the elderly and because it caused so many problems for the Health services of France and other European countries. In France it got to the point where there wasn't even enough room in the mortuaries in some of the France’s main cities. Even here is Scotland in 2003 the constant hot weather was unrelenting but just manageable without air conditioning. (You should realise just how scary that last sentence was). Global warming was put forward as the main causative factor for the death toll in Europe just as it was for the Katrina Hurricane disaster. There has just been a report here that the warmest temperatures in the UK for April have been the warmest ever recorded being over 3 degrees warmer than normal. I fear that Europe could see the same problems as in 2003 and it might be the US faces the same problems as in 2005 this year. Talking about EMP effects on the forum might be topical because of the agenda set by some in the US media boogie man terror circles but the real threat to every ones way of life lies elsewhere. The debate in the US is just some years behind everyone else in the world. That debate is about Global Warming and how to tackle it. I Don't think I've seen a thread about this issue on the forum!