44

forty - four! That is the estimated multiplier for all of the information stored in digital media over the next decade. Imagine that. For each picture stored on a computer, there will be 44. For each song stored on an MP3 player there will be 44. The quantum of this information is both staggering and frightening.

On the one hand, it is wonderful to think of all the information that will be a t the fingertips of earth's population. Imagine! Want to know the best restaurants in Peoria -- just do a search. Need to get the text of some ancient Macedonian inscription commemorating Alexander's victory, just do a search. The frightening part, however, is this. If someone wants to read your medical records, your bank records, your private thoughts, indeed everything private, there will be a way to get to them. All that information will destroy privacy (or at least make it much harder for privacy to remain). Even worse, as our civilization comes to depend on electronic media alone, it becomes more vulnerable to EMP weapons. Imagine what would happen if all the records of all of the financial institutions in New York were wiped out by one electromagnetic pulse. Chaos! A few well placed nuclear explosions in space above American cities could send us back to conditions like those at the time of the civil war. It is time for the government to begin a thoughtful but major program to protect this country from attack by EMP. I guess that the Obamacrats will like that if they get to hire more government workers. Even so, something must be done soon.