A Black Sky Hazard is a catastrophic event that severely disrupts the normal functioning of our critical infrastructures in multiple regions, for long durations.
Our modern, high-tech, tightly interconnected world has brought us extraordinary new capabilities. Our infrastructures, utilities, products, services, and supply chains today are all deeply interactive, giving us capabilities far beyond anything seen in history, and weaving together our industrial civilization on an unprecedented, global scale.
Unfortunately, the downside of all our closely interconnected systems is that they become tightly interdependent, with each operating only if all the others are functioning. Serious disruption of any major infrastructure, service, or supply network could cause cascading failures that disrupt them all, and on a global scale: initiating a complex catastrophe known as a “Black Sky event.”
Black Sky-class hazards that could disrupt our deeply interdependent civilization include extreme conventional or space weather, extreme cyber attacks or EMP strikes, high-morbidity / highly infectious pandemics, extreme seismic events in critical infrastructure regions, and kinetic attacks on critical infrastructure nodes.
At EIS Council, we are committed to hosting research, development, and deployment of the unique “Black Sky-capable” tools and capabilities that will be critical to enable our civilization to withstand such events. The challenge, for all of us: Can we move this effort forward quickly enough to be ready, when humanity confronts the first Black Sky event?
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Nearly all of the Council’s projects, initiatives and capability offerings have emerged from continuing, systems engineering-framed research, in consultation and partnership with leading infrastructure operators, government agencies and subject matter experts.
Advanced all-hazard, all-scale crisis planning, response and recovery learning, for corporate and government professionals and executives.
Experienced national and international leaders and educators utilize advanced multimedia materials providing best practice, state of the art approaches addressing critical infrastructure, supply chain and governance needs in conventional or Black Sky-class catastrophes.
EPRO® Handbook IV. “EPRO EMP” provides a peer-reviewed compendium of best practices, cost-effective strategic options, and specific approaches for EMP protection of critical elements of bulk power systems.
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In partnership with US DOD’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Science Advanced Research Associates (SARA), and one of the world’s largest power companies, EIS Council conducted EMP vulnerability and protection research for power grid facilities and systems, including first-ever generating station impact research.
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