Why are we afraid of mold? Who is scaring Russians with war and why? Who needs panic in the country?

Recently, due to the unusually warm last winter and other natural phenomena, many media and, in particular, television began to regularly scare people with the impending end of the world. "Oracle" has always been a supporter of a balanced approach to any phenomena. That is why we decided to bring to your attention this article. An article by a literate and caring person. Both to the state of our planet and to the state of our minds.
At the end of last year, on a December evening, there was a program on TV during prime time, the participants of which promised: The Apocalypse is about to come. Great experts on this issue were invited as experts commenting on the news: pop stars, an astrologer and... a DEZ worker who equipped himself with a bunker with stocks of pasta, salt, matches and a dynamo assembled from a children's bicycle. He announced that he was personally ready to contribute to the revival of humanity when all troubles were over. There was also some disaster specialist who spoke about global warming and at the same time about a certain celestial body, which is about to approach the Earth by as much as 400 thousand kilometers (that is, almost to the lunar orbit). Immediately there were stills from Jurassic Park, recalling the mysterious death of dinosaurs...
The entire program, its tone, the illiterate level, the irresponsibility of the authors (who wished to remain anonymous) vividly reminded me of the old fable: “Shine a match, how much gas is in the barrel?” After the program, I heard that elderly listeners suffered a heart attack and are besieging everyone who understands “the Apocalypse” with requests to confirm or refute what they heard. Unfortunately, I am not as deep a climate specialist as a pop star or an employee of the Department of Electrical Protection, but I still read Pushkin. And I believe him. He is not one of those who will not spare either his mother or father for the sake of a catchphrase: “That year, the autumn weather / Stood in the yard for a long time. / Waited for winter, waited for nature - / Snow fell only in January / On the third night...”. Add the difference between the old and new styles - maybe this will calm you down a little. That is, as Ecclesiastes said, “and that was”... And if they say that such a winter has not happened since the beginning of regular weather observations, then let me remind you: these observations began much later than the writing of Eugene Onegin.
I am by no means blind to the seriousness of the situation with global climate change. But scaring people with the imminent Apocalypse is blasphemy and immorality.
And Pushkin also testified in the words of Godunov: “God sent a famine to our land. / The people howled, dying in torment”... These are the real events of the “Godunov hard times” that broke out in the first years of the 17th century. For three summers in a row there was a drought, and in the winter there was an unusually severe frost, “the likes of which the old-timers did not remember.”
These events were included in many reference books and encyclopedias. The topic of climate change is presented most thoroughly in the book of highly respected climatologists E.P. Borisenkov and V.M. Pasetsky "A thousand-year chronicle of extraordinary natural phenomena." The fact that some extreme natural phenomenon is not remembered by old people does not say much. Memory usually fades when time reaches the third or fourth generation. And here are chronicles, chronicles. Want examples? Please. Sunny Venice, gentle warm Adriatic Sea. And in the fierce winter of 1709, this sea was covered with ice. The ground was frozen 6 feet (almost 2 meters) deep. Even the Ebro River in Spain froze. And this is not the first time: in 1210, the same Venetians rode across the frozen sea in carts.
But Byzantium, the sultry Black Sea, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. In 717 and 742, Constantinople (Constantinople) was covered with snow. The ice on the sea was 30 cubits thick, and on top there was another 20 cubits of snow - level with the high shore (apparently these were hummocks clustered at the entrance to the Bosphorus). And this is also not an isolated case.
Have there been unusually warm winters in Russia in the past? Please: the whole winter of 1492/93 in western Rus' and Poland was like this: Gardens bloomed, fields turned green. But on March 15 frost hit and everything died.
By the way, people are inclined to consider the unprecedented tornadoes that have now appeared in the middle zone as another sign of the “approaching Apocalypse.”
This opinion is due to the same effect of memory fading over the years. There were tornadoes, and some more! So, in 1406 in Nizhny Novgorod the whirlwind lifted the team, along with the horse and the man, into the air so high and far away that they became invisible. A day later, the team was found on the other side of the Volga: it was hanging on a tall tree. The horse was dead and the man had disappeared...
Unfortunately, in last years The TV screen, the pages of newspapers and magazines are increasingly giving the floor to shameless and illiterate alarmists. Moreover, the level of knowledge among the public as a whole has dropped sharply. Pay attention to the program “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”: many players do not know school history, no geography, no literature, no physics. People today are gullible like savages. I remember in the spring of 1999, when gloomy expectations spread on the eve of the millennium, I found a similar television conversation with a certain, allegedly doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, who solidly asserted that a mass of ice had accumulated in the polar regions of the Earth, which is why the Earth would soon... turn over and Antarctica will be on the equator! IN live Some housewife worriedly asked to clarify the date of this cataclysm, since she was just planning to go to the dacha in the summer. But the forecaster, more like Chekhov's "Scientific Neighbor" than reasonable person, modestly said that exact date is still unknown to him, he has not yet completed his research, but advises thinking not about the dacha, but about more important problems... In the recent program with which I started, they again touched upon the topic of pole shifts - geographical and magnetic. Yes, indeed, detailed studies of geological deposits have revealed traces of multiple polarity reversals magnetic field throughout the Quaternary period. But note: regardless of the displacement of the magnetic pole, the triple glaciation spread each time from the region of the modern Arctic, which means that the geographic poles retained their position. That is, the magnetic reversal of polarity was not accompanied by any noticeable shift in the Earth’s rotation axis. And this is not surprising: the rotating terrestrial “top” is mechanically incredibly stable. As for the ice “load” at the poles, the danger of which was discussed by the mentioned gentleman in his television conversation, then, despite its considerable size (the thickness of the ice shell in Antarctica reaches four kilometers), this is no more significant than a speck on a flywheel: after all, the radius The earth is more than 6000 km! After all, the Earth does not turn over due to the fact that on one side there is a gigantic (more than six kilometers deep) basin Pacific Ocean, filled only with water, and on the other - continents with high mountains. And this despite the fact that the density of ice is three times less than the density of stone. Therefore, the equator remained in place, and the polar ice caps never fell on it. It is more correct to look for the reason for the displacement of the magnetic poles in the displacement of intraterrestrial electrically conducting masses, which are relatively insignificant in amplitude and, most importantly, very slow.
It is no secret that gloomy global forecasts, as well as loud revelations, as they say, “make the ratings” of publications and television programs. So it’s hard to expect that in the near future, home-grown Sibyls and Cassandras, frightening people with the approaching end of the world, will disappear from screens and magazine pages. Regardless of what caused the vain mention of the Apocalypse this time: an abnormally warm winter, a rainy summer, or a round date.
You and I, friends, are simple listeners, readers and spectators. We are unable to change the situation. But we have the power to check what is happening on the screen at least with our own common sense.
Pavel BESPROZVANNY,
geophysicist, candidate of technical sciences
A warm winter turned out to be a convenient thing: journalists do not need to waste energy searching for sensations - the topic of warming is “edible” (that is, “eats well”), and, therefore, you can “chew” it ad infinitum. Just know - scare people and discuss the end of the world with the public's favorites! In fact, the current abnormal winter is not so abnormal. And, if journalists and their heroes, before broadcasting to the people, had bothered to at least superficially study the topic, then viewers (listeners, readers) would be able to learn something about no less, or even more “hot” winters in Russia and Europe states. Let me give just a few examples:
1186 Incredibly warm winter - trees were blooming in January;
1247 Mild winter, “we wore summer clothes”;
1290 In January, violets bloomed on the Rhine and in Austria;
1302 The trees were blooming in January;
1328 The trees were blooming in January. The harvest began on May 22;
1427 Europe is warm all year round. The trees were blooming in December;
1471 Western Europe. “Already in February the trees were blooming like in May”;
1493 Lithuania, Poland. The winter was so warm that the gardens began to bloom;
1538 Western Europe. Warm winter. “After Christmas they began to plow”; 1586. Western Russian lands. The trees bloomed twice during the winter;
1617 Baltics. The cherry trees were in bloom in January;
1759 Russia, Europe. Warm winter. Leaves appeared on the trees.
1796 January and February are unusually warm – plowing has begun;
1822 “Around Christmas, the snow melted and it became so warm that in the fields they picked fresh nettles for cabbage soup”;
1856-57 were characterized by inconsistency of weather throughout Russia: “from December to March, extraordinary thaws (up to +12)”...
And this is only a small part of the list - in just the past millennium there have been 130 extremely mild winters!
In ancient times, priests announced to the people that people themselves were guilty of, say, solar eclipse. And then they staged demonstration performances and collected “donations” to the gods. Little has changed in our time - the current heralds of the climate apocalypse act on the same principle, claiming that we ourselves are to blame for “global warming.” All countries are asked to limit carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere in order to avoid the greenhouse effect.
The idea is not bad, but the method of its implementation is associated with the appearance of a new product on the international market - quotas, which transfers the “climate” topic to the category of “economic”: which explains such intensity of passions around global warming.
Physicist, psychologist Irina Tsareva

In recent weeks, the media has been trumpeting that the world could end on October 12th. Allegedly, a giant asteroid will fly near the Earth, which could destroy the planet.

While humanity is still alive, we decided to talk with the head of the research department solar system Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Shematovich about why they constantly scare us about the end of the world and whether there is an asteroid that really threatens to destroy the Earth.

Valery Shematovich

Valery Ivanovich, you’ve definitely heard about this dangerous giant asteroid, which is supposed to cause the end of the world on October 12 - is there even a pinch of truth in this?

The asteroid actually flew past the Earth at about 7 a.m. Moscow time. He flew relatively close to the Earth, but close - that's 50 thousand kilometers. Its dimensions are about 13 meters, this asteroid was discovered back in 2014, it flew past us before, scientists are watching it and know its orbit. By and large, this is the most common event; many different small bodies fly past the Earth.

Then why did the media highlight this particular event? After all, people started talking about this asteroid almost a year before today.

Apparently the public after summer season excited and waiting for sensations. I read on the Internet, there were many messages that it would supposedly fall to Earth. As you can see, it didn’t fall - it flew past without any consequences.

Who's lying about the end of the world?

Who do you think is starting these rumors about the end of the world? Facilities mass media or maybe the astronomers themselves, wanting to become famous?

There are often reports in the press that one or another huge asteroid will fall to Earth, which will cause large-scale destruction, the end of the world, and the like, but this is all a damaged phone. I don’t think this comes from astronomers - they are professionals and will not risk their reputation. This usually comes from the press, which takes information from astronomers, distorts the numbers and exaggerates the story. There is a special asteroid-rock hazard program that monitors near-Earth space and all objects flying past the Earth. If such an object comes very close to the Earth, scientists first of all warn the Ministry of Emergency Situations and residents, and do not write in the media. But usually the probability of a collision with the Earth is very small.

- Have there been cases when real danger actually arose?

Of course, the Chelyabinsk meteorite, for example. Astronomers, however, could not predict its fall. The problem is that it came from the direction of the Sun, and it shines so brightly that it is quite difficult to observe the sky in the direction of the Sun. But astronomers are now busy developing systems that would warn of the approach of such objects from the direction of the Sun. Today's asteroid was not coming from the direction of the Sun, so we knew its orbit well.

When will the world really end?

- Are there any asteroids that could fall to Earth in the coming months or years?

Yes, they fall quite often, but these are mostly small objects that either completely or almost completely burn up in the atmosphere. These beautiful “shooting stars” are precisely a consequence of their entry into the atmosphere. But objects larger than 10 meters do not have time to burn and produce a magnificent spectacle - a meteorite recently fell in Altai, in Canada. But the consequences of such explosions are negligible.

- And those that can pose a real danger to the Earth?

There is a whole catalog of objects that we know about. In the next 10 years, nothing from these objects known to us will threaten us. But we don’t know everything - there are many objects in space that have not yet been recorded. Therefore, a truly dangerous new object may appear completely unexpectedly.

- Could a collision with an asteroid even lead to the end of the world, or is this something out of science fiction?

No, this is not fantasy at all. There are objects that can be very dangerous. Scientists think about them. There is such an asteroid Apophis, and there was talk in the scientific community that in 2022 it could fly very close to Earth, and if it falls, the consequences will be fatal. But scientists have clarified its orbit and the threat of its collision with the Earth has become vanishingly small. It may someday end up in a more dangerous orbit in another 50 years, but for now we can sleep soundly.

Well, okay, but if astronomers discover a giant asteroid that will soon crash to Earth, then what to do next? How to prepare for this?

The question is how long before astronomers can find out about the collision and warn everyone. We cannot do anything with an asteroid approaching the Earth, but we can calculate approximately the region where it can fall and declare a mass evacuation. On this moment we can warn people about where exactly a space object will fall at least 4-5 hours, or even a day before the fall. This time is quite enough to take people out.

Russia and the United States, on the one hand, fighting in Syria against terrorists, on the other hand, defending their interests in the Middle East, suddenly somehow imperceptibly stood on the verge of war with each other... The worst thing is that they are not quietly talking about the reality of the third world war , on the sidelines, quoting rare statements from politicians and experts, but they blow the whistle loudly, as if preparing Russians for the inevitability of this war. "MY! Online decided to figure out why this is being done and what dire consequences this propaganda can lead to.

1. Why does everyone say that Russia is preparing for war?

IN Lately militaristic propaganda literally unfolded in the federal media. Moreover, the state is no, no, and it gives another reason to talk about the war. Here are just a few of these “subtle hints on thick circumstances.”

In September, large-scale military exercises involving government officials took place across the country. Even Governor Alexey Gordeev dressed in military uniform and took up the machine gun. In Moscow, they carried out an inventory of all bomb shelters, happily reporting that there were enough for everyone. In early October, the media heatedly discussed the unprecedented increase in secret federal budget spending on the defense industry. Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg, the authorities seriously approved daily norm bread in case of war. The Baltic states and Poles reacted with horror to the news that Russia had deployed Iskander-M missile systems with nuclear warheads in the Kaliningrad region, closer to the borders with Europe.

Governor Alexey Gordeev during exercises at the Pogonovo training ground on September 20. Photo from the regional government website

This whole picture is complemented by periodic comments from the mouths of top officials in Russia and the United States, which make the hair stand on end. For example, the chief of staff ground forces US Mark Milley said that “military conflict between the US and Russia is virtually guaranteed.” And a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, a confidant of the President of the Russian Federation, Sergei Markov, said in one of his interviews: “The war could start even before the November elections in the United States. Personally, I plan to stock up on 200 cans of pulled pork to be prepared for a potential military crisis, and I advise everyone to do the same.”

2. Why is militaristic propaganda dangerous for a generation unafraid of war?

But it all started two years ago, when, at the height of the aggravation of relations between Russia and the West against the backdrop of the situation in Ukraine, the TV presenter of the Vesti Nedeli program Dmitry Kiselyov said on air federal channel that “Russia is the only country in the world capable of turning the United States into radioactive ash.” Then these words hurt the ears of many. Two years later, people talk about nuclear war calmly.

In general, the word “war” in the modern everyday life of many Russians has somehow lost its sacred original meaning of something terrible and vile. Even in Soviet time, in the midst cold war, the nuclear arms race was commonly called “nuclear madness.” Today, Russian missile systems have become the subject of some unhealthy populist interest of the masses. S-300 installations are affectionately called “three hundred”; videos on YouTube about how the most powerful nuclear missile in the world, “Satan,” works, collect millions of views and hundreds of admiring comments; and recently one of the furniture factories began producing cribs in the form of Buk anti-aircraft missile systems...

They began to treat the war with a kind of wild bravura and ease. Placing a sticker on a car with the inscription “1941 - 1945 - we can repeat it” has become almost the highest manifestation patriotism. But if you think about it, what to repeat? The worst war in the history of our country? Hunger and devastation? 27 million victims of the Soviet people?!

As Gazeta.Ru rightly points out, “the problem is that the generation of Russians who have not fought (the last experience of a truly serious war was the participants in the Afghan campaign born in the 1950s and early 1960s), and also stuck head over heels in official militaristic propaganda, may fall into war by accident, against one’s own will.”

3. Who benefits from the theme of war?

The most realistic version is that the Kremlin is flexing its muscles in front of the West in the struggle for spheres of global influence. It is known that by 2020 a global missile defense system will be created in the United States, which will greatly undermine the Russian potential for “massive nuclear retaliation.” Therefore, it is desirable for the Kremlin to effectively resolve the confrontation with the United States over the next few years. The best option— agree on new conditions of coexistence. The worst option, as political scientist Georgy BOVT writes, “fits into the “philosophy of the St. Petersburg street”: if you feel that a fight is inevitable, strike first.”

The leader of the Yabloko party, oppositionist Grigory YAVLINSKY, believes that the authorities need the hysteria of the coming war in order to maintain tension in society: they say, “we live in difficult times, a war could happen any minute, and therefore say thank you that at least we live like this.”

4. Is Voronezh on the US list of nuclear targets?

List of goals for nuclear bombs US ardorations in Central Russia, 1956

We don't want to escalate the situation again. But so that no one is in the habit of thinking in the spirit of “We can do it again” or enjoying videos of ballistic missile launches, we tried to speculate what would happen to us in the event of a third world war, and how deadly this war would be.

In the list of American nuclear targets from 1956, which was recently declassified by the US National Security Archive, 5 nuclear bombs were to be dropped on the Voronezh region - three of them on Voronezh itself, another one each on Borisoglebsk and Rossosh.

The latest public data on US strategic objectives in the event of a nuclear war dates back to 2001. The list of targets includes 207 objects in Russia. These are air defense and strategic nuclear forces units, Rosrezerv storage facilities, storage facilities and manufacturing centers nuclear weapons, airfields strategic aviation, fleet bases, missile bases, telecommunications centers and repeaters. According to calculations, such a nuclear strike would kill 8-12 million people. Got into American list goals and three objects in Voronezh region: Baltimore airfield, air defense units stationed in the region, and a nuclear missile weapons storage base near Borisoglebsk.

5. What will happen to the city during a nuclear explosion?

According to the Pentagon, Russia currently has 1,796 strategic nuclear warheads ready for launch, which is 429 more than the United States (1,367). But even if both countries had only 300 nuclear warheads, this would already be enough for the mutual destruction of both states.

The existing missile defense (missile defense) system with massive nuclear strike- it’s like a flimsy net against a school of large fish. A couple of fish will get entangled in it, but the main school will break through it. And the power of many modern hydrogen bombs hundreds of times greater than the power of the two nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So 3 bombs on the US list of targets from 1956 is even unnecessary. To turn a city like Voronezh into “radioactive ash” (to quote Dmitry Kiselyov), one will be enough.

By analogy with the brochure of the Ministry of Emergency Situations “Measures in the situation of “Nuclear Alert”. Moscow Civil Defense Headquarters” we decided to simulate what would happen to Voronezh if a bomb (God forbid!) fell, say, in the area of ​​Lenin Square?

*At the epicenter of the explosion a light flash appears, the brightness is many times greater than the observed one sunlight. Within 0.03 - 0.04 sec. the flash forms into a dazzling luminous sphere 1.5 - 2 km in diameter, with a temperature of 10 - 20 million degrees C. It covers the city center, which includes the railway station, the Zastava Square area, the circus and Admiralty Square, and everything included in this space instantly ceases to exist, turning into a plasma state.

*Within a radius of 3 - 4 km(Northern Bridge, Leninsky Prospekt, Moskovsky Prospekt (to the 45th Strelkovaya Division Street) and 9 January Street to the brewery) all objects of organic origin immediately exposed to the direct thermal radiation of the explosion (unsheltered people, animals, plants, wooden parts of buildings facing the direction of the explosion). Asphalt road surfaces, metal fences, roofs and parts of building structures, concrete and brick walls melt, evaporate, and instantly burn out.

*Within a radius of 20 - 25 km(airport, Semiluki, Novaya Usman, Maslovka, Shilovo, Gremyache, etc.) all wooden, plastic, painted surfaces and plants facing the explosion and accessible to direct thermal radiation flare up. Metal roofs burn out, concrete, brick, glass, metal, stone melt. Window frames burn, wires melt, asphalt catches fire. The active fire zone instantly covers the entire city and nearby suburbs. The reservoir simply evaporates. The shock wave will provoke an accident at the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant, located 42 km from Lenin Square, which will lead to no less destructive consequences.

As you can see, the chances of city residents surviving such an explosion are practically zero, unless someone is in a reliable underground shelter at the time of the explosion. But even in this case, survivors will most likely face a slow, painful death from the effects of the explosion and radiation.

I wonder why they constantly scare me? and not just me? Is it really easier for someone to live knowing that now someone is sitting and afraid?
Our life is already full of fears. With the birth of children, I generally acquired a bunch of fears. I’m afraid of cars, trams, I see a maniac in everyone I meet, etc., etc. I think mothers will understand me.
But someone decided that this was not enough for me. We are walking down the street. Some old woman, who had noticed us from afar, comes up and gallops through the puddles and lawns. And it begins. “Here’s a booklet for you. Read it. Soon the world will end and everyone will die. It’s written in the Bible...” and away we go. I asked once, what should I do to avoid this? There was no answer. I just put my finger on the words again about the fact that everyone will die... As soon as I see an old lady jumping over a puddle with a fanatical look, I’m preparing an answer. "I know the world is going to end soon." And I’m wondering, do they really want me to bury myself in some bunker and sit there waiting for this very end of the world? Personally, I don't believe in him. Or rather, I interpret it differently... and considering that such grannies only go after mothers with small children... what are they trying to achieve?
Then we go home. I open the Internet. The pages are full of messages and articles about fires, car accidents, maniacs, and drunken fights. and not a single article about anything good. What are articles about YU and education reform worth to me, as a mother of two children? And the comments to them, mostly far-fetched and inflated to incredible proportions... Girls, believe me, no one needs your children. There is nowhere to put abandoned children anyway. If your child is dressed, shod, fed, not beaten or forgotten, then you have nothing to fear. The most you can be afraid of is periodic checks. Why be afraid of them - if everything is fine with you? and about reforms - of course, they are scary. But I’m trying to figure it out myself, and I understand that you shouldn’t be afraid of everything. in the worst case, I can teach my children myself.
I turn on the TV. News is generally something with something. After watching the news, both global and local, I understand that salvation is only on another planet. Cars are crashing one after another, the world is full of inadequate people who harm people in one way or another, epidemics, natural disasters, fires, catastrophes, terrible rare diseases, terrorists... I agree, it exists, but it’s not so bad, is it? where are the holidays? where are the happy moments of recovery from old illnesses? Why don't they show anything good?
My godmother lives in France. She had been watching the news all day on purpose. according to her the most terrible news- wild boars trampled part of the crop. All. and they do not live in ignorance. everyone knows they're terrible terrible disasters. but still there is more space for carnivals, reviews of positive events and the lives of good people.

And we are constantly intimidated. It's hard to live in constant fear. especially when it is fed around the clock.
Enjoy life. She's better than they show her to us!

NTV, controlled by the authorities, is already advertising nuclear war.

A certain expert spoke about a plan to save Russians in the event of a nuclear war, I How former employee GO in the early 90s, I’ll say from myself, thiseverything is complete nonsense... The old Soviet shelters were all long ago turned over to warehouses or repurposed; they were no longer built in new urban areas... The metro has also practically lost its protective functions...
As befits advertising, everything in it is a complete deception.

And the truth in a nutshell is this:

1. Only complete madmen can start a nuclear war
2. After the start of a nuclear war, most Russians will die (especially those living in major cities) . That's it... No amount of money will help anyone.
3. All these “bomb shelters” are fiction, window dressing and another way of theft.

So why are they scaring us? nuclear war and who benefits from this?