Elena Podladchikova

Hello! I welcome everyone to the conference "Global Crisis. Time for the Truth." My name’s Elena Podladchikova, I'm a PhD in space physics, I study the Sun, climate and astrophysics. Currently I'm working at the Davos Observatory on a number of space missions that deal with these fields. What's happening with the climate today is really unusual. As a scientist, it got me thinking. I started asking my colleagues, I started summarizing my research, and really, there's a lot of strange things going on. Let's approach this question in terms of solar activity. 

We all know that there is an 11-year cycle of solar activity, then there is a 100-year cycle, a 200-year cycle (give or take a few years), a 400-year cycle, and so on. The upcoming period is what we in solar physics call a Grand Solar Minimum. Most likely it will last, perhaps, until 2045, according to our current estimate. During the periods of solar minima, especially a long protracted minimum like the current one, which has been going on since 2012, we are exposed to solar and cosmic rays. Cosmic rays are more energetic and more dangerous.

Many stations on Earth that measure cosmic rays are, as expected, registering more and more cosmic rays, very highly charged particles. Cosmic rays are bad for human health. We (scientists) usually don't focus on that, we are kind of aware, but don't write about it. There could be an effect on a heart, on lungs, on a person's lifespan. I would say it's very dangerous. Cosmic rays coming to Earth are not good for the biosphere. We're studying their effects on soil, wetlands, and water. Unfortunately, scientists aren't all united in these studies yet because everyone is studying their own area. 

I think scientists are very, very close now to figuring it out, and we'll soon understand exactly what kind of coherent radiation is affecting the climate. We know very little about our environment and about space. We're scanning outer space at newer and newer wavelengths, at newer resolutions. The technology is improving extremely fast. Sources of coherent maser, laser radiation may be in many places in our galaxy, but the centre of the galaxy probably has a strong source of coherent radiation. Again, this has been discovered by a Japanese telescope and a telescope array in Chile. This is a completely new established fact. For example, at Moscow State University, geologists have established the influence of cosmic objects, the centre of our galaxy, gravitational and other interactions on geological processes.

Friends, the situation is very serious. People are dying. We are aware of that. We can't deny it. A lot of research has been done: Hawking, Zeldovich. Unfortunately, in the past, a lot of scientific minds have been directed towards military developments. 

Friends, scientists around the world, let's come together and think about how we can use at least that information which we have now. We know what is going to happen to the climate. It had already happened 6,000 and 12,000 years ago. What’s happening now is not new to us. How can we survive global disasters? We must act right now because next year it might be too late. Let's direct our efforts towards saving humanity. I didn't want to say this before, but now, after analyzing all the facts… 

The future depends on our choices. We don't have time to ponder. We only have time for action, only for treating each other well, for being completely open, for spreading full information, and for involving a lot of people of interdisciplinary fields. Are you ready? I'm ready for that. Friends, you know, we are geniuses. I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about all of us. Do you see how much we, humanity, have done and how much we have understood? Let's use that! Let's tell each other what we can do. And I believe that we will succeed.