Excerpted from Pyramid Rising~It Isn't The End of The World! How We'll Survive 2012 & Beyond by Zach Royer, a new two-part Kindle eBook exclusive.

The planetary clock is moving inexorably closer to the winter solstice of 2012. Prophecies about “the End of the World” and the inevitable destruction of the greater part of the human race have become the most discussed topic on our TV screens, internet chat rooms, and in the media generally.

In the scenarios most often suggested the Earth’s future is presented as a succession of planetary-scale catastrophes, in the face of which a considerable portion of humanity helplessly awaits “the End”. But the “End of the World” is not coming and the vast majority of the Earth’s population will not perish, although serious trials and tribulations do lie ahead for humanity. Coming events will unfold in close connection with processes taking place on the sun which will really begin in late December 2012, when solar activity reaches its peak. Between 16 and 28 December (the phase of the winter solstice) the planet’s core will begin to radiate a flow of energies that, overlying the solar radiation, will stimulate the activity of processes in the Earth’s bio- and geospheres. Super-powerful coronal discharges will bring our planet magnetic storms of unprecedented force that will cause climatic and shorter-term weather anomalies, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, diseases and local conflict.


By correlating many large earthquakes that took place at or near specific 'World Grid' sites from throughout history, such as Giza, Stonehenge, Tiahuanaco, and from many other grid locations (there are 62 in all), I have observed and plotted a definite relationship between these megalithic sites and heightened global seismic activity; an interconnectedness between the cyclical earth changes and these magnificent structures built by man(?) has become apparent. Modern day researchers are just now beginning to theorize about this, investigating what is referred to as the "Planetary Grid".

Two immediate theories came to mind when pondering WHY someone would go out of their way to place megaliths and pyramids all throughout the world, and my overall conclusions were startling, published in my first official paper as an aspiring researcher.

Compiled By Zach Royer
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IN the wake of the recent Japan earthquake and Katrina's devastation, some Americans--particularly Gulf Coast residents--may be wondering whether there are places in the U.S. that are safe from such natural disasters. The short answer? No. The Midwest may not be vulnerable to hurricanes, but twisters drop in regularly. Major earthquakes don't tend to strike New England, but strong winds can peel the roof off a northeastern house and snowstorms can shut down cities.

"Every location in the country is exposed to one disaster or another," says Wendy Rose, spokeswoman for the Institute for Business & Home Safety, a Tampa, Fla.-based nonprofit insurance industry group that aims to reduce losses from natural catastrophes.

Still, some places are less susceptible than others to natural hazards. To get an idea where they might be, we partnered with Sperling's Best Places ( www.bestplaces.net), a data collection company based in Portland, Ore. Sperling's has compiled weather and disaster data for 331 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S., and we used the information to discern the safest--and least safe--areas in which to live.

(AA) In today's world of high-tech portable gadgets, iPods and cell phones, we've become dependent upon readily accessible electric outlets to power our devices and charge our batteries. But now researchers at the University of Washington have discovered nature's alternative to the power outlet: living trees.

That's right, living trees. UW engineers Babak Parviz and Brian Otis have invented an electrical device that can be plugged directly into any tree for power. "As far as we know this is the first peer-reviewed paper of someone powering something entirely by sticking electrodes into a tree," said Parviz.  

The research was based upon a breakthrough study last year out of MIT, when scientists found that plants generate a voltage of up to 200 millivolts when one electrode is placed in a plant and the other in the surrounding soil. Those researchers are already designing devices which act as forest sensors powered entirely by this new method. But until now, no one has applied these findings to the development of tree power. 

It all began last summer with UW undergraduate student Carlton Himes (also the study's co-author). He spent his summer wandering around the woods surrounding campus, hooking nails to bigleaf maple trees and connecting them to his voltmeter. Sure enough, the trees registered a steady voltage of up to a few hundred millivolts.  

The next step for the UW team was to build a circuit to run on the available tree power. Because the voltage generated by the trees can be so small, the resulting device -- a boost converter -- was specialized to take input voltages of as little as 20 millivolts to be stored to produce greater output. The device's produced output voltage ended up being 1.1 volts, which is enough to run low-power sensors.

Of course, the researchers were quick to point out that the technology is still a long way off from being able to power normal electronics. "Normal electronics are not going to run on the types of voltages and currents that we get out of a tree," Parviz said.  

At the very least, these findings open the door for new generations of electronics which might eventually be efficient enough to take advantage of tree power. It certainly excites the imagination. Maybe in time we'll be witness to weekend picnickers lounging in local parks with their iPods and cell phones plugged into the surrounding foliage.

Photo: Engineers Babak Parviz and Brian Otis demonstrate with students how a device can be plugged into a tree for power. (Photo: University of Washington)