The Capital Weather Gang over at The Washington Post has written an excellent description of the threat that our sun poses:
Space weather: Are we ready for a solar strike?
This first in a three part series makes the point that the "more potent solar storms ... have the potential to wreak long-lasting havoc on electric power supply and communications infrastructure around the globe," and that we would have at most a 12 hour notice. What can we do about it? As individuals, not very much. The effort needed to protect our infrastructure requires everyone to pitch in.