It is not the fault of the article, which is very informative, that I am left wondering whether this is something I should be concerned about as far as my son and his family are concerned, or if I can safely leave it for those much further into the future to worry about.
I assume, maybe somewhat rashly, that there is an international group, or groups, somewhere that is developing a plan of action should the poles suddenly begin a reversal.
One thing I think we can be sure of is that in order to reduce being irradiated and the consequent cancer risks there will be migration away from any path that the poles might be seen to be following.

I find myself falling back to a subject that I thought I was not interested in , of which I took when I had a professor that taught engineering and insisted we take his geology class ; go figure ? , although it's interesting .

Why would the electrical grid be at risk. It is not like the permanent magnets that are used in generating power will change polarity. The electromagnetic fields from power generation and transmission are much stronger than the relatively weak magnetic field of the Earth.

@Blazemonger: I don't know that the Earth's magnetic poles have any effect on permanent magnets. However, my schooling tells me that a conductor experiencing a magnetic flux will produce a current. This is the principle behind most electrical power generators. So the electrical grid has a lot of conductors and movement of the Earth's magnetic poles would constitute a large magnetic flux. Depending on how quickly it happens, the grid could be overloaded with unexpected current.

The cause is obvious to someone like myself with no scientific qualifications and a lifetime's interest in quackery. The earth acts both as a gyroscope and as an electric motor. There is a solid core and a mantel which must have a unique magnetic pattern of mineral deposits, which tend towards a stable spin. When however as is happening now, there is an in-balance between the poles, the north disappearing and the South increasing massively, a force is being applied akin to making a gyroscope to precess. As the 'motor' is free to move in three dimensions rather than the two we are used to thanks to a fixed armature, given the right conditions the force may be enough to cause the relation between the core and the mantel to assume another symmetry - a 180 degree reversal, a flip which will be rapid and violent. The weather during such a phase should be horrendous! Then there will be calm!

even if the flux of the earth's magnetic field causes no problems for our electric grid or gadgets - what if we are hit with a nice solar flare during a time when the magnetic field is weak or almost non-existent.
the previous comment about the weather makes me wonder if this is at all related to the currently perceived 'climate change'...

What effect will this have on iron deposits in the earth's crust? Stress, continental drift, a shift in the earth's axis or something else? Increased radiation, weather changes, ocean current shifts, creating another ice age? From various articles I have read, the earth probably has only another thousand years or so left, but that's another subject.

If Earth's magnetic field collapses or at least retreats below the surface for a time, all the solar and interstellar energy the field currently deflects toward the poles will be able to strike deeper into the atmosphere or even hit the surface.

The concern is not so much that we can't adapt in some way to a reduced magnetic field, its more about how our biodiversity will be affected.
Because it is one thing to have a higher rate of cancer and technology improving in this field to offset this (think 1000+ SPF sun cream, better cancer treatments, etc). But for the living creatures in the open that are already struggling from reduced habitat and pollution. There will definitely be a lot more extinctions. And I know some might claim that this is the cycle of nature, and the shift is a cyclic earth thing, but to me it seems like a cop out. If we can preserve a species just so that our next generation has one more thing to marvel at then all the better.
Can think of no worse a future where the only living non-human creatures are those we grown for consumption.

Any change in the magnetic properties of the earth's core must be governed by it's viscosity.