Weather Modification

[pmaust]

I saw in the news that there is a Bill being sponsored by members of the US congress to study weather modification. Previous attempts at doing this have been sketchy at best. Does anyone here know much about this? Can weather be controlled and manipulated? What are your thoughts?

[jkellmd]

I saw in the news that there is a Bill being sponsored by members of the US congress to study weather modification. Previous attempts at doing this have been sketchy at best. Does anyone here know much about this? Can weather be controlled and manipulated? What are your thoughts?

 

Since you have gone a few hours without being answered, I will give it a shot. I am no meteorologist, but my understanding is that factors affecting weather, even locally, are extremely complex, large in scale, and difficult to manipulate. Causing rain to fall, by cloud seeding, for example, is highly inefficient, expensive, and rather unreliable. Causing larger scale changes in weather patterns takes years/decades to accomplish, and is generally considered as harmful. If, like most, you believe global warming is a reality, then you understand that we ARE causing large scale weather changes at this time, but unintentionally. Ecosystems are complex, and often fragile; and, results from a few degrees of temperature change, changes in atmospheric chemistry, soil chemistry changes, etc, cannot be predicted. The ability to intentionally cause larger scale weather manipulations would lie years in the future, if possible at all. Perhaps this is why the US government wishes to begin serious research, although you might not want them to succeed in their goal. Seems like science fiction, so far.

[InfiniteNow]

I recall recently seeing a special on this either on PBS (maybe NOVA) or perhaps it was the Discovery Science channel. I honestly was falling asleep while it was on so don't know if there was anything legitimate about it, but they were stating that the US military did this (seeded the clouds and causing rain) during Vietnam... essentially to make all of their dirt roads into mud and unpassable. :) :eek2:

 

 

 

Here's some other information that was discussed on NPRs "All Things Considered" about two years ago: :)

 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1464584

 

 

Cheers. :eek:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

InfiniteNow

[Taraxanoid]

Back in 1934, a group of keen 'scientists' studied ways in which they could amplify wind speed and integrity in order to create adequate lift for the premature spacecraft/glider of which they built out of an Aluminium/Tin alloy. They found out that all they had to do to alter the weather in the way they needed to was as simple as building a giant, 21 storey electric fan. They never got the council's approval when they asked if they could excavate land for an intricate underground construction facility - of which they felt they needed in order to build the giant fan.