CLOUD SEEDING PAGE
HOWEVER THERE IS CLOUD SEEDING
INFORMATION IN THE SUPPORTING
EVIDENCE
'Cloud
seeding' is the attempt to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls
out of clouds or the structure of clouds by using certain chemicals dispersed
by various means.
The most common chemicals used but not limited to for cloud
seeding include silver
iodide and dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide). These chemicals
may be dispersed
by aircraft or by dispersion devices located on the ground.
For example, silver iodide flares will be ignited as an aircraft flies
through
a cloud. When released by devices on the ground, air currents may pull the fine
particles up into the air. The hope is with cloud seeding is that chemicals
provide a nucleus for moisture in the cloud to form around, which they hope will
cause the precipitation to increase from the clouds or cause the clouds to become
less dense. It is debated whether cloud
seeding increases the amount of precipitation
from a cloud. Part of the problem is that it is impossible to know how much precipitation
would have occurred had the cloud not been seeded.
The
first largely noted attempt at cloud seeding was in the state of Massachusetts
in 1946.
A plane seeded a cloud with crushed dry ice; snow began falling
out of that cloud. Noted atmospheric scientist Bernard Vonnegut (brother of novelist
Kurt Vonnegut) is credited with discovering the potential of silver iodide for
use in cloud seeding. An attempt by the US to
modify hurricanes in the Atlantic
basin using cloud seeding in the 1950's was called Project Stormfury. Watch
video of Ben Livingston, Naval Weapons Center and Navy Post Graduate,
talk about his part in Project
Stormfury
Today,
cloud seeding is used to attempt to increase precipitation in areas experiencing
drought, to attempt to reduce the size of hailstones that form in thunderstorms,
and to attempt to
reduce the amount of fog in and around airports. Cloud seeding
is also used by some major ski resorts to induce snow fall with questionable results.
Currently the National Research Council concludes that "there
still is no convincing scientific proof of the efficacy of intentional weather
modification efforts."
In our opinion cloud seeding is a voiloation of our rights. There should be no weather modification at all. The air, clouds or the atomosphere does not belong to any one country, government or for profit agency. Also, there has been no long term study as to the health effects to humans, animals and the enviorment. To seed clouds without the express consent of the people is to conduct human experimention against the will of the people. There is no concrete proof that cloud seeding works. Could seeding experiments should be stopped now!
LA
County Board of Supervisors approved $800,000 for
weather modification
cloud
seeding
program