Weather control
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Template:Cleanup-date Weather control is the act of manipulating or altering certain aspects of the environment to produce desirable changes in weather.
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History of weather control
Some American Indians had rituals which they believed could induce rain. The Finnish people, on the other hand, were believed by others to be able to control all weather. Thus Vikings refused to take Finns on their raids by sea. Remnants of this belief lasted well into the modern age, with many ship crews being reluctant to accept Finnish sailors.
The early modern era saw people observe that during battles the firing of cannons and other firearms often initiated precipitation. The first example of practical weather control is the lightning rod.
Project Stormfury was an attempt to weaken tropical cyclones (hurricanes) by flying aircraft into storms and seeding the eyewall with silver iodide. The project was run by the United States Government from 1962 to 1983.
Various weather control techniques (e.g. cloud seeding) are used in Russia, especially during preparations for significant anniversaries. Cloud seeding is also used in other areas.
A bill to establish a Weather Modification Operations and Research Board, and for other purposes, was introduced on the floor of the United States Senate on March 3 2005, by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Current operations
HIPAS has several diverse experimental facilities: a 1-megawatt rf transmitter to produce ELF/VLF (Extremely Low and Very Low Frequency) electromagnetic (EM) generation by the absorption of radio Frequency (rf) power in the artic ionospher including ion cyclotron excitation; a 100 kW rf plasma torch used in research on the destruction of hazardous waste; a 2.7 m liquid mirror telescope used with one of several lasers for ionospheric stimulation and measurement; an Incoherent Scatter Radar (a new project using 88 ft. diameter antenna at NOAA Gilmore Creek site 34 km SW of HIPAS as the receiving antenna with the transmitter at HIPAS). We are in the process of adding a very high power (terawatt) laser (recently obtained from LLNL) to perform laser breakdown experiments in the ionosphere. Two Diesel electric generators (1500 HP 4160 V, 3-phase, _1.2 MVA each) are used to power the experiments. there are a number of computers (PC's ) on site, and a high-speed data line to UAF is available.
Modern aspirations
There are two factors which make weather control extremely difficult if not fundamentally unattainable. The first is the immense quantity of energy contained in the atmosphere. The second is its turbulence.
Cloud seeding has a mixed history of successes and failures. Critics generally contend that claimed successes occur in conditions which were going to rain anyway.
Conspiracy theorists have suggested that governments use weather control as a weapon (eg via HAARP and/or chemtrails). Although this has not been proven, U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen allegedly gave credence to the idea at a counterterrorism conference in 1997.
Ideas to consider for the future
- Because this technology hypothetically would allow scheduling and directing weather changes, it would affect the ecosystem and the behaviour of residing organisms. Considering that, its introduction would mandate new legislation to avoid any misuse, abuse and mishandling.
- The extent of ecological repercussions following misuse falls within the operating area of such technology. If the area affected were small, the consequences, could possibly be repaired. If the affected area were neither especially large nor especially small, substantial changes to it could be passed down to the rest of the ecosystem. If the affected area were large, the devestating results would likely affect the whole ecosystem, possibly making the planet uninhabitable for a very long time.
- After such an event, it would be very difficult or impossible to regain the previous state of affairs. Regaining natural balance usually takes time. If help, possibly in the form of even more advanced technology, comes quickly, then regaining a balance similar to the former could be possible.
- If this came to pass, the ecosystem as a whole would be affected forever. Some speculate that:
- The planet would be uninhabitable to humans, at least temporarily.
- The ecosystem could revert to a pre-disaster state, eventually making habitation possible again.
- The ecosystem might move in a random direction. The surviving lifeforms unable to adapt quickly enough would die out; those more nimble in adapation or evolution might thrive.
- In some isolated enclaves, previous species that were able to survive would continue to exist, albeit as a minority.
In fiction
In fiction, weather control technology can be encountered in the realm of science fiction, fantasy and alternative realities. The concept of weather control is often a part of terraforming.
Film and television
Star Trek
In the Star Trek universe, most advanced planets and colonies utilise weather control. A small, but long-established TNG-era (ca 2369) colony a weather control facility for approximately hundred years. Most advanced civilizations apparently employ weather control standard equipment either within the hull or as separate machines for utilization on the ground.
Weather control technology in 2270s required special facilities, modern TNG- and DS9-era technology consists of multiple mid-size devices positioned strategically, networked and controlled from more-or-less arbitrary places.
For example, the planet Risa has its climate controlled to be a tropical paradise. Perhaps one of the few modern exceptions of planets apparently without weather control technology is Ferenginar with continuous rain. (It could be the weather control is set for never ending rain.)
Other films
In Aliens, a colony sent to LV-426 by the Company utilized a fusion-powered terraforming atmosphere processor. In Alien, the planet's climate was not yet suitable for human life.
Storm, a member of the comic book team the X-Men, can control the weather.
In Back to the Future Part II, weather control is possible by the year 2015.
In the film The Avengers (film) Sir August de Wynter (Sean Connery) creates a sattellite capable of controlling the weather.
Computer games
In the Master Of Orion, it is possible to build a weather control building to change the planet's environment.
In Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, the Allies can build the weather control device superweapon, and direct thunderstorms to strike a selected location of the map every 10 game minutes.
In the forthcoming game Spore by Will Wright, players will be able to use a spacecraft to modify planetary atmospheres - creating volcanoes to generate carbon dioxide, seeding plant life to create breathable air, or even using a "Genesis Device" to make a planet habitable in one go.
Prose
Ben Bova's The Weathermakers is the story of a government agency that controls the weather.
Sydney Sheldon's "Are You Afraid of the Dark" is the story of a think tank that builds technology powerful enough to create hurricanes, tornados, and tsunamis.
In Michael Crichton's "State of Fear," ecoterrorists plan to create a tsunami, calve an iceberg, and induce flash flooding and hurricanes.
In the book series Weather Warden by Rachel Caine, the Wardens are an assiociation of people who control the elements - earth, fire and weather. They manipulate the weather to stop hurricanes and tornados destroying the world. The weather is manipulated through all 4 books, based in the United States, and a massive hurricane flattens Florida in the latest book.
Other fictional weather controllers
DC Comics villain Weather Wizard could control the weather with a special kind of technology in the shape of a wand.
Marvel Comics heroes Thor and Storm could control weather; the former because he is the Norse god of thunder, the latter because she is a mutant.
Digimon character Wizardmon could manipulate thunderstorms.
See also
- High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP)
- Weather Modification Operations and Research Board
- global warming
- weather forecasting
External links
- The Testimony of Dr. Tom DeFelice (Past President, Weather Modification Association) in support of Weather Modification Operations and Research Board
- Article Montana restricts spraying to a window of months and requires materials and employee lists
- US Navy Some work is done by The United States Navy using ELF: Simulations of ELF radiation generated by heating the high-latitude D- region. (This work is supported by the Office of Naval Research and, in part, by a grant of HPC time from the DoD High Performance Computing Center at the Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground)
