CLOUD SEEDING-WHAT’S THAT?
Hello again everyone! Today, I am sick with the flu and a bad cough. I went to the doctors’s to take care of it right away so it wouldn’t turn into phenomena. I’ve had that three times this year so far and want to avoid it at all costs. I pray all of you are healthy or are able to get fast medical treatment.
Speaking of taking care of things, let’s take a look at cloud seeding. What exactly is it…
Cloud seeding is basically the ability to manipulate rainfall. “Even in areas with very low humidity, there's at least some water in the sky and clouds. A rainstorm happens after moisture collects around naturally occurring particles in the air, causing the air to reach a level of saturation at which point it can no longer hold in that moisture. Cloud seeding essentially helps that process along, providing additional
"nuclei" around which water condenses. These nuclei can be salts, calcium chloride, dry ice or silver iodide, which the Chinese use. Silver iodide is effective because its form is similar to ice crystals. Calcium chloride is often used in warm or tropical areas.
“There are three cloud seeding methods; static, dynamic and hygroscopic:
• Static cloud seeding involves spreading a chemical like silver iodide into clouds. The silver iodide provides a crystal around which moisture can condense. The moisture is already present in the clouds, but silver iodide essentially makes rain clouds more effective at dispensing their water.
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| Cloud seeding China |
• Hygroscopic cloud seeding disperses salts through flares or explosives in the lower portions of clouds. The salts grow in size as water joins with them. In his report on cloud seeding, Cotton says that hygroscopic cloud seeding holds much promise, but requires further research.”
China has a government run program called the Weather
Modification Program in which they pour millions of dollars every year to launch thousands of specially designed rockets and artillery shells into the sky in hopes of increasing rainfall in drought ridden areas. And areas where its water supplies are significantly polluted, and to cool big cities on hots days. They even went as far as to research how to prevent rain from occurring at the 2008 summer Olympics, and were successful in preventing rain from falling!
But China is not the only one who practices these methods. Russia, Israel, Britain, Thailand, South Africa, the Caribbean nations, Australia and the United States of America all have worked on cloud seeding. Some nations like the U.S., China, Britain, and others have been experimenting and refining techniques since the 1940’s and 50’s.
So the big question is; how reliable is cloud seeding? China obviously believes they are doing good, increasing rainfall as much as 13% in some areas. Australia claims it doesn’t work in the outback but works well in Tasmania. The U.S. has stopped federal funding since the 1970’s but states such as Texas and Oklahoma still pour funding into it claiming good results. And in Britain it actually worked too well.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) began experimenting with cloud seeding shortly after the end of WWII. “During an August
1952 operation, RAF pilots flew above the cloud line, dropping payloads of dry ice, salt and -- like the Chinese currently use -- silver iodide. After just 30 minutes, rain began to fall from the infected clouds. At first, the RAF pilots -- dubbed rainmakers by the press -- reputedly celebrated their success. But within the week a deluge began. By the end of the month, North Devon, an area of England near the site of the cloud-seeding experiment, experienced 250 times the normal amount of rainfall. On August 15, 1952, the day the rain started, an estimated 90 million tons of water coursed through the town of Lynmouth in just one day. Entire trees were uprooted, forming dams and allowing the tide of the two rivers flowing through Lynmouth to grow even stronger in force. Boulders were carried by the current, destroying buildings and carrying residents into the sea. In all, 35 Britons lost their lives that day as a result of the torrential rain. Britain's Ministry of Defense maintains that it had not experimented with cloud seeding prior to the Lynmouth incident.”
It is a lesson in playing with God’s systems. There are other things to consider too such as are we now adding other pollutants into the atmosphere (the silver iodide and other cloud seeding particles), and are we watering one area only to rob another of its water source? Does bringing water to needed areas outweigh the potential and real threats? Only time will tell because I don’t believe there will be an end to these advances.
I, myself, am grateful I live in a rural area that does not subscribe to these methods. I am much more comforted by leaving the weather up to our Lord and Savior!
Until next time, God bless and take care,
Willow Dressel
References:
1https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/meteorologists/cloud-seeding1.htm
2https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/manufacture-water2.htm
