I couldn’t believe my eyes when I recently read this article on China’s attempts to control the weather. As if coming straight out of wild west tales of Indians being able to conjure up rain clouds by dancing wildly around a campfire, it is being reported that China is pumping an estimated $90 million dollars into producing rain for it’s farmers. How do they do it? By using rockets filled with silver iodide being fired by “32,000 people, 7,100 anti-aircraft guns, 4,991 special rocket launchers and 30-odd aircraft across the country.” With annual rainfall less than that of most other countries, China is training farmers to look for potential rain clouds and fire the rockets for a wage of $12k a year. Plus this form of climate control is a great asset when it comes to fighting wildfires and sandstorms.
So does it work? Before I give the numbers how bout this little bit of info, the China is promising that by the time the summer Olympics are held there in 2008 they will be able to ensure clear skies for the duration of the event. Experiments are being conducted that would allow farmers armed with the chemical rockets to be stationed miles away from the Olympic events and ”explode” any potential rain making clouds, causing them to empty their water before they can interfere with the games. At an amazing success rate of 20%, climate controlling is said to have been successful during the 1993 East Asian Games and again in 1999 for Word Horti Expo.
At this point it’s unclear if the chemicals used are literally raining pollution down on the people of China, but with each new test comes more research and new ways to ensure a clean rain. With Israel and Russia also conducting weather experiments, one can’t help but wonder if the United States should take steps in the direction in an attempt to end the drought being experienced by parts of the country.
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