A different question about weather from Derek Jones in Saginaw, Michigan on the show:
“I wanted to know does cloud seeding really work? And if it does why aren’t some, if not all of these drought-ridden states at least attempting to try anything, if it will work. Even if it had a small chance of working. Dead crops. Rivers and lakes drying up, animals dying from heat exhaustion. It’s clear climate change is only getting worse with each passing year, and if man is a direct cause of these changes then man can be part of the solution.”
Cloud seeding was first conceived in the late 1800’s but didn’t get any traction until we had planes to try it out. Basically, various types of compounds are sprayed or shot into clouds to provide nuclei around which water can condense, leading to particles large enough to fall to the ground. I was going to show a bunch of horrifying dry rivers, but I’ll save that for another time.
However, the rapidly worsening water supply crisis has done just what you suggested – prompted governments to try remedies with uncertain success rates. Which is about the best you can say for cloud seeding.
Related Story: Seeding The Sky: Can Scientists Manipulate The Weather To Benefit Agriculture?
Despite the fact that China and other countries are trying more cloud seeding – mostly with silver iodide – has not produced much evidence it works. It’s just too hard to establish a control experiment to compare to. That may change with new methods of measuring cloud droplet size tried last year.
Meager evidence from that experiment showed statistically significant rainfall of 6 millimeters or about ¼”. That is not practically significant however, as corn farmers found out this summer. Indeed, the cost of seeding if it does work makes it more likely to be used to induce snow for the ski industry, which, looking at lift tickets, can well afford it.
Outside China, there is no established seeding industry, just a few operations in North Dakota and other Plains states. I am very skeptical whether it will ever be practical or even proven technology but if I’m wrong, prepare for a burgeoning climate litigation industry to be putting up billboards to attract those who feel, their rain was stolen by a neighboring area.
Finally whenever we reach the point of thinking we GOT to try something even if it has almost no chance of working, prepare to be fleeced.
