Hacking Weather and Severe Storms
We are like children at times playing with fire and other things we don’t truly understand
We were driving home yesterday from a visit to North Carolina to greet our newest grandson. My wife does most of our long-distance driving since she enjoys driving more than I do. Out of the blue she said, “Do you think Hurricane Helene was so severe because of the cloud seeding?
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which was an unusually large and destructive storm, you can bet that climate catastrophists will claim this is more proof that we are seeing an increase in extreme weather due to manmade climate change.
The question continues to be debated and, despite claims to the contrary, no scientific consensus has been reached. Data going back decades does not support the claim that hurricanes are strengthening in number and power. The issue of climate change, specifically whether we are in state of emergency justifying radical measures such as achieving “zero carbon” in an unrealistically short span of time, is one of the most contentious issues of our present day. It is right up there with systemic racism, gender fluidity, and abortion as topics sure to trigger extreme, uncompromising positions from opposite sides.
Enter my lovely wife, who seems to have a unique knack for keeping things simple. Years ago, she pointed out what she called “chem trails”, long before I was aware of them. In case you haven’t gazed up recently, these look like contrails that we typically see with high-flying jet aircraft. “Chem trails” are different. There are usually many of them at one time, they do not dissipate the way contrails do, and they crisscross the skin in patterns we don’t typically see with contrails.
She said that she had read that the government was doing something in the skies over us, possibly seeding clouds. My first reaction was skepticism.
At first, I dismissed this and told her I thought she was overreacting and it sounded like another of the countless conspiracy theories circulating these days. Then, I went online and did a Google search and, lo and behold, there was voluminous information, including from our government sites, that federal and state governments were really regularly seeding clouds to encourage rainfall. The materials typically used for cloud-seeding include silver iodide, which is supposedly “harmless”; dry ice (solid carbon dioxide), and metal chaff.
Could cloud seeding be responsible for extreme weather? A fair question There is vigorous debate on the topic of unintentional, manmade climate change whether due to greenhouse gases or other causes, e.g. deforestation. But what about deliberate weather manipulation, a more limited, yet focused effort, however one that is more likely to affect local weather conditions? The answer appears to be yes. Did cloud seeding contribute to Hurricane Helene’s incredible destructiveness and record setting rainfall? That is a more specific question and one for which I do not have an answer.
This brings up an age-old question: just because we are capable of doing something, should we do it? This question can be applied to the splitting of the atom, which gave us both clean energy and potential nuclear catastrophes and nuclear bombs. It can be applied to genetic manipulation with its potential for great good and harm. It can be applied to gain of function research of deadly viruses. And it can be applied to trying to manipulate somethings as complex and poorly understood as weather and climate. One of history’s lessons is that mankind’s technological progress all too often outpaces moral and philosophic development. Science without a moral compass can be diabolical.
We are not little gods with unlimited capability answerable only to ourselves. Our hubris and limited understanding have given us such abominations as nuclear weapons, eugenics, manmade pandemics, and, possibly, devastating weather.
Richard T. Bosshardt, MD, FACS
Senior Fellow at Do No Harm
Founding Fellow of FAIR in Medicine
My book, The Making of a Plastic Surgeon: Two Years in the Crucible Learning the Art and Science, allows you to share the journey that must be undertaken by every board-certified plastic surgeon. It is a peek into the most fascinating and universally misunderstood specialty.