Feds Say Technology They Use to Monitor Weather Doesn’t Work

For as long as humans have suffered at the hands of storms, they have longed to control the weather. The United States, like all great empires succumbed to hubris, has long sought to manipulate the skies to its own ends. A new Federal report has been released America hates it.

The report comes from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan watchdog group that investigates the US government. It’s narrowly focused on “cloud seeding,” the practice of adding silver iodide crystals to clouds to squish them and deny them the sweet sweet rain. As droughts regularly hit the western states, many local governments are trying to use cloud seeding to bring rain.

It doesn’t work well. The GAO acknowledged that cloud seeding has some validity, but that it is nearly impossible to measure its effectiveness. “Cloud seeding can increase water availability and provide economic, environmental and human health benefits. Estimates of additional precipitation ranged from 0 to 20 percent in studies reviewed by GAO, the report said. “However, the impact of cloud seeding is difficult to assess due to the limitations of efficacy research.”

The idea of ​​planting something in the clouds to make it rain started in the late 19th century, but it wasn’t studied and perfected until after World War II. “When scientists observed the basis of cloud seeding in the 1940s, they demonstrated that water in clouds can be artificially induced to form ice crystals using dry ice or silver iodide crystals,” the GAO said. “Extensive federal funding for research and development, including field experiments, followed this discovery. For example, total federal funding for climate change in fiscal year 1978 was about $68 million in 2024.

Scientists have never been able to prove that it works. Or if it did, how effective was the sowing of the seed. In the 1980s, the federal government cut off cloud seeding funds. Most cloud seeding schemes these days are local affairs. According to the GAO, nine states (California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming) have cloud seeding.

Seeding methods and characteristics vary greatly between countries and even states. This can be done from an airplane flying overhead or through a cloud system, or from a large ball on the ground that shoots particles into the air. It is often made with silver iodide, but sodium chloride, dry ice, liquid propane, and other salts are also used.

The GAO report lists the technology’s limitations. Utah alone spends $12 million annually on cloud seeding. It’s hard to predict how much rain will fall without cloud seeding, so there’s no great way to create a control group for any study. It is also difficult to know how much the seeds affect the rainfall in a given area. Many previous studies of seed-based precipitation have shown results that are not statistically significant.

“Although one study found an average increase in precipitation of 3 percent in 118 random cases, this effect is not statistically different from zero,” the GAO said. “One study reported an average increase of 3 percent in precipitation between 1977 and 2018 in nine cases, but the statistical results could not conclusively identify the effect of cloud scattering in seven cases.”

The GAO also noted that no one knows what effect the injection of silver iodine crystals and other particles into clouds to create rain has on the flora and fauna on Earth. In dry areas, more water is generally better. But changing water levels in delicate and complex ecosystems can have unexpected consequences. “One stakeholder said it’s unclear whether cloud seeding can improve fish outcomes through higher water levels and lower water temperatures, and it’s unclear how increased soil moisture from cloud seeding can translate into healthier, less dry forests that are less susceptible to wildfires.”

Silver iodine appears to be non-toxic in small doses, but the science is still inconclusive. The report states: “Silver iodide is almost insoluble in water. “However, when it dissolves, it releases a small amount of silver ions. Sufficiently high amounts of silver ions – a known antimicrobial agent – ​​can have a detrimental effect on beneficial bacteria in the environment and water resources.”

The GAO also called out another problem with cloud seeding programs: conspiracy theories. Government control of the weather has long been a feature of conspiracy theories. is a popular topic for Alex Jones and this year, Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene gained notoriety after spreading the following Hurricane Helene.

This has led some lawmakers to view cloud seeding as a threat. Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill in April that would ban all forms of cloud seeding in the state. In an interview with the media, Tennessee lawmakers said they were taking the step avoid chemtrails in the heavens. A ban on cloud seeding will do nothing to prevent chemtrails, which are only condensation and plumes left behind by exhausted aircraft.