We have all heard of the conspiracy theory of the government controlling the weather.  Making it rain or snow with a press of a button.  Silly, right?  But not entirely incorrect, cloud seeding has been dated since the 1940’s. For over half a century we’ve been using cloud seeding and still not enough information out there about what it is and what it does.  

Cloud seeding is a weather modification technique that is designed to enhance precipitation, such as rain or snowfall, from clouds. The seeding agents that are commonly used are silver iodide, potassium iodide, and sodium chloride. They are used to act like nuclei which then form into water droplets that rain in warmer weather and then form into snowflakes in the colder weather, to increase the precipitation. Cloud seeding can be controlled in the air with an aircraft, which involves them going directly into the clouds to release the agents. Another way it can be controlled is on the ground which involves releasing the agents into the atmosphere using flares or rockets to release the agents into the clouds.  

Cloud seeding can be a good thing. It can help with agriculture because it can reduce the risk of crop failure. It allows more water availability for the crops so they don’t die of droughts. There is less chance of droughts and farmers losing money on dying crops. Another reason is the increasing water supply. It reduces water stress for the plant trying to grow.

With the positive effects of cloud seeding, there are also negative effects of cloud seeding.  Mishandling any of the components with cloud seeding can cause a chain reaction of environmental pollution that can destroy the ecosystem and harm humans.   The silver iodide can break down ozone molecules in the atmosphere which can weaken the ozone layer.  Having increased rainfall can alter the ecosystem’s balance and cause droughts in some areas while other areas will experience flooding and extreme soil erosion.  

If we list out the pros and cons of cloud seeding, we can see all of the pros are connected to the agriculture industry and deeply intertwined with money. Yes, agriculture is one of the biggest industries in the U.S. but 80% of the agricultural land is used for raising livestock. Is it worth it to control the precipitation in the clouds just for the 20%? As much as humans are already destroying the Earth with climate change, we do not need to add controlling the weather to the list of things we have ruined and possibly making way worse than it already is.