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Cloud Seeding - Uncertain Solution for Mexico’s Drought
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Written By: Emilio Godoy */ipsnews
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Posted Date: 2/8/2012 8:59:50 AM
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As half of Mexico endures one of the most severe droughts in
its history, cloud seeding appears to be a promising way to
bring desperately needed rain, although it remains a source of
controversy.
While some promote the benefits of cloud seeding, others insist that
there is no solid evidence of its effectiveness, in addition to the
fact that the potential effects on the air, water and soil of the
chemicals used have not been sufficiently studied.
"The methodology is not proven; the investment made has not yielded
any results that demonstrate that cloud seeding leads to more
precipitation," Graciela Binimelis of the Atmospheric Sciences Centre
at the public National Autonomous University of Mexico told
Tierramérica.
Binimelis, who holds a PhD in atmospheric sciences from the
University of Washington, has studied the physics of clouds for more
than two decades.
Cloud seeding involves the spraying of selected clouds with
chemicals, usually silver iodide, either from aircraft or from the
ground through the use of generators or rockets. This leads to the
formation of ice crystals, which grow in size until they reach the
necessary weight to fall in the form of rain at lesser altitudes.
Silver iodide can cause possible residual injury to humans and
mammals with intense or continued but not chronic exposure.
Cloud seeding is practiced along the border between the southern
United States and northern Mexico, as well as in Argentina, Chile,
Spain and China, the country that uses it most.
"If it is carried out uninterruptedly, with the necessary logistical
support, trained personnel and specially adapted aircraft before the
rainy season, the results will be positive," pilot Gustavo Dietz, who
has flown aircraft used in cloud seeding operations in the northern
states of Mexico, assured Tierramérica.
For his part, Gary Walker of Just Clouds, a company based in the
southern U.S. state of Texas dedicated to cloud seeding operations
and atmospheric research, told Tierramérica, "Properly seeded clouds
will make clouds last longer and produce more aerial coverage."
Cloud seeding is not considered to fall under the category of
geoengineering, also known as climate engineering, a concept that
refers to any large-scale, human-made effort to manipulate the planet
to adapt to climate change.
As a result, it is not subject to the moratorium imposed |
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