Everybody has a hot button. For Bernard Eastlund, it's controlling the weather. He says:
In my opinion, the new technology for use of artificial plasma layers in the atmosphere: as heater elements to modify steering winds, as a modifier of electrostatic potential to influence lightning distribution, and for generation of acoustic and gravitational waves, could ultimately provide a core technology for a science of severe weather modification.
Well, maybe.
Eastlund estimates that in ten to twenty years "the science of weather modification" will enable "controlling the severity and impact of severe weather systems as large as hurricanes."
These comments and many more are from an article on Space.com with the unnecessarily alarmist title of "U.S. Military Wants to Own the Weather."
Space.com usually can be counted on for good reporting and interesting stories. But this one is a disappointment. Not only is some of the "science" touted by Bernard Eastlund questionable, but the main source used for claiming that the U.S. aims to own the weather is an obscure report written in 1996.
That report came with requisite disclaimers, such as the views expressed were those of the authors and didn’t reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the United States government. Furthermore, the report was flagged as containing fictional representations of future situations and scenarios.
Numerous quotes are pulled out of the report, but no one from the U.S. military, or any branch of the U.S. government, is asked for an up-to-date opinion on the subject.
Not surprisingly, nanotechnology is singled out as a way to manipulate weather for military purposes. But the ideas suggested in the article seem more suited for a 19th century ground battle than for a 21st century war using nano-built weaponry.
Mike Treder
Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano science technology ethics weblog blog
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