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California fires

Marjorie Taylor Greene wants politicians to “bring rain down” to stop the wildfires in California

Marjorie Taylor Greene has asked why geoengineering isn’t being used to make it rain in California to stop the fires. Just one major problem with that idea.

MTG calls for silver-iodide bullet to make it rain
Mike BlakeREUTERS

Firefighters in southern California are still battling three major fires in the Los Angeles area that have torched 40,000 acres so far. The worst wildfire outbreak in the region’s history has claimed the lives of at least 24 people.

The smallest, the Hurst Fire, is currently 95% under control, but the two monsters, the Palisades and Eaton Fires, are only 14% and 33% under control, respectively, according to Cal Fire. Critical fire weather created by the Santa Ana winds is expected to continue until at least Wednesday.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia thinks that the government has a silver bullet at its disposal “to bring rain down on the wildfires.” Specifically, she wants “geoengineering like cloud seeding,” to be used.

Cloud seeding not an option to help stop California wildfires

Unlike “Jewish space lasers” the technology does exist, it’s been around since the 1940s. However, it cannot be used to create or control major weather events like hurricanes, as she claimed with Milton in October. And particularly in this case, even if cloud seeding were able to bring forth such immense amounts of rain, there is one major hitch to her ‘silver-iodide bullet’ to make it rain, evident in the technique’s name itself.

At the moment, there are no clouds to seed. In fact, there are no significant cloud or storms systems with which to apply the technique used to augment rainfall in areas that suffer from water shortages like the United Arab Emirates. Furthermore, southern California has been dealing with a drought, having gone eight months without any rain.

What is cloud seeding?

Clouds form when water vapor in the atmosphere cools and condenses around tiny particles, dust or ice nuclei, floating in the atmosphere. When the tiny water droplets or ice crystals that develop become too heavy, they fall to the Earth in the form of precipitation.

Cloud seeding is the process adding more of these particles into a cloud thus improving its ability to produce precipitation. Common agents include “silver iodide, liquid propane, dry ice (solid carbon dioxide), and various salt compounds” according to the North American Weather Modification Council (NAWMC).

The particles can be introduced into the clouds either from the ground or flying planes into clouds. However, the atmospheric conditions need to be correct, not every cloud will be conducive to developing precipitation nor the desired type be it snow or rain.

When properly applied, cloud seeding, “can produce precipitation increases up to 10% or greater.” But it can also be used to reduce the size of hailstones to protect property and crops as well as suppress fog around airports to improve visibility and safety for aircraft.

Meteorologists monitor the weather and safety precautions are taken during cloud seeding in the United States to avoid problematic situations. These include avoiding creating excess precipitation when there is a high risk of flooding or the snowpack has reached a certain threshold.

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