When one thinks about weather control, the technology that one imagines will be the most useful is the ability to make it rain on command. Certainly, California could use that kind of technology, along with a sensible government that would embrace it and not try to regulate it out of existence. In any case, Popular Science describes four weather control technologies that are in the works that could save untold billions of dollars and a considerable number of lives.
A lightning protection laser
Lightning, as most people know, can be pretty and deadly at the same time.
A lightning strike at a power station can cause an electrical outage that can inconvenience thousands. Near an airport, lightning can cause flight delays.
Using a laser, scientists think that they can draw a lightning strike away from where it may cause havoc and fall harmlessly. The system does this by creating a channel of ionized molecules that will control the lightning’s path. Real world testing might begin within three years.
A hurricane suppressor
Anyone who has been in the strike zone of a hurricane knows what kind of misery they can cause. Either one finds oneself in a shelter many miles inland, or one has to survive in a house, all to often damaged, without power for days at a time. The damage that some hurricanes can cause can be in the tens of billions of dollars.
A hurricane suppressor station could be deployed in the middle of the Atlantic where the storms tend to form as a result of warm water on the surface. The idea is to pump the warm water down into the ocean depths where it will be chilled and rise as cooler water. The result would be fewer hurricanes with resulting savings in lives lost and property damage.
A rain suppression system
Constant rains can be a problem anywhere, especially in urban settings. The streets become flooded, blocking traffic, and can even enter houses, destroying the first floor in its wake. Homeowners in flood plains have to shell out a considerable amount of money in premiums for specialized flood insurance.
Scientists are experimenting with firing lasers into storm clouds that will suppress the formation of rain droplets. The process won’t stop rain entirely, but will hopefully lessen a storm’s severity.
Purifying the Earth’s atmosphere
Many people are concerned about climate change caused by the pumping of CO2 into the air that causes temperatures to rise. Some scientists and politicians are urging that the world community reenacts crash programs to reduce or halt the expelling of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However, a number of companies are looking at all that CO2 as a resource and not a pollutant. The firms are building giant purification plants that will extract carbon dioxide from the air and process it to create useful products such as soft drink carbonation and certain types of fuel. Presumably, these giant air purifiers would run on some kind of non-fossil fuel energy source.
