Shooting Nature in the Head

China to increase artificial precipitation by 5 percent in five years: Officials

China to add more than 7,000 rocket launchers, at least 50 planes and 7,000 guns to its arsenal targeting the weather, China Daily reported.

“Many of the nation’s natural and agricultural disasters, especially those involving grain and tobacco, are caused by drought,” said Zheng Guoguang, administrator of the China Meteorological Administration.

“With so many areas in China, especially rural areas, vulnerable to storms, blizzards, hail and other natural disasters, the demand has been rapidly increasing to use science and technology to reduce the risks.”

“Aircraft, guns and rockets will be used to prevent unpredictable weather from disrupting major events.” Weather manipulation started in 1958, said Wang Guanghe, deputy director of the artificial weather intervention center under the China Meteorological Administration, who dismissed  concerns over hazards associated  to the weather-manipulation projects.

“Weather modification involves seeding clouds with grains of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) or tiny particles of silver iodide to stimulate rainfall. Its use has been expanding nationally in recent years to tackle drought, hailstones, forest fires and floods,” according to the report.

[MODERATORS’ NOTE:  Both the frequency and intensity of “drought, hailstones, forest fires and floods” in China have increased over the past decades.]

China’s air force bombers emptied their deadly load on ice-jammed rivers in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, March 20, 2012. (Xinhua).  More images…

“Some 560,000 manipulations of the weather have been conducted since 2002 using rockets and projectiles carrying dry ice or silver iodide,” said a report.

“Aircraft, guns and rockets will be used to prevent unpredictable weather from disrupting major events.”

• See also: China’s War on Nature Intensifies Posted on March 23, 2012

Global Disasters

• Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil-fuel burning rose to a record high of 31.6 gigatons (Gt), a rise of 1 Gt or 3.2 percent on 2010, according to IEA preliminary estimates released today.
  • Coal accounted for 45% of total energy-related CO₂ emissions in 2011, followed by oil (35%) and natural gas (20%), IEA said.
  • “India’s emissions rose by 140 Mt, or 8.7%, moving it ahead of Russia to become the fourth largest emitter behind China, the United States, and the European Union. Despite these increases, per-capita CO₂ emissions in China and India still remain just 63% and 15% of the OECD average respectively.”

• Europe. Europe is forecast to spend more than US$500 billion on oil imports in 2012, IEA reported.
  • “From 2000 to 2010 the average amount spent on oil imports in Europe was USD182 billion a year. In 2011 oil imports reached a record of USD488 billion.”

• See also: New York Cognitive Dissonance

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar