The CIA wants to control the weather. What could possibly go wrong?

Spy agency co-funding geoengineering study in bid to...well, who really knows?

By Chris Nerney 

July 22, 2013, 4:03 PM —

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At the risk of sounding all Alex Jones here, I see plenty of potential downside to a spy agency having the ability to control the weather.

But according to Nature World News, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, along with several other federal agencies, is funding an experiment in using geoengineering to manipulate weather on our planet.

• A database of U.S. espionage cases
• Polar ice sheets continue to melt, but climate-change deniers remain thick as ever

The goal of the $630,000, 21-month study -- co-funded by the National Academy of Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NASA -- is to "conduct a technical evaluation of a limited number of proposed geoengineering techniques, including examples of both solar radiation management (SRM) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) techniques, and comment generally on the potential impacts of deploying these technologies, including possible environmental, economic, and national security concerns."

The last time I saw someone controlling the weather, it was Storm in X-Men. Let's just say things didn't always go according to plan. I see similar problems with bestowing such power on a spy agency known for meddling in the affairs of other countries, whatever the virtues of its unstated intentions.

It's also troubling that the study will "discuss historical examples of related technologies (e.g., cloud seeding and other weather modification) for lessons that might be learned about societal reactions, examine what international agreements exist which may be relevant to the experimental testing or deployment of geoengineering technologies, and briefly explore potential societal and ethical considerations related to geoengineering."

They'll briefly explore potential societal and ethical considerations related to geoengineering; no need to get bogged down in the ethics! Not when there are thunderbolts to be hurled in the name of freedom!  http://www.itworld.com/hardware/366149/cia-wants-control-weather-what-could-possibly-go-wrong