Conservation 101: the Compete to Conserve Blog

photo credit: insyros

Any day now, there’s going to be a really big earthquake in California.  There will also be floods in Mississippi, tornadoes in Kansas, tsunamis in Alaska and volcanoes in Hawaii.  Any day now there may also be (at least since 2001) explosions in public places, biological and/or chemical threats, and maybe even a nuclear blast.

Are you ready?:  “Are You Ready” is the title of a 206 page guide prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  Although it is generally published in book form, www.ready.gov contains PDF versions of this particular survival guide and more.  The site offers information for just about everyone, including pets.  Indeed, the “likelihood that you and your animals will survive an emergency such as a fire or flood, tornado or terrorist attach depends largely on emergency planning done today.” (more…)

photo credit: Nicholas_T

After looking into China’s Weather Modification program, and its Olympic Weather plans, I began to wonder what kind of effect such practices could have long term.

Putting aside the image of regional farmers equipped to work rocket launchers and anti-aircraft artillery—which leads to a whole different set of concerns—I wondered about the dangers of shooting silver iodide into the sky. Wasn’t anyone concerned about what kind of rain was coming back down?

Turns out, they are.

While researchers from organizations like North American Weather Consultants Inc (NAWC) claim that the silver iodide crystals are so dispersed only trace amounts can be found in test samples that fall to Earth, others are crying foul.

(more…)

photo credit: linh.ngân

In the years approaching the 2008 Games, the Chinese government formed a Weather Modification office to address weather and pollution concerns. The goal: Create optimum conditions by making it rain when they want and keeping it away when they don’t.

When the country first started fooling with Mother Nature, back in 1958, the primary focus was farm regions, where drought lingered and crops suffered. But over the decades the techniques they developed have been used to fight fires, prevent hailstorms, replenish riverheads and reservoirs, sweep away pollution and ease a heat wave.

Does that mean the grey haze over George Hincapie and other Olympic cyclists or the rain that fell on beach volleyball competitors were signs of China’s weather control success? When you consider the clear skies over the Opening ceremony…maybe.

(more…)