FILE - Carver Cammans installs cloud seeding equipment, Dec. 3, 2022, in Lyons, Colo. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson, File)
CLOUD CONTROL!
Break out the tinfoil hats! Paranoid fantasies about evil geniuses controlling the weather are spiraling. Crooked’s climate correspondent Anya Zoledziowski dives in.
- Just as the damage from climate change-related storms is growing more intense, conspiracy theories surrounding them are getting loopier. After all, if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the Trump era, it’s that things can always get weirder.
- The reality is simple enough: Climate change is making torrential rainfall deadlier and more common. Just look at the recent deadly floods in Texas and the slew of flood warnings across the country that followed. But far-right communities and some GOP representatives are rallying around a darker explanation — one that’s not supported by facts or science.
- The idea, apparently, is that the Texas floods might have been part of some nefarious scheme to control the weather. It’s inspiring (totally unnecessary) legislation across the country to stop anyone from engaging in “weather modification,” including a tactic known as “cloud seeding.”
- The conspiracy theory, like many others, begins with a grain of truth. There really is a technology called “cloud seeding,” which can help create a very small amount of precipitation by introducing particles — like silver iodide or salt — into clouds to trigger rain or snow. Russian authorities have been using this tech for years to give dictator Vladimir Putin sunny days for his military parades, by dissipating rainclouds outside the capital, Moscow.
- In an inconvenient coincidence, California-based startup Rainmaker (which specializes in cloud-seeding operations) recently did a job about 100 miles away from flood-stricken Kerr County, Texas. The company’s work ultimately produced a modest drizzle — less than half-a-centimeter of rain — over dry farmlands. The company ceased operations after its own meteorologists warned that moisture was moving in.
And yet MAGA figures are suggesting that cloud seeding played a role in the fifteen inches of rain that fell during the Texas floods.
- That includes people like former Trump adviser General Mike Flynn, MAGA congressional candidate Kandiss Taylor, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and totally normal Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Green.
- That is — and I can’t stress this enough — literally impossible. “The amount of energy involved in making storms like that is astronomical compared to anything you can do with cloud seeding,” Bob Rauber, an emeritus professor in atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told the Washington Post. “We’re talking about a very small increase on a natural process at best.”
- Naturally, the facts haven’t stopped conspiracies from flourishing, and Greene even promised to introduce a bill that would make processes like cloud seeding a felony offense. Similar bills have been introduced in nearly 20 state legislatures across the country, with governors in Tennessee and Florida already signing laws that ban “weather modification.”
Here’s a silver lining: At least we can finally all agree that, one way or another, human influence is making floods worse. Too bad that some of those ways are make-believe.
This story is brought to you by our nonprofit partner, Crooked Ideas.
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"I thought it was ‘throwing ass.’”
— Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), mishearing the name of an axe throwing venue.
NEWS NEWS NEWS
Will former Vice President Kamala Harris run for president again in 2028? Well… she’s not running for governor of California, she announced today, ending months of speculation. Her statement, however, set tongues wagging about the possibility she may have her sights set back on the White House instead. Who will seek the California governor’s mansion, now that she’s out of the race? Joe, this is your chance!
Donald Trump is trying to teach Russia a lesson… by punishing India. Trump slapped a 25 percent tariff “plus a penalty” on goods from India, accusing the country of buying weapons and oil from Russia. He didn’t say how much the “penalty” would be, probably because he doesn’t know.
Nearly half of Americans believe that Trump was involved in crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased child sex predator, according to a new poll. Trump didn’t do himself any favors last night, when he told reporters that Epstein “stole” young women who worked at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago beach spa. That’s right: He’s now claiming that his beef with Epstein was essentially some kind of petty HR issue. Will MAGA care that his story keeps changing, and makes no sense?
Texas Republicans are aggressively redrawing their state’s voting districts to make sure Congress stays in GOP hands. Their new map dropped today, and it’s so wonky, it looks like amateur abstract art. Democrats are vowing to fight this naked power grab, both in court and possibly through some gerrymandering of their own. “Everyone who cares about our democracy must mobilize against this illegal map,” said Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), whose district is being targeted.
Pete Hegseth seems to be growing tired of being constantly mocked for incompetence, because he’s thinking about running… for governor of Tennessee. That’s according to two people who spoke directly with the defense secretary, though the Pentagon denies that Hegseth’s mind is wandering. He’d have to resign as Pentagon chief if he decides to run.
Possibly related: Hegseth’s team is already attacking the Pentagon’s investigation into Signalgate, in which the defense chief mistakenly texted war plans to a journalist. It’s “clearly a political witch hunt” by “Biden administration holdovers,” his team said in a statement. And the report hasn’t even come out yet, so you know it’s gonna be good!
ICE agents arrested a carpenter named Jesus in Pennsylvania. A Venezuelan migrant, Jesus was beloved by his community, gave food to the needy, and was a valued member of his local church. Like many others, he was detained while visiting an ICE field office for a customary check-in. Relatedly, ICE is now offering $50,000 signing bonuses and student loan forgiveness for new recruits. It’s all just further evidence of how dramatically Trump is taking his campaign against undocumented immigrants to unprecedented, draconian levels.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) praised whistleblowers for holding the government accountable — one day after shunning the third whistleblower to accuse former Trump personal lawyer Emil Bove, a top DOJ official, of misconduct. Because of Grassley, Bove was confirmed to a lifetime appointment as an extremely powerful appeals court judge. Someone, help this 91-year-old lawmaker find his spine, please!
Of the more than 60,000 Palestinians killed in Israel’s war in Gaza, some 18,500 of them have been children. This incredible piece by the Washington Post details many of the kids’ lives — their passions, dreams, and final hours — and is worth your time today.
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