By Alison Despathy
A Danville couple tried – without apparent success – to educate carbon-reduction conscious lawmakers on the threat geo-engineering poses to the global climate.
Dawn and Peter Brittain of Danville attended a Vermont Climate Solutions Caucus summer tour event at the St. Johnsbury Atheneum, featuring Rep. Scott Campbell (D-St. Johnsbury), Sen. Becca White (D-Windsor) and a VPIRG staffer.
The Brittains attended the gathering because they own a dog kennel and the increased costs of energy and fighting climate change are of concern for their local business. In the breakout group led by Senator White, Dawn explained that her house and business are currently set up on propane and if the Clean Heat Standard passes next session, the economic burden and possible conversions will create a financial struggle. She also voiced her concerns that with an all electric grid, the animals under her care would be in danger with a power outage.
Then the Brittains raised a climate change problem of their own: educating lawmakers about geoengineering, a little-known effort to influence climate (including cooling the earth) via technology.
For years Dawn and her husband Peter have been paying close attention to the history and practice of weather modification including cloud seeding and solar radiation management experimentation. Both raised questions about the impacts this has on worldwide weather and climate patterns, including here in Vermont, especially with the recent devastation due to flooding.
On this same note, in the breakout group led by Representative Scott Campbell, Mary Hauser of Newark came well prepared and was determined to ensure the conversation included geoengineering and weather modification as causes of human induced climate change. Mary shared information folders full of history, research and model legislation, all intended to educate about this high risk reality and the need for laws to prevent this experimentation.
Based on their reactions and questions, neither Campbell or White appeared aware of this practice and its controversial use and potential devastation. Hauser and the Brittains believe it is a high priority that legislators educate themselves on this subject given their concern about the climate and recent weather events occurring in Vermont.
Over the past few years, there has been an exponential increase in awareness about weather modification technology. Some scientists have called for a regulatory review and many others are demanding a complete moratorium in order to attempt to understand impacts, the ethical dilemma of this technology, and the effects of hazardous material utilized in these practices.
Despite many unknowns, geoengineering has been moving forward. As reported by MIT Technology Review,
“Little is known about the real-world effect of such deliberate interventions at large scales but they could have dangerous side effects. The impacts could also be worse in some regions than others, which could provoke geopolitical conflicts.
Some researchers who have long studied the technology are deeply troubled that the company, Make Sunsets, appears to have moved forward with launches from a site in Mexico without any public engagement or scientific scrutiny. It’s already attempting to sell “cooling credits,” for future balloon flights that could carry larger payloads.”
This unauthorized experiment by the company Make Sunsets resulted in the country of Mexico placing an outright ban on solar geoengineering. The Center for International Environmental Law praised Mexico’s decision, stating,
“The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) applauds the Mexican government’s announcement that it will not permit solar geoengineering experiments and deployment on its national territory. The announcement follows a private, US-based company’s (Make Sunsets) recent unauthorized experimental geoengineering flights in Mexico. CIEL calls on all governments to take steps to ban solar geoengineering outdoor experiments, technology development and deployment.
Ten states – Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Illinois, South Dakota, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio – have introduced legislation to ban weather modification practices and prohibit the use of toxic compounds on the people and environment. In 2017, Rhode Island was the first state to introduce legislation to ban geoengineering and in April, 2024, Tennessee passed the first state law SB 2691, Public Chapter NO. 709, to ban geoengineering and its hazardous pollution.
Tennessee law states, “The intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight is prohibited. This act takes effect July 1, 2024, the public welfare requiring it.”
Mary Hauser has been taking pictures of the skies around her house for years which were also included in her information folders. Representative Campbell’s breakout group expressed deep concerns about geoengineering and its impacts on weather and the health of all life exposed to the often toxic compounds used with this technology.
The majority of their conversation focused on this issue as many seek to understand the flooding events, how this controversial practice has been allowed to occur and what can be done to protect the health of Vermont’s environment and Vermonters.
Key components of Mary Hauser’s weather modification info packets consisted of:
- A Popular Science article from March 20, 2018 entitled, With Operation Popeye, the US Government Made Weather an Instrument of War– as geo-engineering projects soar, the declassified project is newly relevant, which discusses both the history of weather modification used during the Vietnam War and its technological evolution and risks.
- An article from Organic Consumers Association entitled, Blocking the Sun is not a Climate Solution which discusses the scientific communities’ concerns and demands for a moratorium on this technology and its high risk impacts, public and private funding investments for geoengineering, private corporations ongoing experimentation with this technology, their drive to create an offset market for trading ‘cooling credits’, and the aerosolized toxins used in solar engineering including coal fly ash, sulfuric acid, carbonyl sulfide, black carbon, aluminum, and barium titanate.
- Weston A Price Foundation articles on Climate Change history, political influence and earth’s natural climate cycles Part 1 and Part 2.