Page 12 - James Rodger Fleming - Fixing the sky

PrefaCe

he possibility but not the desirability of weather and climate con-
trol entered my consciousness in the early 1970s. I was a graduate
T student in atmospheric science at Colorado State University and one
of my air force colleagues proposed to zap clouds with laser beams to make them
more energetic. I think he was wondering if a focused beam of radiation could
destroy hailstones, perhaps like microwave medical treatment for kidney stones,
although I suspect his patrons had other ideas. I also noted a widespread ambiva-
lence among most of my professors toward cloud seeding, which was not part
of the main curriculum. My own project involved putting cirrus clouds into a
computerized tropical atmosphere and modeling their radiative effects. This was
an early exercise in climate modeling. The way clouds interact with sunlight and
heat radiation was very speculative then and is still an open question, even as
some climate engineers propose to “manage” solar radiation.
Colorado State University also supported my training as a high-altitude
observer, which qualified me to work with the National Center for Atmospheric
Research in Boulder in its instrumented glider project. This was an ideal job for
someone who loved clouds, since we were able to slip quietly and unobtrusively