Computer guru, Bill Gates, is now channeling his unparalleled "techno-gifts" in a new direction - altering the weather. Sounds impossible doesn't it, but when someone with the credibility of Gates jumps on board, it behooves the rest of us to at least listen.
Five patents are currently pending (all of which list Gates as a contributor) which describe various proposals for reducing the intensity of hurricanes. The plan calls for a large (very large) fleet of ships which would operate in susceptible areas to "churn up" the warm surface water with the much colder underlying water. This would, in effect, alter the temperature of the surface water making it less able to facilitate the monster storms that build on that warm water.
Irene Hurricane
The idea of stopping a hurricane altogether is believed to be impossible, but many are giving some credence to the notion that they can be modified. This is not a completely new idea. For over forty years, the idea of hurricane abatement has been floating around. There was a project in the l960's called "StormFury" that attempted to disrupt the path and intensity of hurricanes by seeding them with silver iodide. This attempt was not successful but many still believe in the merits of the theory.
More recently, at the request of the U.S. Government, a team of experts has been assembled to study the technique of hurricane modification. The team, heading up by Joe Golden, a veteran of the original StormFury, is requesting 2.6 million dollars to conduct a 3 year study of this topic.
A lot of scientific experts are not only skeptical about these ideas, they classify them as downright "kooky". Others feel that hurricanes are the natural way of delivering much needed rainfall to a region that would experience worsened drought conditions without it. No one disagrees that there is much destruction that can occur as a result of a hurricane, but perhaps the notion of playing "mother nature" has some risks and danger of it's own.
Can Hurricanes Be Stopped?
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