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  • 2016-03-17 (xsd:date)
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  • Government Buries Weather Modification News? (en)
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  • On 12 March 2016, the web site Wakeup World (described as news pertaining to the energetic organism we call Earth, the Universe and the Multiverse) published a blog post claiming the American government quietly admitted to engaging in weather modification activities in a notice buried in the classifieds section of a small California newspaper: The post included photographs of early 2016 classified ads placed by Los Angeles County's Department of Public Works (DPW) in the Pasadena Star News: The blog went on to assert that the odd venue for announcement was clearly an attempt to bury the information from the public, particularly sharper folks who'd kept an eye on such developments over the years: However, the Los Angeles DPW devoted an entire page to the activity (cloud seeding) mentioned in the classified advertisement [PDF]. That document explained cloud seeding was an anti-drought measure practiced intermittently for more than half a century in Los Angeles: Also addressed was the classified ad, which was not new in 2016: The FAQ also discussed concerns about safety and chemtrails, noting that data was collected on cloud seeding from the 1950s onward. Regarding chemtrails, the DPW said: Per the original blog post (which gained additional traction via the unreliable Facebook page The Mind Unleashed), government officials sought to hide the cloud seeding initiative by placing news of it in a single classified ads section. However, the DPW stated that the same ad appeared in multiple Los Angeles-area newspapers. First, the story wasn't restricted to the classifieds. On the same date the blog post was published warning of this secret classifieds-only initiative CBS News covered cloud seeding in Los Angeles, as did KNSD and Gizmodo (on 9 March 2016); The Weather Channel (on 10 March 2016) KCAL (on 11 March 2016); and the Los Angeles Times (all the way back on 8 March 2016). Moreover, the claim that the government fervently denied such programs until the 2016 classified ad appeared was easily proved false. The National Center for Atmospheric Research and University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (NCAR and UCAR) published a fact sheet in 2008, Scientific American and U.S. News and World Report covered cloud seeding in 2009, ABC News reported on it way back in 2002, and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) released a fact sheet in 2001. It would be difficult for anyone with a consistent interest in cloud seeding to miss news and information published widely over the years; the conspiracy's core claims relied on an audience that was to-date unfamiliar with the practice wholesale. So while it was true Los Angeles' DPW announced cloud seeding plans via classified ads in early 2016, the disclosure was neither quiet nor novel in 2016; cloud seeding in the area occurred intermittently and openly beginning in the 1950s. Moreover, the 12 March 2016 blog post claiming that the program was a subtle admission (validating long-held suspicions) neglected to mention widespread media coverage across several high-profile sites in the days prior to its publication. Focusing on one of several classified ads provided the inaccurate impression that the program was largely secretive in nature, but information was easily obtained via both the DPW's web site and in contemporaneous news coverage. (en)
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