Originally published April 20, 2023 6:00 pm PDT
Cloud seeding technology is being used to manipulate the weather in Southern Nevada, according to a recent report from KTNV, an ABC affiliate station in Las Vegas.
The efforts apparently aim to help alleviate water shortages.
The report reveals that cloud seeding efforts in Red Rock Canyon have been successful in increasing precipitation and creating more greenery in the area.
Pauline Van Betten, a land and water specialist with conservation organization Save Red Rock, explains that cloud seeding played a role in the recent success.
“We were able to squeeze out some additional rain from all those storms that Mother Nature sent us,” Van Betten said. “This is something that can help to mitigate the damages of drought and to squeeze out every drop that nature does provide to us.”
Cloud seeding involves generators finely crushing up silver iodide and releasing it into clouds.
However, an Oct 2005 publication in the peer-reviewed journal Oxford Academic concludes that “exposure to soluble silver compounds may produce other toxic effects, including liver and kidney damage, irritation of the eyes, skin, respiratory, and intestinal tract, and changes in blood cells.”
The chemical compound is used in cloud seeding because it activates ice particles in the clouds, increasing the likelihood of snow or rainfall, the report explains.
The Desert Research Institute is responsible for the cloud seeding efforts in Nevada.
Frank McDonough, cloud seeding program director with the Institute, confirms that cloud seeding has been conducted in Nevada since the 1960s.
The latest cloud seeding project in Lee Canyon generated more than 1.8 billion gallons of water, which is approximately 10% of the snowpack in the targeted areas.
A bill was recently introduced to get more federal funding toward cloud seeding efforts in the area.
The legislation was approved last month by the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
A $2.4 million grant was offered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for the project.
