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Weather Modification and S. 517, the Weather Modification Research and Technology Transfer Authorization Act of 2005 Hearing S. HRG. 109–446 WEATHER MODIFICATION AND S. 517, THE WEATHER MODIFICATION RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2005 HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEES ON: SCIENCE AND SPACE; DISASTER PREVENTION AND PREDICTION OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION NOVEMBER 10, 2005 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 28–211 PDF WASHINGTON : 2006 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:20 Jun 30, 2006 Jkt 028211 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\28211.TXT JACKF PsN: JACKF SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION TED STEVENS, Alaska, Chairman JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Co-Chairman CONRAD BURNS, Montana JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia TRENT LOTT, Mississippi JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine BARBARA BOXER, California GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon BILL NELSON, Florida JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada MARIA CANTWELL, Washington GEORGE ALLEN, Virginia FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska JIM DEMINT, South Carolina MARK PRYOR, Arkansas DAVID VITTER, Louisiana LISA J. SUTHERLAND, Republican Staff Director CHRISTINE DRAGER KURTH, Republican Deputy Staff Director DAVID RUSSELL, Republican Chief Counsel MARGARET L. CUMMISKY, Democratic Staff Director and Chief Counsel SAMUEL E. WHITEHORN, Democratic Deputy Staff Director and General Counsel LILA HARPER HELMS, Democratic Policy Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND SPACE KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas, Chairman TED STEVENS, Alaska BILL NELSON, Florida, Ranking CONRAD BURNS, Montana JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia TRENT LOTT, Mississippi BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska GEORGE ALLEN, Virginia MARK PRYOR, Arkansas JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISASTER PREVENTION AND PREDICTION JIM DEMINT, South Carolina, Chairman TED STEVENS, Alaska E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska, Ranking GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon MARIA CANTWELL, Washington DAVID VITTER, Louisiana BILL NELSON, Florida (II) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:20 Jun 30, 2006 Jkt 028211 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\28211.TXT JACKF PsN: JACKF C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on November 10, 2005 ...................................................................... 1 Statement of Senator DeMint ................................................................................. 1 Statement of Senator Hutchison ............................................................................ 18 WITNESSES DeFelice, Dr. Thomas P., Past President, Weather Modification Association .... 7 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 8 Garstang, Michael, Ph.D., Professor, University of Virginia; Chair, Committee on Critical Issues in Weather Modification Research, National Research Council of the National Academies ..................................................................... 10 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 12 Golden, Dr. Joseph H., Senior Research Scientist, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado .... 3 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 5 APPENDIX Marburger, III, John H., Director, Executive Office of the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy, letter, dated December 13, 2005 to Hon. Kay Bailey Hutchison .......................................................................................... 29 Nelson, Hon. E. Benjamin, U.S. Senator from Nebraska, prepared statement .. 27 Response to written questions submitted to Dr. Thomas P. DeFelice by: Hon. Daniel K. Inouye ...................................................................................... 33 Hon. E. Benjamin Nelson ................................................................................ 33 Hon. Bill Nelson ............................................................................................... 34 Response to written questions submitted to Michael Garstang, Ph.D., by: Hon. Daniel K. Inouye ...................................................................................... 35 Hon. E. Benjamin Nelson ................................................................................ 35 Hon. Bill Nelson ............................................................................................... 35 Response to written questions submitted to Dr. Joseph H. Golden by: Hon. Daniel K. Inouye ...................................................................................... 30 Hon. E. Benjamin Nelson ................................................................................ 31 Hon. Bill Nelson ............................................................................................... 32 Wilhite, Dr. Donald, Director, National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, prepared statement .......................................................... 27 (III) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:20 Jun 30, 2006 Jkt 028211 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\28211.TXT JACKF PsN: JACKF VerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:20 Jun 30, 2006 Jkt 028211 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\28211.TXT JACKF PsN: JACKF WEATHER MODIFICATION AND S. 517, THE WEATHER MODIFICATION RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2005 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2005 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEES ON: SCIENCE AND SPACE; DISASTER PREVENTION AND PREDICTION, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. The Subcommittees met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m. in room SD–562, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Jim DeMint, presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JIM DEMINT, U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH CAROLINA Senator DEMINT. Good afternoon. Sorry for the confusion. I ap- preciate all of you folks joining us this afternoon and look forward to hearing from you. My other chairman of this meeting, Senator Hutchison, will be back in just a moment. And I know she’s been a part of inviting this group here today. I am very interested in the testimony. We saw, numerous times this summer, and just this past weekend, in Indiana and Kentucky, that weather has a profound impact on the lives of Americans. And this afternoon, the Subcommittees will be discussing weather modi- fication, and, specifically, legislation introduced by my colleague, Senator Hutchison, Senate bill 517, the Weather Modification Re- search and Technology Transfer Authorization Act. As I understand, the genesis of this legislation was to help pro- vide relief to drought-stricken farmers in West Texas and across the Nation. As we are all aware, weather modification technologies have been pursued for a number of years. For decades, the Federal Government has dedicated significant resources to weather modi- fication research, and State and local governments continue to spend millions on both operational weather modification tech- nologies and weather modification research. I was interested to learn that recently the National Research Council of the National Academies, the Nation’s leading scientific body, raised some concerns about efficacy of weather modification research. Because of the importance of this issue, I’m looking for- ward to Dr. Garstang’s comments this afternoon and his assess- ment of the state of the science surrounding weather modification research. It’s entirely possible that, at some point in the future, (1) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:20 Jun 30, 2006 Jkt 028211 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\28211.TXT JACKF PsN: JACKF 2 weather modification technologies might be viable. I continue to be impressed by the progress of all kinds of American innovations. At some point, this Committee may get to the point where it is consid- ering the complex legal, social, and political issues surrounding whether or not the Nation should support a regimen of weather modification. But I am aware there are serious concerns about pur- suing a regimen of intentional weather modification and want to give those concerns careful consideration. I’m also concerned that, as a Nation, we do not have sufficient understanding of how our atmosphere behaves. It seems that this may be a concern shared by the Academy, noting some of the find- ings in their recent report. I think this Committee should give thoughtful consideration to their principal conclusion, which stated that, ‘‘Atmospheric science is now in a position to mount a con- certed and sustained effort to delineate the scope and expectations of future weather modification research. Such an effort must be di- rected at answering fundamental scientific questions that will yield results that will go well beyond application to intentional modifica- tion. The emphasis must be on understanding processes, and not on modification.’’ I think—in other words, I believe what I’m hear- ing them saying is that we need to understand how weather works now before we go too far in trying to modify it. I would also
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