Page 182 - James Rodger Fleming - Fixing the sky

6

WeatHer WarriorS

Conflict over weather control [is] the likely cause of “the last war on earth.”

—Edward Teller, quoted in Christopher Stone,
“The Environment in Moral Thought”

n an interview conducted in 2008, Colonel Don Berchoff, chief of U.S.
Air Force Weather Resources and Programs, denied knowledge, interest,
I or involvement in techniques for controlling the weather: “I personally
don’t believe weather modification is a good thing, and I don’t think the mili-
tary believes in it. . . . The military does not conduct any kind of experimentation,
that I understand, to control the environment to become more advantageous on
1
the battlefield against our enemies. . . . We don’t do that. . . . As far as I know.”
We might take this at face value, or we might assume that particular individu-
als, of whatever rank, however highly placed or seemingly well informed, simply
have no knowledge of ongoing top-secret research projects.
Just what do we know? We know that throughout history, weather has been
a crucial factor in the outcome of wars and battles, and we know that the mili-
tary has been a major patron in the development of weather science and services,
providing logistical support and leadership for scientific field campaigns and
running large-scale, even national, weather services. We know that the military
has supplied important equipment for meteorological research, in some cases
through new research-and-development projects in aviation, electronics, digital