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Proposal Details

Proposal ID74
ProposalPlatform Amendment: Weather Engineering
PresenterPlatform Committee
Floor ManagerMike Feinstein
PhaseClosed
Discussion10/05/2015 - 11/22/2015
Voting11/23/2015 - 11/29/2015
ResultFailed
Presens Quorum12 0.5001
Consens Quorum29 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

This proposal would establish a new Weather Engineering plank in the GPCA Platform.

Proposal

That the GPCA Platfrom be amended to add a Weather Engineering plank as follows:

Background and Purpose:

The earliest documented plan to control weather occurred in 1841 when James Espy, the 1st national meteorologist (employed by the US army) proposed to light innumerable fires along the Appalachians to simulate the “beneficial” rain effects of a volcanic eruption. In 1947, General Electric scientists together with the military developed cloud seeding with dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide) and silver iodide, but results have never been reproducible. The U.S. during the Vietnam War seeded clouds to immobilize the Viet Cong during the monsoon season. However, severe drought resulted instead, and also led to an international incident with the Soviet Union who alleged climate warfare.

Current moves to engineer climate (such as fertilizing oceans with iron to generate carbon credits or deploying a sulfate or sea salt aerosol shield to prevent heating of the planet) have led to patent filings, grant application solicitations, and establishment of scientific and government committees to ponder the pros and cons. The history of weather control attempts is provided in Fixing The Sky: The Checkered History of Weather and Climate Control by James Fleming. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7TBqqII6y4

Many proposals offer the rationale that weather engineering is necessary to prevent climate change. Thus, satellites equipped with mirrors have been proposed to reflect sunlight away from earth; and massive “reverse” power plants to suck carbon dioxide and other molecules containing carbon from the atmosphere have been suggested. Others have proposed turning deserts into fertile land by weather engineering, amongst many ideas, often raised for the parched areas of the Middle East.

The Green Party believes that prevention is better than cure, and that its key values of non-violence and personal and global responsibility mandate that

1. Weather must not be used for military objectives
2. Decisions related to weather or climate manipulation must not be left to corporations or individual countries but include input from all countries.
3. An environmental impact plan must accompany each proposal that seeks to harness the weather for any purpose. Such a plan needs to consider effects on atmospheric jet streams, the atmosphere, the ozone layer, ocean currents, ice sheets, snowfall, rain, prevailing winds, plankton, coral reefs, flora, fauna, people, industries, and the world economy.
4. An interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary effort (historical, legal, ethical, societal, cultural, political and environmental) is needed to recommend policies and governance at the national and international levels.
5. Educational efforts on the potential effects of weather engineering and climate change should be directed at the people of all countries, especially the younger generations
6. Update the 1978 United Nations Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques (ENMOD) to prevent hostile and/or military use of weather and climate control

We encourage the adoption of the above principles by all local associations, state and provincial political bodies, and national and international entities.

Resources

None

References

The platform plank was suggested by input at the Platform Committee meeting at the San Francisco GPCA General Assembly on May 12/13 2012. The 1st draft was posted on the GPCA Platform list serve on April 10 2013 with revisions on April 12, April 17, April 20, and April 23. The platform plank was also posted on Cal-forum and the GROW listserves on April 20 2013. The platform plank was slated for discussion at the Napa General Assembly of June 22/23 2013, time not allowing that, but the Platform Committee meeting of June 22 2013 did provide amendments. The platform plank was posted for further discussion on September 19 2013. The platform plank was further discussed at the Sonoma General Assembly Platform meeting of November 16, 2013, edited slightly on Nov. 19, 2013, posted for further discussion on November 19, 2013, November 25 2013, and November 26 2013. A new version was launched on March 28 2014 and revisions followed April 4, 6, and when that draft was not selected by the Agenda Committee for the Isla Vista General Assembly, again on Nov 4, 2014, Nov 9 2014, and slated for discussion at the Platform Committee meeting of the Monterey General Assembly of Jan 24 2015 but not discussed because of lack of time, and not discussed as scheculed at the Platform Committee meeting at the June 27 San Jose GeneralAssembly because the Platform Committee meeting was cancelled. The plank was placed on the Platfrom listserve for further comment on Sep 23. It was approved for submission to the Oct SGA by the two voting Platform members on Oct 1 2015.


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