ing Project Stormfury from the Atlantic to the Pacific, where the 

 greater incidence of this type of storm makes the cost-efTectiveness 

 much higher. 



• Public Policy: A detailed public examination of the policy issues in- 

 herent in weather modification should be undertaken. It seems clear 

 that operational weather modification will open the way to substan- 

 tial social benefits, but the matter of potential social losses cannot 

 be dismissed out of hand. Increasingly the question will be asked 

 "Who benefits from weather modification? " All major consequences 

 of large-scale operational programs should be assessed in advance 

 of their implementation. NACOA believes both national and interna- 

 tional reporting systems should be developed. Rarely — if ever before 

 — ^has there been a more attractive opportunity for creative thinking 

 and planning regarding the impact of a potential technological de- 

 velopment upon international relations. This opportunity should not 

 be lost. 



• International: International agreement should be arrived at and the 

 necessary institutional arrangements developed to eschew the hostile 

 uses of weather modification and to investigate inadvertent changes 

 in the global climate. The Global Atmospheric Research experiment 

 now planned for 1977 can, with some other activities during that 

 period, provide a superb tool for analyzing the vital interaction be- 

 tween long-term oceanic changes and natural or man-made climatic 

 changes. It may be desirable to have an international conference, say 

 in 1974, to discuss issues such as promoting the peaceful use of 

 weather modification and possible collaborative efforts in inadvertent 

 weather modification. The national laboratory dedicated to weather 

 modification, proposed by a National Academy of Sciences study, 

 should be internationalized. 



• NACOA wishes to associate itself with the position taken by the Na- 

 tional Academy of Sciences that in order to safeguard the life-sus- 

 taining properties of the atmosphere for the common benefit of man- 

 kind, the U.S. Government is urged to present for adoption by the 

 United Nations General Assembly a resolution dedicating all weather- 

 modification efforts to peaceful purposes and establishing, preferably 

 within the framework of international nongovernmental scientific or- 

 ganization, an advisory mechanism for consideration of weather-modi- 

 fication problems of potential international concern before they reach 

 critical levels. 



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 



Before discussing existing efforts and suggested changes in more detail, 

 it is useful to review briefly the history of weather modification and how 

 we got to the present state. The era of scientific weather modification began 



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