BCWWA 2013 Annual Conference, Climate Change Series presented by Don Nash, Urban Systems

1. Water Sustainability Committee
Weather Modification and
Geoengineering

2. BC Water& Waste Association
Weather Modification Defined
and Techniques

3. BC Water& Waste Association
Weather Modification
Activities in Canada
• Variety of experimental programs since 1948
• Calgary based hail mitigation program
• BC Hydro snowpack augmentation study

4. BC Water& Waste Association
Geoengineering Defined and Techniques

5. BC Water& Waste Association
Geoengineering Techniques Cont.

6. BC Water& Waste Association
Solar
Radiation
Management

7. BC Water& Waste Association
Patents
• Over 150 Patents registered with US Patent
Office for weather modification and
Geoengineering
• Patents range from weather modification to
full scale geoengineering
• Patents are range in complexity
• US Patent 5003186 Stratospheric Welsbach
seeding for reduction of global warming
notes a simple approach

8. BC Water& Waste Association
Activities in Canada
Haida Gwaii Iron Ocean Fertilization - Goddard Earth Sciences
Data and Information Services Center/NASA

9. BC Water& Waste Association
International Activities
• More than 30 countries practice weather
modification
• China has largest national weather
engineering program
• Projects vary in scope and scale
• Projects occur in international territory
• Weather modification for war is banned
internationally

10. BC Water& Waste Association
Canadian Policy and Regulation
• Federal: Weather Modification Information
Act R.S.C., 1985, c. W-5
• Federal: Weather Modification Information
Regulations C.R.C., c. 1604
• BC: Weather Modification Act [RSBC 1996]
CHAPTER 486 [Repealed by the Water, Land
and Air Protection Statutes Amendment Act,
2003,SBC2003, c. 90, s. 21, effective
November 20, 2003 (Royal Assent).]

11. BC Water& Waste Association
International Policy and Regulation
• No International policy or regulation on
weather modification (more than 30
countries actively modifying weather)
• International push for global governance on
geoengineering through the United Nations
• Open discussion by UK Parliament Science
Committee on urgent need for international
Regulation – Link to report
• http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/c
m200910/cmselect/cmsctech/221/221.pdf

12. BC Water& Waste Association
International Governance Direction
123. We are clear that serious consideration for the
regulatory arrangements for geoengineering needs to
start now, not once highly disruptive climate change is
underway. If we start now it will provide the opportunity
“to explore the technological, environmental, political and
regulatory issues in a measured, science-led process”. The
UN is the route by which eventually we envisage the
regulatory framework operating but first the UK and other
governments need to prime the UN pump. As Mr Virgoe
pointed out, such “an approach would encourage
enhanced awareness of the options and help ensure that, if
and when a crisis arrives, there is a reasonable chance of
getting multilateral agreement to a geoengineering
deployment through the UN.

13. BC Water& Waste Association
Advantages and Justifications
• Increases resilience
• CO2 reductions and lower temperatures
• Cost effective
• Politically expedient
• Buys time

14. BC Water& Waste Association
Disadvantages and Criticisms
• Moral hazard
• Addresses symptom not the cause
• Known and unknown consequences
– Hydrology
– Ocean acidity
– Ozone depletion
• Path dependency
• Cost uncertainties
• Militarization
• Health and environmental issues

15. BC Water& Waste Association
The Panic Button
Tracking Methane From the Arctic Ocean
A new airborne study with NASA contributions measured surprising levels of the potent
greenhouse gas methane coming from cracks in Arctic sea ice and areas of partial sea ice
cover. This image was taken over the Arctic Ocean at a latitude of approximately 71
degrees North on April 15, 2010.
Image credit: NASA/JPL

16. BC Water& Waste Association
AMEG Report to UK
• Therefore we consider our present situation is
extremely dangerous and warrants the designation
of "planetary emergency" We see only one way to
avoid passing this point of no return, which is to
intervene by cooling the Arctic, principally by using
geoengineering techniques starting immediately.
• Report link:
• http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201
213/cmselect/cmenvaud/writev/171/171.pdf

17. BC Water& Waste Association
Indicators of Potential Impacts of
Solar Radiation Management

18. BC Water& Waste Association
Aerosols
NASA Persistent Contrails
NASA Persistent Ship Trails

19. BC Water& Waste Association
Global Dimming
• 2005 documentary by BBC
• Global pan evaporation decline
• 911 study of temperature delta during plane
grounding
• Persistent contrails major contributor
• Indicator of potential impacts of SRM
• Indicator of potential impacts of reducing
emissions

20. Safeguarding public health and the environment
through the sharing of skills, knowledge, education and experience,
and providing a voice for the water and waste community.
www.bcwwa.org
Questions?
“We can't solve problems by using the same
kind of thinking we used when we created
them.” Albert Einstein