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<br />B. ENVIRONMENTAL, LEGAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL RESEARCH <br /> <br />1. Introduction <br /> <br />Almost any state of the weather has advantages for some and disadvantages <br />for others. Consequently, activities that change the weather' also change the <br />distribution of real or perceived social and environmental benefits. Some <br />individuals and groups can be expected to oppose particular weather <br />modification programs while others support them. <br /> <br />The full and long-term consequences of weather IIIOdification activi ty have <br />been debated for decades, and the issues are fairly well defined. Analytical <br />tools and techniques are available to address most of these issues, and <br />experiences from operational as well as research projects have provided a <br />significant information base. Environmental issues include the effects of the <br />seeding material and the effects of the altered weather conditions, in terms <br />of both individual short-term research projects and long-te~ widespread <br />operational activities. Past analyses in the environmental field have gone a <br />long way toward separating real issues crom false ones. Legal aspects include <br />liability and compensation, water rights and ownership, and regulations. <br />These issues should be resolved as the technology develops. Economic analyses <br />must include direct and indirect costs and benefits and should consider <br />impacts on the regional and national scales as well as the local scale. <br />Social impacts include questions of public involvement in decision-making, <br />perceptions of risk and hardship as well as benefit, and the whole issue of <br />overall acceptability of weather modification. <br /> <br />Until research provides reliable quantitative statements about how much <br />change will be produced, when and where it will occur, and who the <br />beneficiaries and losers are, the societal and environmental issues cannot be <br />fully resolved. Nevert~eless, considerable progress in this area has been and <br />will continue to be made while the technology develops. <br /> <br />2. Research Program <br /> <br />Two different, but complementary, research efforts are desirable. The <br />first consists or site-specifiC programs for addrassing crucial environmental, <br />legal, economic, and social factors. Each field site includes unique <br />environmental features that require specific attention before a 'Neather <br />modification effort is launched. Each experimental area has its own social <br />characteristics and economic base. Even legal ramifications vary from area to <br />area. Site-specific iniormation is essential to assessing the possible <br />impacts of the resear~~ project. rne same information will contribute to <br />identifying the probable consequences of a long-term operational program in <br />the area. <br /> <br />The second research effort consists or comprehensive, interdisciplina~lJ <br />and futuristic assessments of weather modification technology i~ relation to <br />society. Systematic attempts will be made to anticipate possible future <br />effects of applications of the technology as an aid to planning and deci.sion <br /> <br />- ~3 - <br />