WMOD00295 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

32 CLOUD SEEDING cloud seeding offers potential economic benefits or environmental ad- vantages, the weather can be purposefully managed only if those affected agree that it should be done (Borland 1977; Farhar 1977). Much of what actually can be done is governed by societal choice. The human dimen- sions of cloud seeding programs must be considered if the technology is to be effectively used (Sewell 1966). Interest in cloud seeding has historically risen during dry periods and waned when rain and snow are plentiful. Most communities where cloud seeding has been carried out have accepted scientific experimentation, and some communities have actively sought operational projects. In a few communities, grassroots groups organized political opposition against cloud seeding in states as distant from each other as Delaware, Colorado, California and South Dakota. For proponents and opponents alike, once issues and attitudes toward cloud seeding are established, they tend to persist for a very long time (Farhar and Fitzpatrick 1990). Therefore, the would-be cloud seeder or water manager may be served best by understanding insights from social science about public response to cloud seeding and introduction of new technology in general. 2.4.1 Studies Research on the social aspects has focused on public response to field projects where they have been proposed and introduced, and on decision processes regarding the adoption of cloud seeding. Four kinds of studies have been conducted: (1) surveys of citizen attitudes, opinions, beliefs, knowledge, and favorability toward cloud seeding (e.g., Haas et al. 1972; Larson 1973; Farhar and Mewes 1975; Krane 1976; Farhar and Rinkle 1977); (2) monitoring of project areas to determine the factors associated with acceptance and rejection of cloud seeding (e.g., Haas 1974; Farhar 1975a, 1976, 1977, 1978; Farhar and Mewes 1975; Farhar and Fitzpatrick 1990); (3) a technology assessment of hail suppression conducted by an interdisciplinary team (Changnon et al. 1977); and (4) a nationwide sur- vey of weather modification experts (Farhar and Clark 1978).7 Also, a 1988-1990 study revisited four sites studied a decade or more earlier. 2.4.2 The Diffusion of Innovations and Cloud Seeding The diffusion of any technology into a population follows a well-un- derstood pattern (Rogers and Shoemaker 1971; Rogers 1983). The rate of adoption is more rapid for technologies adopted by individuals (such as hybrid seed corn or the birth control pill) than for technologies adopted 7The most extensive research on public response to weather modification was conducted at the Institute of Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and later moved to a small private research firm in Boulder, Colorado. The most recent work was conducted at the Hazards Assessment Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.