Laserfiche WebLink
<br />c. Program Goal and Study Approclches <br /> <br />During the November 1979 plannin9 meeting, participants decided that emphasis <br />should be on using available weather modification technology, not on devel- <br />oping new techniques. It was recognized that active involvement of the <br />responsible State agencies would be crucial for sound and useful planning. <br />Participation by State personnel would enhance their awareness of the real <br />potential of weather modification and increase their expertise in dealing <br />with weather modification issues. Furthermore, their participation would <br />encourage intrastate and interstate cooperation. The Federal Government <br />would benefit by having available the planning studies that, it was believed, <br />could be integrated to compile a regional assessment of the role of weather <br />modification in water resource d€!velopment. In addition, the operational <br />State programs would eventually provide feedback that would help set policy <br />direction and priorities for futUlre Federal weather modification efforts. <br /> <br />The overall goal of the Southwest Drought Research Program was to define and <br />plan how to make the best use of existing cloud seeding technology to reduce <br />drought effects. This required a two-pronged effort, as shown in figure 3. <br />The first element involved development of institutional arrangements that <br />would allow timely implementation of a sound cloud seeding project for <br />drought mitigation. The second element included research studies to attain <br />preliminary estimates of the probable contribution of weather modification to <br />drought mitigation, as well as the expected impact of such weather modifica- <br />tion projects on local and State economies. Not every participating agency <br />could be provided with the resources to carry out comprehensive studies <br />within each element. Therefore, the goals of individual agencies were less <br />ambitious than the program goal. <br /> <br />Institutional investigations. - Institutional studies considered the issues <br />of authorization for conducting cloud seeding to mitigate drought conditions, <br />organization for decisionmaking, communicating the need for cloud seeding and <br />its results, and funding to support cloud seeding for drought mitigation. <br /> <br />13 <br />