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WEATHER MODlFICA nON What do the people who might be affected think about it and how would they act to protect their interests? r What conditions can be put. upon the project so that the un- desirable effects can be minimized, redistributed, or compen- sated for by purposely redistributing benefits? Given sufficiently detailed answers to these questions, we can all make sound decisions about what the WOSA program should be. However, we will probably not be asked to participate in very many of the decisions that are made every day that can affect the quality of our lives. We have to use the means that we have in different situations to make our voices heard by the decision maker. The citizen has formal political channels to express his concerns, but he also has many informal channels. He can band together with persons of similar interests to offer a stronger voice. We have all seen many recent examples of the ~~~~..;.,o~o~~ ~f .--..h1,,, .,,,t,,...n TTnT""" r;t;7pn" milk-". th".ir voice~ ~1J.~""LJ. v\.;~~'"'.::).::) VL .t'LJ.L1~~"" U.......L.&.V~.L. .......L.L.Lvu..... ..................................&.i..o ............-...--' .......~-'-- . -_../_~ heard, the pliblic official will continue to make his decisions based upon his perceptions of society's needs and interests. Over time, these can become highly colored by the special interests who take the time and spend the money to make their desires known. If we work at it, there is no reason why average citizens cannot promote the public interest just as effectively as lobby- ists and trade groups promote special interests. The purpose of technology assessmentis to inform those who help to make decisions concerning the development and application of technology of the consequences of the different kinds of decisions that they might make. Technology assess- ment will improve the public official's understanding of the public's needs and interests, so that he can make decisions based upon a broader range of interests. Technology assessment will put the public in a better position to make concerns known in a responsible and informed way. Concerns that are expressed in: this way will be difficult to overlook at the level at which the decision is finally made. . SNOWPACK, CLOUD-SEEDING, AND THE COLORADO RIVER This reaction is probably the result of widespread experience with many technical innovations that were enthusiastically adopted based upon an initial reaction to a need. Because we have often been disappointed by undesirable effects that were not foreseen, we have learned to respond to a proposal such as WOSA with a certain skepticism. There seem to be two ways of dealing with any problems that an operational WOSA program in the Upper Colorado River Basin might create. We can try to foresee the problems and set conditions that would minimize them, or we can deal With the problems as they occur. We can avoid some problems if we ban the development or application of a technology that produces problems. If the project is stopped, the benefits are also lost. Only one way of dealing with potential problems shows any real promise: to anticipate the problems and then build the means and the motivation for minimizing them into the institu- tions that will develop and apply the technology. One might ask how we go about developing a sociaUy responsible WOSA program. First, we need to develop certain information about the program and the possible ways it might be implemented: How does WOSA work, how effective will it be, and What will it cost? What effects will the additional snowfall cause? What will it do to the river flows and to the quality of the water? Can it be controlled so that any hazardous conditions will be mini- mized? Are there other ways of achieving the same effect? What conditions would be put upon it by existing public policy? What problems wotildbe solved or created by the laws and institutions that exist for dealing with weather modification and its effects, or the water supply that it would create in the Colorado River Basin? Who stands to gain and who stands to lose from WOSA and how much? Is it on balance a worthwhile project? / 9 What will it do to the environment directly and indirectly and how will this affect living things, including man? 8 il. ~ ~: '~: ~! t., ~ F" \ I 'f . " , l ..