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<br />CLOUD SEEDING--first add <br /> <br />2321 <br /> <br />He stressed that the state's emergency program applies only <br />to the winter season; it is sCheduled to be discontinued in mid-May. <br />Grant maintains that research, including his own during the <br />past eight years, is inconclusive about the effects of seeding <br />summer clouds over the high plains. But research shows "very <br />conclusively, in my opinion," he said, "that mountain snowfall can <br />be increased by something like 10 to 20 per cent." <br />CSU's three major field experiments, each of which lasted at <br />least five years, "have established that some wintertime clouds <br />precipitate very efficiently while others are very inefficient--most <br />of their water re-evaporates without producing much if any <br />precipitation," Grant explained. <br />"~lhen seeded, these inefficient clouds become more efficient <br />and produce increases quite a bit larger than the 10 to 20 per cent <br />I mentioned before. But, with the highly efficient clouds, weather <br />modificati~n doesn't help at all. Thus, when you take all clOUd <br />systems, you come up with an average overall increase of about <br />10 to 20 per cent." <br />Under the emergency weather modification program, the state <br />is prOViding some $189,000 for cloud seeding, while private <br />supporters are providing an additional $60,000, Grant said. <br />About return on investment, he said that "various economic <br />analyses have shown that the cost of water from weather modification <br />is in the range of $1 or $2 per acre foot of additional water that <br />can be produced. This is well less than the value of water which <br />for various uses is nearly always in excess of $10 per acre foot <br />and for urban uses can exceed $200 per acre foot." <br />Just how does cloud seeding work? <br />-more- <br />