A Stormy Outlook

Bryana Malloy

ENGL 102-045

Response to Essay

4 February 2012

A Stormy Outlook

            The topic that I chose for my first essay in English 102 was originally going to be on the corn industry. Now, after writing the first introduction paragraph, I decided to change my topic. Although I am angered by what’s happening with the corn industry, a new topic has been brought to my interest. Today I was watching The History Channel, and a documentary on “The Black Blizzard” came on. While watching this documentary, it talked about cloud seeding.

Cloud seeding is part of weather manipulation and is said to have been around since 1946. There has been talk that the government has been manipulating the weather without the knowledge of the citizens. Cloud seeding is undergone by jets flying and leaving contrails in the sky. This contrail appears to be a jet stream, but can stay in the sky for up to 24 hours. As time goes on, the contrail starts expanding and eventually turns into a cloud. This is done to control the weather so there are benefits for certain regions, and less damage for others.

This topic really makes me mad. The government should not be controlling the weather so they can make more money. The atmosphere is supposed to run a certain way, and if we alter it, the possibilities could be disastrous. As of now, I’m starting to think that since we’ve been trying to control the weather for years, we’re finally starting to see the side effects. By side effects, I mean the weather that we’ve been seeing for the past few years.

This picture shows the process of how clouds are seeded.

Just to touch upon some huge occurrences that happened in the past few years . . . In 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit land and flooded most of the gulf, affecting up to 15 million people. In 2008, Indonesia had a record tsunami, and in 2011 Japan had a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Today, New England is experiencing spring like weather in the middle of winter. The first and pretty much only snowstorm in Massachusetts this year happened in the end of October, which was way too early for a storm like that. At the end of January, temperatures in some parts of Massachusetts reached up to 55 °. This was the opposite of what I expected for this winter season after seeing the storm in October. While we’re getting waves of warmth in parts of New England, other countries are getting iced over. Temperatures in some parts of Eastern Europe have reached record lows since the beginning of keeping records. People have been and are still trapped and stranded with no food due to the amounts of snow and freezing temperatures.

So far, I have two paragraphs written for my essay. I have been mostly researching the topic of weather modification and cloud seeding. Most of my research is done, so now I will be writing an argumentative essay against weather modification.

Works Cited

"Hurricane Katrina Frequently Asked Questions from Hurricane Katrina Relief."

Hurricane Katrina Relief - HurricaneKatrinaRelief.com. Web. 03 Feb. 2012. <http://www.hurricanekatrinarelief.com/faqs.html>.

"Serbian Villages Stranded after Heavy Snow Storms | World News | The Guardian."

Latest News, Sport and Comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. Web. 03 Feb. 2012. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/02/serbian-villages-stranded-snowfall>.

"weather modification." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online

Academic Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 03 Feb. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com.libserv-prd.bridgew.edu/EBchecked/topic/638346/weather-modification>.