A snow-free winter?

[kettal]

The Mayor of Moscow is planning to have a snow-free winter. Spraying some stuff in the clouds will prevent snow falling in the city. And the cost? A few million dollars...

Presumably that is less than the cost of snow-removal after a nice blizzard.

Would you want this to be done and have a snow-free Toronto? How about only doing it to prevent blizzards?

I love the idea myself.

 

[Shadywizard]

I don`t think we should be messing with Nature.Not to mention there has not been much study into the effects this possible will have.

 

[Second_in_pie]

^^ Agreed. And as much as it gets all slushy and slows down the busses, I like the snow a lot.

 

[egotrippin]

I'm not an environmentalist, and I'm not a scientist; I don't claim to know what implications this could have environmentally. However, I can absolutely say that this sounds like a terrible idea. Messing with the fundamental cycles of nature could only spell a certain doom for our planet, and based off of what I do know, I am in complete disagreement with this haphazard and reckless plan.

 

[Edward Skira]

The plan indicates the snow would end up falling in the outer areas of Moscow. I'm sure Burlington, Hamilton and Barrie would love to get our snow.

I love when it snows. Bring it on.

 

[Second_in_pie]

^^ I'm sure they could engineer it so the snow falls well outside any urbanized part of the region.

But agree, snow is awesome. How much does snow removal cost anyways? I somehow doubt they could totally stop snow in it's tracks for "a few million dollars," a year.

 

[GraphicMatt]

It's kind of awesome the the Mayor of Moscow has a nefarious weather machine that he is using to play God.

 

[Second_in_pie]

the mayor's office will hire the Russian Air Force to spray a fine chemical mist over the clouds before they reach the capital, forcing them to dump their snow outside the city.

"fine chemical mist" sounds a bit nefarious actually. I have my doubts that this could even be mildly bad for the environment; it's probably very bad for the environment.

Then outside Moscow there will be more moisture, a bigger harvest, while for us it won't snow as much. It will make financial sense... The air force will use cement powder, dry ice or silver iodide to spray the clouds

Cement-flavoured crops? Yum!!!

 

[SimonP]

China tried to do this prior to the Olympics. Most climatologists don't think cloud seeding has much effect. From Salon:

This is latest of China's many efforts to control the weather. China is probably the world's largest practitioner of cloud seeding, spending about $90 million a year. Last April, it claimed a major weather victory after seeded clouds deposited a centimeter of snow on the Tibetan mountains. Now, eager to ensure rain comes before -- not during -- the Olympics, the Beijing Weather Modification Office plans to seed the clouds that float by beforehand, hoping to wash the pollution from the air and wring out any event-delaying precipitation.

But U.S. scientists are skeptical. "China is promising something they can't deliver," says Bruce Boe, director of meteorology for Weather Modification Inc., a Fargo, N.D.-based company. "To alter a cloud's aerosols in such a dramatic way that it won't rain -- the cost will be extreme, and I don't know how to do it confidently. Nature is so large and powerful it can always overwhelm you." China has no scientific evaluations to support its promises. And, he says, it's just not possible to exercise such precise control over the weather.

 

[jn_12]

As someone whose parent owns a snow removal company (in Buffalo, mind you), this is a horrible idea.

 

[gabe]

It is a horrible idea i just spent 1800 bucks on a new snow blower

 

[kettal]

Is the environmental concern real here? Consider all the crap spewed by the thousands of snow plow trucks after a storm. Who's to say that's better than some dry ice sprayed into the clouds?

 

[GraphicMatt]

We let the Mayor of Moscow use his Weather Machine and what's next? He's pledging to eliminate poverty with his Doomsday Device or write his name on the moon with a giant laser.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

I don`t think we should be messing with Nature.Not to mention there has not been much study into the effects this possible will have.

well, you're thousands of years too late for that.

As someone whose parent owns a snow removal company (in Buffalo, mind you), this is a horrible idea.

the city would save money in not having to spend on snow cleanup but all kinds of private contractors and city employees who depend on the money that snow brings will have to go on EI. if such a snow avoidance scenario would work, the city could tell other levels of government to pick up the tab on snow clearing or pay for thousands of EI cases.

Is the environmental concern real here? Consider all the crap spewed by the thousands of snow plow trucks after a storm. Who's to say that's better than some dry ice sprayed into the clouds?

all kinds of emissions, salt use could be avoided. the absence of snow would remove a layer of insulation which protects all kinds of living things such as harmful insects and even beneficial life forms. there would probably be alot of frost burned & dead plant life come spring. there would be positives but there would also be negatives. it would definitely be something in which positives vs. negatives would have to be carefully analyzed. we may help the environment by reducing salt use and emissions BUT we could do way worse.

 

[Shadywizard]

Sure we been messing with nature,but not to where we try and change entire weather patterns,and beside if the mayor of Moscow thinks he can change entire weather patterns with a couple of plans.He severely doubts the power of nature.

Weather changes so fast, I doubt he can stop a surprise blizzard with a couple of planes.