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- PROTEST DEMONSTRATION - THURSDAY, MARCH
23, 2006 - TIME: 9 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. LOCATION: 312 North Spring Street,
Los Angeles, California 90012 - Senator Barbara Boxer?s Office (Corner
of Spring And - Temples Streets - Downtown Los Angeles)
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- PROTECT AGRICULTURE!
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- STOP EXPERIMENTAL WEATHER MODIFICATION
- WITHOUT AGRICULTURE AND PUBLIC OVERSIGHT
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- U.S. SENATE BILL 517 - And U.S. HOUSE
BILL 2995
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- http://www.venusproject.com/ethics_in_action/
Weather_Modification_Bill.html
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- CONTACTS:
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- Rosalind Peterson info@californiaskywatch.com
- (707) 485-7520
- Post Office Box 499, Redwood Valley,
California 95470
- Bridget Conroy bcolemanconroy8@yahoo.com
- K. Ornstein - - Right to Breathe Healthy
Air - -
- kathyornstein@hotmail.com
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- AGRICULTURE - ALERT - 2006 EXPERIMENTAL
WEATHER MODIFICATION BILL - FAST TRACKING - FOR PASSAGE IN U.S. SENATE
And HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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- By Rosalind Peterson
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- U.S. Senate Bill 517 and U.S. House Bill
2995, a bill that would allow experimental weather modification by artificial
methods and implement a national weather modification policy, does not
include agriculture or public oversight, is on the ?fast track? to be passed
early in 2006.
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- This bill is designed to implement experimental
weather modification. The appointed Board of Directors established by this
bill does not include any agricultural, water, EPA, or public representatives,
and has no provisions for Congressional, State, County, or public oversight
of their actions or expenditures.
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- Weather Modification may adversely impact
agricultural crops and water supplies. If the weather is changed in one
state, region or county it may have severe consequences in another region,
state or county. And who is going to decide the type of weather modification
experimentation and who it will benefit or adversely impact?
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- This experimental weather modification
bill will impact residents across the United States not just in California.
Many current and ongoing weather modification programs (47 listed by NOAA
in 2005), including the one in Wyoming that is designed to increase the
snowpack, may be diverting rainwater away from Oklahoma and Texas, two
states that are currently fighting fires caused by a lack of rainfall.
We have no idea what the unintended consequences of the Wyoming action
or other experimental weather modification programs might be now or in
the future.
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- In addition to the experimental weather
modification programs listed by NOAA, there are both private and ongoing
government sponsored atmospheric testing and heating programs underway
in Alaska and across the United States. Alaska Senator Stevens recently
received $50 million in funding for Alaska?s atmospheric heating program.
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- All of these unregulated, private, government,
and public weather modification programs, may also have unintended synergistic
effects. Senate Bill 517 does not address these issues but intends to implement
more experimental weather modification programs without a national debate
or public oversight.
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- Artificial weather modification can impact
all of us by reducing water supplies, changing agricultural crop production
cycles, reducing crop production, and water availability. Since most experimental
weather modification programs use chemicals released into the atmosphere
the public could be subjected increasingly toxic or unknown substances
that could adversely impact agricultural crops and trees.
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- Trimethyl Aluminum (TMA) and barium are
just two of the toxic chemicals used in recent atmospheric heating and
testing programs according to NASA. The Alaska H.A.A.R.P. atmospheric heating
program may have the capability of changing the Jet Stream which could
also change our weather.
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- Many private weather modification companies
admit that precipitation effects may be positive or negative. Fog dispersal
programs, using dry ice, liquid nitrogen, liquid propane or silver iodide
may improve visibility while adversely impacting Redwood Trees along the
California coast by depriving them of needed water they derive from the
fog.
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- The increasing use of varied chemicals
like aluminum (coupled with increasing air pollution), can severely impact
tree health by depriving trees of water and nutrients normally absorbed
through their root systems.
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- The December 2005 Popular Science Magazine
discussed a plan to use an oil slick to stop hurricanes without noting
the adverse environmental impacts of the oil used to cover the ocean.
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- Popular Science also noted that a private
company, Dyn-O-Mat, plans to purchase jets to drop thousands of pounds
of a water absorbing chemical powder (unknown substance), into hurricanes
to absorb moisture that may dissipate hurricanes. There is no agriculture
oversight or public hearings to determine the consequences of this and
other actions or to monitor or prevent adverse impacts of this chemical
once it falls on the surface of the ocean or on land.
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- Alaska and other areas across the United
States are beginning to feel the impacts of climate change. Enormous changes
are being seen in the declining health of native plant and tree communities
in many areas across the United States.
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- NASA noted in an October 2005 newsletter
that increasingly persistent contrails are ??trapping warmth in the atmosphere
and exacerbating global warming?? NASA goes on to note that: ??Any increase
in global cloud cover will contribute to long-term changes in Earth?s climate.
Likewise, any change in Earth?s climate may have effects on natural resources??
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- Global dimming and the persistent contrails,
that produce man-made clouds, may have serious impacts on crop production.
A recent corn crop study in Illinois shows that cloud cover reduces corn
crop production while direct sunlight increases production. In addition,
increasing man-made clouds may reduce the effectiveness of solar panels.
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- Gil Smolin, an Avian Bird Flu expert,
noted on the Ron Owens Show on KGO Radio (January 5, 2006), that the flu
was spread more quickly in the winter when there was a ?lack of sunlight?.
Would man-made clouds be contributing to the lack of sunlight which might
cause the Avian Bird flu to spread more quickly at other times of the year?
Experimental weather modification programs could also exacerbate this problem
by changing climate patterns, increasing man-made cloud cover, and changing
our weather and climate patterns.
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- Senate Bill 517 does not address any
of these important issues. Its sole purpose is to establish an experimental
weather modification policy without any agriculture or public oversight
of private, military, and government programs. Without oversight or public
hearings agriculture, our natural resources, and watersheds may be negatively
impacted. And who will be responsible to determine the synergistic effects
of these programs or pay for unintended disasters created by this experimentation.
If these programs change growing seasons and interrupt the pollination
process crop losses could be substantial exacerbating economic losses.
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- Please contact all of your elected local,
state and federal officials to stop this bill in its present form. This
bill needs to have appropriate agriculture and public oversight, with public
hearings included, prior to any more experimental projects. We need a national
dialogue on this subject before more experimentation takes place.
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- For more information please contact:
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- Rosalind Peterson Post Office Box 499
Redwood Valley, California 95470 Phone: (707) 485-7520 E-Mail: info@californiaskywatch.com
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- Rosalind Peterson was born and raised
on a working farm in Redwood Valley, California. The weather was the foremost
factor in determining whether or not our tree crops produced fruit and
nuts.
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- Between 1989 and 1993 Rosalind worked
as an Agricultural Technologist for the Mendocino County Department of
Agriculture. After leaving Mendocino County she took a position with the
USDA Farm Service Agency as a Program Assistant in Mendocino, Sonoma, and
the Salinas County Offices.
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- In 1995, she became a certified U.S.D.A.
Farm Service Agency Crop Loss Adjustor working in more than ten counties
throughout California. Many crop losses throughout the State can be attributed
to weather related causes.
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- Rosalind has a BA degree from Sonoma
State University in Environmental Studies & Planning (ENSP), with emphasis
on agriculture and crop production.
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- Recommended Book:
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- The Dying of the Trees by Charles Little,
1995
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- Associated Reference Articles: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=36105#
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