Rain Making Machine Willunga. South Australia

This site is no longer in use tho it could be again in the future.

The structures emit a dense field of negative ions into the atmosphere using high-voltage electricity, and are meant to create clouds that in turn produce rain.RC is owned by Sydney multi-millionaire and nephew of Rupert Murdoch, Matt Handbury and wife Clare and the company attracted some notoriety last year when former Liberal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull awarded ARC a $10 million grant to trial the rain-making technology, a month before the Federal Election.

Another strange sky in Adelaide

Australia's backing for geo-engineering cops international criticism

High-level international discussions are focussing on the threats of a more direct form of climate intervention – 'geo-engineering'. The UN's Subsidiary Body of Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice recently recommended a formal moratorium on carrying out geo-engineering experiments.

But in March this year, the Victorian government was the sole 'strategic partner' and major sponsor of a heavily promoted conference devoted to advancing geo-engineering. The 'Asilomar' conference represented a huge practical and public relations push by geo-engineering proponents to give the controversial sector a veneer of respectability.

So why did the Victorian government not only provide $250,000 in funding to be the sole 'strategic partner' of the conference, but also commit to advocate for the conference recommendations – sight unseen? There are already international perceptions that Australia is not serious about reducing greenhouse emissions. Efforts at Copenhagen to negotiate climate agreements that favoured Australian industry at the expense of rigorous emissions reduction provoked strong criticism from other delegates. Now, given the parlous state of international negotiations to cut greenhouse gas emissions, a significant concern is that unproven geo-engineering techno-fixes will be used as a smokescreen for inaction.

Geo-engineering, or large-scale intentional climate manipulation, remains an untested, largely hypothetical and high-risk new sector. Many eminent scientists are sceptical that sending small mirrors into outer space, pumping sulphate nanoparticles into the stratosphere or triggering giant algal blooms in the ocean, will really save us from dangerous climate change. Some suggest that the unintended consequences could be catastrophic.

Nonetheless, there are no shortage of techno-optimists and entrepreneurs willing to bet they can find a quick techno-fix to climate change. In May, the London Times newspaper revealed that a team of scientists and engineers funded by billionaire Bill Gates are planning to carry out a 10,000 square kilometre 'cloud-whitening' experiment. If it goes ahead, this 'cloud-bleaching' experiment would be the largest known geo-engineering field trial to date.

At present, there are few rules or restrictions on carrying out geo-engineering experiments, irrespective of their ecological risk. A 2008 meeting of 191 nations at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity supported a de facto moratorium on ocean fertilisation (which Australia, Brazil and China opposed until the last minute). However this has been poorly policed. There are no restrictions on atmospheric manipulation.

Serious scientific concern exists about the ecological and social risks of geo-engineering experiments gone wrong – disruption to regional rainfall and weather patterns, acidified oceans and soils, depletion of the ozone layer, crop failure and population displacement. Geo-engineering is also vulnerable to misuse by self-interested actors for commercial, political or military purposes.

Fossil fuel proponents are already trying to use geo-engineering as a reason to postpone measures to cut emissions and are doing their best to win government supporters, especially among those nations dependent on emission-intensive industries. So at a time when scientists are trying hard to regain momentum for international action to reduce emissions, efforts by the Victorian government to promote geo-engineering are particularly unhelpful.

The Victorian government has taken action to drive investment in renewable energy. Yet recent analysis by Green Energy Markets, commissioned by Environment Victoria, found that renewables still contribute only 5.4% to Victoria's electricity generation – up less than 1% from 2000 − while 91.5% comes from burning coal. Over the past decade, Victoria's carbon emissions from burning brown coal have grown by nearly 10%.

Hazelwood, one of the dirtiest power stations in the industrialised world, was due to be decommissioned last year. The Brumby government extended its operation for another 20 years. Worse, the government supports building more coal-fired plants. Documents leaked last year also revealed that some in state Cabinet want to establish a brown coal export market.

At the same time as Victoria is considering an expansion of its dirty brown coal sector, and while renewables are languishing, the state's sponsorship of the high profile geo-engineering meeting is a very bad look.

If we are to avoid Australia being denigrated at home and overseas as an irresponsible climate wrecker, it's time to get serious about the real business of emissions reduction. This means a dramatic rethink in both federal and state governments' approach to energy and climate policy. The Brumby government should start phasing out use of brown coal, arrest its flirtation with climate manipulation and bring in serious measures to support a transition to renewable energy. Smoke and mirrors are not a good basis for climate policy.

DR HOROWITZ INTERVIEW ON CHEMTRAILS

Dr. Horowitz is an internationally acclaimed authority on public health with a Masters Degree in Public Health and Behavorial Sciences from Harvard and a Masters Degree in Health Ed from Tufts. He has served on the faculties of several universities including Harvard and Tufts. Dr. Horowitz, author of several best sellers.

DR. LEONARD HOROWITZ INTERVIEW ON CHEMTRAILS

REDDEN: What about the current controversy over chemtrails - the theory that airplanes are spraying the population with some kind of chemical or biological weapon. As I understand it, a number of researchers believe that many of the contrails in the skies these days are not the normal contrails formed by high-flying jets, but are actually trails of chemical or biological agents which spread out and then fall on the earth.

HOROWITZ: ... I believe the chemtrails are responsible for a chemical intoxication of the public, which would then cause a general immune suppression, low grade to high grade, depending on exposure. An immune dysfunction, which would then allow people to become susceptible to opportunistic infections, such as mycoplasma and other opportunistic infections.

REDDEN: So you believe that high-flying planes are, in fact, spraying something on the population, that the theory is real?

HOROWITZ: There's no question that it's real. There's no doubt about that. I first began to investigate chemtrails when some were sprayed over my home in Northern Idaho. I found out from one of the chief toxologists at the CDC that Ethlyne Dibromide was being added to the jet fuel. Now EDB is a known human chemical carcinogen that was removed from unleaded gas because of it's cancer causing effects. Now suddenly it has appeared in the jet fuel that apparently high-altitude military aircraft are emitting.

REDDEN: Why has ethylene dibromide been added to jet fuel?

HOROWITZ: When you examine who owns the fuel, who are the fuel company directors, suddenly you enter into the realm of the Rockefeller family, the royal families, Standard Oil and British Petroleum. And what are their other agendas? ... documents show that historically, they have funded eugenics, genocide, depopulation, family planning...

HOROWITZ: You're looking at decision-makers who have, for whatever reasons, decided to put this toxic waste into jet fuels for human exposure, what ultimately's going to be human exposure. And it just so happens that these same people have put a lot of money into reducing world populations...,

REDDEN: As I understand it, this [chemtrails] is not just an American epidemic, but it's gone across Europe.

HOROWITZ: That's right. I've got colleagues over there, I've got colleagues in the Bahamas, Bermuda, Toronto, British Columbia all reporting the same bizarre seeding of the atmosphere. It's horrible. What is going on is just despicable.

REDDEN: One reason I'm interested in this subject is, I personally know three people who had the exact same thing happen to them. First they came down with flu-like symptoms which didn't go away. Then the doctor said their flu had developed into a bacterial infection. Then they were all gi...

REDDEN: Then they were all given a brand new antibiotic they had never taken before and they all had serious allergic reactions. What happened to them?

HOROWITZ: OK, what you're looking at with this upper respiratory infection is that it is a multi-factoral illness. It's associated with a variety of chemical and biological co-factors. Just like with AIDS, it's not the AIDS virus that ultimately kills, it's co-factor microbes such as the mycoplasma. What you have could be described as an ideal Russian biological cocktail. And I suppose it's called a Russian biological cocktail because the Americans most likely invented it.

What they determined would be the best biological chemical warfare approach was a combination of chemicals and biologicals, so that it would be very difficult to diagnose and then treat the illnesses.

REDDEN: A point of clarification. Are You saying that the fungus is working with the chemtrails and the antibiotic to make people sick?

HOROWITZ: Exactly. And you've got somebody who's going to be chronically ill. And in the contemporary warfare arena, where experts in biological chemical warfare convene and discuss the ways that are ideal to conduct warfare today, to really take an enemy out, you don't want to kill the people. You want to produce people who are chronically ill and become dependent on the state and totally sap the resources of the country