Florida moves to ban weather modification with new bill

A new bill introduced in Florida seeks to ban “weather modification activities,” coming on the heels of controversial statements made by Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Greene has previously claimed that the government has the ability to control the weather, a statement widely mocked and dismissed by experts. Now, a similar theme appears in Florida, where Senator Ileana Garcia introduced the legislation last month.

The proposed bill prohibits the release or dispersal of any chemicals or substances into the atmosphere for the explicit purpose of altering temperature, weather, or sunlight intensity within the state. Violators of the law would face a second-degree misdemeanor and fines up to $10,000.

Senator Garcia stated that the bill would repeal certain outdated provisions of current weather modification laws, including licensing and definitions, while strengthening regulations to prevent improper use of weather modification practices.

The move follows the ongoing spread of baseless conspiracy theories around weather manipulation, notably the “chemtrails” theory.

This claims that the government is spraying chemicals from airplanes to manipulate the weather, a theory debunked by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Contrails, often cited as evidence of weather modification, are simply condensation trails formed by water vapor from jet engines.

While Greene’s weather-control claims have sparked public debate, other lawmakers, including Florida’s Rep. Carlos Gimenez, have strongly refuted such ideas, emphasizing the impossibility of human control over natural weather phenomena like hurricanes.

Senator Garcia stressed that the legislation is a necessary step to address public concerns and ensure responsible oversight of weather-related practices.