The letter by Michael Binkley and the reply from Kerry Emanuel under the heading “Cool Shades for Hurricanes?” (Physics Today, Physics Today 0031-9228 61 3 2008 9 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2897964 March 2008, page 9 ) attracted my attention. As a forester, hydrologist, ecologist, and student of atmospheric phenomena, I understand our atmosphere fairly well.
The function of hurricanes is to move excess heat energy from the equatorial regions toward the poles, particularly the North Pole. It is in humankind’s best interest not to monkey around any more than we already have with Earth’s powerful and yet delicately balanced energy sources, sinks, and pathways. An experiment in seeding hurricanes 40–50 years ago resulted in a near international incident when an errant seeded storm abruptly turned north and grazed Havana, Cuba, rather than taking its more normal path into the Gulf of Mexico. Fidel Castro complained bitterly that the event was a deliberate act of aggression by the US, but, of course, he received denials. A report later showed that the storm made a completely unnatural and sudden 90-degree turn northward. The proposed seeding program was later abandoned when potential perpetrators were required to write an environmental impact statement.
