Lawmakers pass controversial bill that could hamper weather forecasters: 'Feeding into conspiracy theories'
On April 30, the Florida House of Representatives passed a bill that would outlaw weather modification and geoengineering in the state. First filed in November 2024 by Florida State Senator Ileana Garcia, Senate Bill 56 had quickly garnered the support of leading Republican figures in the state, including Governor Ron DeSantis.
SB 56 would prohibit geoengineering and weather modification activities by banning the release or dispersion of substances into the atmosphere to alter temperature, weather, climate, or sunlight intensity. It also aims to repeal existing laws related to weather modification permits and increase penalties for violations.
While Garcia addressed the Florida Senate in early April, she pointed to the idea of "cloud seeding." According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report, cloud seeding is a decades-old technology that injects tiny particles, generally silver iodide crystals, into clouds in order to trigger rain or snow. However, the data surrounding the effectiveness of cloud seeding remains inconclusive.
Garcia referred to cloud seeding as "something as simple as sending up a $30 balloon that you can buy on Amazon with specific chemicals so that you can alter the weather or solar radiation," she said.
"It seems very concerning to me. I have a problem with people spraying perfume next to me sometimes," Garcia added. "Don't you have a problem with people spraying things into the atmosphere that really have no type of empirical data?"
As noted in SB 56, the bill would also require publicly owned airports to file monthly reports to the Florida Department of Transportation regarding any aircraft equipped for geoengineering or weather modification. In addition, the bill also removes the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's ability to conduct studies, research, experimentation, and evaluations in the field of weather modification.
Florida state representative Anna Eskamani criticized the logic behind the bill. "This bill is feeding into conspiracy theories, and I think it's important that we do not legislate under that type of pressure but that we legislate on science, we legislate on fact, we legislate not on fear but on information," Eskamai told Florida Politics.
"The fact that this bill does not require the consultation of a meteorologist, the consultation of scientists to say [whether this] is suspicious activity is absolutely going to create an environment where things will be reported nonstop, bogging down the department and now potentially bogging down law enforcement who have a lot of more important work to do."
Governor DeSantis has already signaled his intention to sign SB 56 into law. On April 2, the Florida governor posted a video to X in which he condemned the practice of geoengineering and other weather modifications.
Do you think governments should ban gas stoves?
Heck yes!
Only in new buildings
Only in restaurants
Heck no!
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
"People got a lot of kooky ideas that they can get in and put things in the atmosphere to block the sun and save us from climate change," DeSantis said. "We're not playing that game in Florida."
Once SB 56 is signed, violators could potentially face third-degree felony charges, up to five years in prison, and fines up to $100,000.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
19 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
How US adults feel about legal abortion 3 years after Roe was overturned, according to AP-NORC poll
Three years after the Supreme Court opened the door to state abortion bans, most U.S. adults say abortion should be legal — views that look similar to before the landmark ruling. The new findings from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll show that about two-thirds of U.S. adults think abortion should be legal in all or most cases. About half believe abortion should be available in their state if someone does not want to be pregnant for any reason. That level of support for abortion is down slightly from what an AP-NORC poll showed last year, when it seemed that support for legal abortion might be rising. The June 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door to state bans on abortion led to major policy changes. Most states have either moved to protect abortion access or restrict it. Twelve are now enforcing bans on abortion at every stage of pregnancy, and four more do so after about six weeks' gestation, which is often before women realize they're pregnant. In the aftermath of the ruling, AP-NORC polling suggested that support for legal abortion access might be increasing. Last year, an AP-NORC poll conducted in June found that 7 in 10 U.S. adults said it should be available in all or most cases, up slightly from 65% in May 2022, just before the decision that overruled the constitutional right to abortion, and 57% in June 2021. The new poll is closer to Americans' views before the Supreme Court ruled. Now, 64% of adults support legal abortion in most or all cases. More than half the adults in states with the most stringent bans are in that group. Similarly, about half now say abortion should be available in their state when someone doesn't want to continue their pregnancy for any reason — about the same as in June 2021 but down from about 6 in 10 who said that in 2024. Adults in the strictest states are just as likely as others to say abortion should be available in their state to women who want to end pregnancies for any reason. Democrats support abortion access far more than Republicans do. Support for legal abortion has dropped slightly among members of both parties since June 2024, but nearly 9 in 10 Democrats and roughly 4 in 10 Republicans say abortion should be legal in at least most instances. Seeing what's happened in the aftermath of the ruling has strengthened the abortion rights position of Wilaysha White, a 25-year-old Ohio mom. She has some regrets about the abortion she had when she was homeless. 'I don't think you should be able to get an abortion anytime,' said White, who calls herself a 'semi-Republican.' But she said that hearing about situations — including when a Georgia woman was arrested after a miscarriage and initially charged with concealing a death — is a bigger concern. 'Seeing women being sick and life or death, they're not being put first — that's just scary,' she said. 'I'd rather have it be legal across the board than have that.' Julie Reynolds' strong anti-abortion stance has been cemented for decades and hasn't shifted since Roe was overturned. 'It's a moral issue,' said the 66-year-old Arizona woman, who works part time as a bank teller. She said her view is shaped partly by having obtained an abortion herself when she was in her 20s. 'I would not want a woman to go through that,' she said. 'I live with that every day. I took a life.' The vast majority of U.S. adults — at least 8 in 10 — continue to say their state should allow legal abortion if a fetal abnormality would prevent the child from surviving outside the womb, if the patient's health is seriously endangered by the pregnancy, or if the person became pregnant as a result of rape or incest. Consistent with AP-NORC's June 2024 poll, about 7 in 10 U.S. adults 'strongly' or 'somewhat' favor protecting access to abortions for patients who are experiencing miscarriages or other pregnancy-related emergencies. In states that have banned or restricted abortion, such medical exceptions have been sharply in focus. This is a major concern for Nicole Jones, a 32-year-old Florida resident. Jones and her husband would like to have children soon. But she said she's worried about access to abortion if there's a fetal abnormality or a condition that would threaten her life in pregnancy since they live in a state that bans most abortions after the first six weeks of gestation. 'What if we needed something?' she asked. 'We'd have to travel out of state or risk my life because of this ban.' There's less consensus on whether states that allow abortion should protect access for women who live in places with bans. Just over half support protecting a patient's right to obtain an abortion in another state and shielding those who provide abortions from fines or prison time. In both cases, relatively few adults — about 2 in 10 — oppose the measures and about 1 in 4 are neutral. More Americans also favor than oppose legal protections for doctors who prescribe and mail abortion pills to patients in states with bans. About 4 in 10 'somewhat' or 'strongly' favor those protections, and roughly 3 in 10 oppose them. Such telehealth prescriptions are a key reason that the number of abortions nationally has risen even as travel for abortion has declined slightly.
The Hill
19 minutes ago
- The Hill
Benson raises over $3.5M in Michigan governor's bid
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's (D) gubernatorial campaign said it has raised over $3.5 million since its launch in January, according to figures first shared with The Hill on Thursday. Benson's campaign reported receiving over 27,000 individual contributions from the state's 83 counties during the period, with over 95 percent of them under $100. According to her campaign, Benson has over $2.4 million cash-on-hand. The fundraising haul is more than double the $1.5 million Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), raised at this point in 2017 after announcing her first gubernatorial bid in January of that year. The haul also puts Benson ahead of her opponents in the state's Democratic gubernatorial primary. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist's (D) campaign said he raised over $750,000, while former Genesee County, Mich. Sheriff Chris Swanson (D) said his campaign has raised over $1 million. Gilchrist jumped into the primary in March, while Swanson announced his bid in February. 'The numbers make it clear: Jocelyn Benson is the best person to take on any candidate, Republican or Independent, in November 2026,' Benson's campaign manager Nikki Goldschein said in a statement. 'This record-breaking haul not only showcases the strength of this campaign, it tells the story of the movement we are building.' A poll commissioned by the Detroit Regional Chamber and released in May showed Benson leading the Democratic primary field with 59.3 percent support from registered Democratic voters. Gilchrist and Swanson trailed at 6.9 percent and 8.1 percent respective. Nearly 26 percent of registered Democrats said they were undecided. 2024 Election Coverage Republicans are also facing a crowded gubernatorial primary in the state. Rep. John James (R-Mich.), state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R ), former state House Speaker Tom Leonard (R ), and former state Attorney General Mike Cox (R ) are vying for the party's nomination. Cox, who jumped into the race in April, said his campaign has raised $2.4 million and has $1.9 million in the bank. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced earlier this year that he is running for governor as an Independent. Michigan's governor's race is slated to be one of the most competitive races in 2026. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race as a 'toss-up.'
San Francisco Chronicle
19 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Justice Department will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's imprisoned girlfriend
WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department officials were set to meet on Thursday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned girlfriend of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a person familiar with the matter. The meeting in Florida, which Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Tuesday he was working to arrange, is part of an ongoing Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent following fierce backlash from parts of President Donald Trump's base over an earlier refusal to release additional records in the Epstein investigation. In a social media post Tuesday, Blanche said that Trump 'has told us to release all credible evidence' and that if Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the Justice Department "will hear what she has to say.' A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Thursday. The person who confirmed the meeting insisted on anonymity to describe a closed-door encounter to The Associated Press. A lawyer for Maxwell confirmed on Tuesday there were discussions with the government and said Maxwell 'will always testify truthfully.' The House Committee on Oversight issued a subpoena on Wednesday for Maxwell to testify before committee officials in August. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is housed at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida. She was sentenced three years ago after being convicted of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. Officials have said Epstein killed himself in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell's links to famous people, including royals, presidents and billionaires. Earlier this month, the Justice Department said it would not release more files related to the Epstein investigation, despite promises that claimed otherwise from Attorney General Pam Bondi. The department also said an Epstein client list does not exist. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Bondi told Trump in May that his name was among high-profile people mentioned in government files of Epstein, though the mention does not imply wrongdoing. Trump, a Republican, has said that he once thought Epstein was a 'terrific guy' but that they later had a falling out. A subcommittee on Wednesday also voted to subpoena the Justice Department for documents related to Epstein. And senators in both major political parties have expressed openness to holding hearings on the matter after Congress' August recess. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, has introduced legislation with bipartisan support that would require the Justice Department to 'make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials' related to Epstein and his associates. House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republican majority leader, Rep. Steve Scalise, both of Louisiana, have said they will address whatever outstanding Epstein-related issues are in Congress when they return from recess. Epstein, under a 2008 non-prosecution agreement, pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That allowed him to avert a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work release program. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender.
