Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said Saturday she plans to introduce a bill to restrict “weather modification.”
“I am introducing a bill that prohibits the injection, release, or dispersion of chemicals or substances into the atmosphere for the express purpose of altering weather, temperature, climate, or sunlight intensity. It will be a felony offense,” she wrote in a Saturday post on X.
“I have been researching weather modification and working with the legislative counsel for months writing this bill,” Greene added.
The Georgia lawmaker said the legislation would resemble Florida’s Senate Bill 56, which was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in late June.
The text makes it illegal for individuals to practice geoengineering and weather modification by imposing a $100,000 fine and a five-year prison sentence.
The punishment would apply to cloud seeding, an 80-year-old technology that adds tiny particles—usually silver iodide crystals—to clouds to trigger rain or snow, as defined by the Government Accountability Office.
Some states have practiced the measure, but it’s rarely been undertaken by federal jurisdictions.
“We must end the dangerous and deadly practice of weather modification and geoengineering,” Greene said of the forthcoming bill.
However, lawmakers in the Sunshine State said cloud seeding is a safe practice that has been undermined by conspiracy theories about weather alteration, as contrails, condensation trails left in the air by planes, are sometimes confused as chemtrails.
“[They are] kind of two different things, and I think people have got them mixed up, because they think that they’ve heard that this chemtrail conspiracy theory is about geoengineering and weather modification,” Mick West, a science writer and fellow for the Committee of Skeptical Inquiry, told 12News.
“Then, they discover that there’s this thing called cloud seeding, which actually is weather modification. And then they kind of put two and two together and make 17.”
Greene made headlines last year when she suggested Democrats were able to “control the weather” in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, prompting then-President Biden to condemn what he called “irresponsible” and “beyond ridiculous” falsehoods.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) poked fun at Greene’s bill in a post online.
“I’m introducing a bill that prohibits the injection, release or dispersion of stupidity into Congress,” he wrote in a Saturday post, quoting Greene’s original announcement.
But one of her Republican colleagues has already signaled he’ll back her efforts.
“Let’s roll Chairlady!” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) wrote online.
Greene’s office did not immediately respond to additional requests for comment on the bill and potential federal penalties outlined in the text.
