B P International

Aims: Fifty years ago geoscientist Gordon J. F. MacDonald penned a book-chapter entitled, “How to Wreck the Environment”, in which he described how a nation might alter the environment so as to covertly inflict harm on an enemy nation. Our objective is to review MacDonald’s suggestions of environmental warfare strategies in light of subsequent technological advances, and in the context of actual deployment of the war methods he described. Methods: We review the interdisciplinary, historical, scientific and medical literature. Results: MacDonald discussed overt and covert weather warfare based upon seeding clouds to cause rainfall. Subsequently, a method was developed for inhibiting rainfall by jet-emplacing pollution particulates where clouds form. For at least two decades citizens have observed such particulate trails occurring with increasing frequency. Forensic scientific investigations implicate toxic coal fly ash as their main constituent. Around 2010, the aerial pa...

Aims: The dangerous portion of ultraviolet radiation is widely believed to be completely absorbed by the atmosphere before reaching Earth’s surface. Our objective is to make multiple measurements at Earth’s surface of the solar irradiance spectrum in the range 200-400 nm. Methods: We made numerous measurements of the solar irradiance spectrum in the range 200-400 nm at an elevation of 56 m with International Light Technologies ILT950UV Spectral Radiometer mounted on a Meade LXD55 auto guider telescope tripod and mount assembly. Results: Our multifold measurements of solar irradiance spectra demonstrate conclusively that all wavelengths in the spectral range 200-400 nm reach Earth’s surface, contrary to the widespread perception that all UV-C and the majority of UV-B never reach the surface. We confirm the surface UV-C measurements of D’Antoni et al. (2007) that were disputed, based on faulty computer model calculations of atmospheric ozone, and thereafter ignored by the ...