When someone claims that "a lot of people are going to die," even if it's just in a Reddit post, it turns heads. In one subreddit, there was an ongoing conversation surrounding state-level efforts to ban "weather control."
Now, several distinctions need to be addressed here. First and foremost, cloud seeding and various other "weather modification" efforts are real. But keep in mind that "modification" and "control" are two different things.
Not to mention the fact that so-called efforts to modify weather are sometimes experimental and often inconclusive or of limited effect. Western states, like Colorado, Utah, and California, actively practice cloud seeding, which typically involves the release of silver iodide.
NOAA and the U.S. Navy tried to use cloud seeding to study and limit the impact of hurricanes in Project Stormfury. Operation Popeye was another weather modification attempt used during the Vietnam War to try to extend the monsoon season. Today, NOAA requires reports on any weather modification attempts across the country (per 15 CFR 908).
These events, including the 1976 National Weather Modification Policy, have one thing in common — they show interest and experimentation, not some shady type of conspiratorial control.
When Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene claims that, per an X post, "Yes, they [presumably referencing government entities] can control the weather. It's ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can't be done," she undercuts the prestige of her office by not giving additional context.
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Worse, her claims stoke the fires of anger. That anger echoes throughout the states, in some cases leading to state-level laws or proposed bills that at least aim to limit forms of weather modification. Florida (SB 56), Tennessee (SB 2691 and HB 2063), and New Hampshire (HB 1700) are examples of these types of legislation.
There's nothing inherently wrong with the bills that aim to prohibit releasing pollutants into the atmosphere. However, they're missing the forest for the trees. Lawmakers who push certain claims miss the reality of the changing climate while chasing the ghosts of conspiracy theories.
It's neither scientific nor reasonable. With that being said, the "a lot of people are going to die" post gains some clarity. It's like trying to stop a nuclear war by chastising the leaders of a nation with no nuclear arsenal.
Worse yet, unfounded legislation is often an unmanned, directionless weapon, as this response post suggests: "It's darker than that, climate change mitigation could be banned using these laws."
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Definitely 
Plus, the level of irony would be hilarious if the implications weren't so awful: "Ironic that they see that climate change is real in an unreal way, smh."
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