The House DOGE subcommittee will hold a hearing next week about weather control and geo-engineering, a hot topic for committee Chairwoman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The hearing titled, “Playing God with the Weather — a Disastrous Forecast,” will involve lawmakers of the subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency hearing from witnesses about the federal government’s role in changing the weather and the possible consequences.
“Geo-engineering activity and weather control are often poorly understood and can lead to potentially dangerous consequences,” said Ms. Greene, Georgia Republican. “The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency recently shed light on geo-engineering activity, and I introduced the Clear Skies Act to prohibit geo-engineering and weather modification.”
She said she looks forward to “hearing from experts about the state of weather and climate control technology and ways to maximize transparency and accountability.”
The subcommittee will be hearing from Roger Pielke Jr., a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Christopher Martz, a meteorologist and policy analyst at Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow.
Ms. Greene introduced the “Clear Skies Act” in July. It aims to prohibit weather modification in the U.S. and would fine alleged weather modifiers up to $100,000 for each violation or see them in prison for up to five years.
The bill says weather modification could be geo-engineering, which are activities that aim to cool the earth; cloud seeding, a technique used to increase precipitation; solar radiation modification, which intends to decrease temperatures; and the release of aerosol into the atmosphere to influence temperature, precipitation, or sunlight.
“Finally, we can really take the fight in Washington to protect our skies, protect our water, protect our atmospheres, and most of all, protect our families,” Ms. Greene said in a video posted on X when the legislation was introduced.
It came after conspiracies about cloud seeding started ramping up after the catastrophic flooding in Texas this summer, when the Guadalupe River water levels rose rapidly, killing more than 130, including more than 35 children at a summer camp.
Cloud seeding, in particular, has been used since the 1940s in dozens of countries around the world, according to the North American Weather Modification Council.
“Weather modification (also known as cloud seeding) is an environmentally friendly way to generate more precipitation from clouds in the form of rain or snow,” the website says. “It works through the introduction of tiny particles (’seeds’) that create additional droplets or ice, thereby accelerating the precipitation process and improving the cloud’s efficiency. Cloud seeding is also used to reduce hail damage and eliminate fog.”
The EPA has a frequent questions page on its website that talks about solar geo-engineering, solar radiation modification and weather modification.
It says states like Florida and Tennessee have passed bills, in 2025 and 2024, respectively, that prohibit ways to affect the temperature, weather, or sunlight intensity. Other states, including Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Vermont, have introduced similar bills.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin released a video in July saying he understands why people have questions about contrails from planes and geo-engineering, and that his department will prioritize transparency.
“To anyone who’s ever looked up to the streaks in the sky and asked, ’What the heck is going on?’ or seen headlines about private actors and even governments looking to blot out the sun in the name of stopping global warming, we’ve endeavored to answer all of your questions at the links on your screen,” he said.
He said the EPA “shares many of the same concerns when it comes to potential threats to human health and the environment, especially from solar geo-engineering activities.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.