Legal consequences of weather modification

Property ownership extends from the center of the earth to the top of the sky according to U.S. common law. As a result of this ownership principle, the law has held those who attempt to modify the weather liable for the consequences of the cloud seeding or other technique used. This presentation will examine the roots of the common law concept, the extension of the ownership concept to the clouds above real property, and the potential for liability of entities that attempt to affect the weather through technology. Recent state efforts in the Southwest to develop interstate compacts and to provide funding to use weather modification to alleviate drought conditions in the region will be compared with discussion of international and interstate legal consequences of weather modification from the 1970s.