Message to the Congress Transmitting National Science Foundation Report on Weather Modification.

To the Congress of the United States:

I am pleased to transmit the Eighth Annual Report of the National Science Foundation covering the activities of the Federal Government in the field of weather modification during fiscal year 1966.

To some, a storm is but an inconvenience, a fog is but an hour's delay. But to millions of others--in America and around the world--the weather can spell the difference between shelter and homelessness, between nourishment and starvation, between life and death.

This Report provides clear evidence that progress is being made toward our goal of developing the capacity to modify the weather for the benefit of all mankind.

In the period covered by this Report, we found that:

--Precipitation from some types of clouds may be increased by as much as ten per cent by seeding.

--Seeding of thunderstorm clouds may reduce significantly the number of lightning strikes.

--The incidence of hail may be reduced by heavy seeding.

--Large bodies of cold ground fog may be dissipated through the use of dry ice or saver iodide.

--Mathematical models will be increasingly useful for experimentation with techniques for controlling hurricanes

and tornadoes.

For all our progress, we have still only scratched the surface. To develop the full potential of weather modification, we must continue our research and experimentation. We must bring to the effort our best skills and our most advanced technologies. We must better organize our efforts in this area.

And we must join with other nations in the search for solutions, for the weather respects no national boundary.

I commend this Report--of progress and of challenge--to your attention.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON

The White House

July 19, 1967