Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Weather Modification Ban Bill Echoes Recently Passed Florida Law

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) announced during the weekend that she plans to introduce a federal bill banning weather modification practices, including geoengineering and cloud seeding, an effort that closely mirrors a bill passed recently in the state of Florida.

"I am introducing a bill that prohibits the injection, release, or dispersion of chemicals or substances into the atmosphere for the express purpose of altering weather, temperature, climate, or sunlight intensity. It will be a felony offense," Greene wrote on X. She said the legislation was modeled on Florida's Senate Bill 56, which was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis (R) in June.

The Florida law imposes penalties of up to five years in prison and $100,000 in fines for engaging in weather modification. State Senator Ileana Garcia, who sponsored the bill, cited constituent concerns over "chemtrails"—a term often used in conspiracy theories alleging that condensation trails left by aircraft contain harmful chemicals.

Mick West, a science writer and fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, told Florida's CBS 12 News that cloud seeding and chemtrail theories are often confused:

"[They are] kind of two different things, and I think people have got them mixed up, because they think that they've heard that this chemtrail conspiracy theory is about geoengineering and weather modification. Then, they discover that there's this thing called cloud seeding, which actually is weather modification. And then they kind of put two and two together and make 17"

Cloud seeding, a practice dating back to the 1940s, involves dispersing silver iodide or other substances into clouds to encourage precipitation. It has been used in several states but rarely by federal agencies.

Greene said her bill is intended to stop what she described as "dangerous and deadly" practices. The proposed legislation has already received support from Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who replied to Greene's post with, "Let's roll Chairlady!" Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), by contrast, responded sarcastically, saying he would introduce a bill "prohibit[ing] the injection, release or dispersion of stupidity into Congress."

Back in October, Greene suggested on X that Democrats could "control the weather" in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which prompted then-president Joe Biden to label her claim "beyond ridiculous", adding that it undermined disaster response efforts:

"Now the claims are getting even more bizarre," Biden said at the time. "Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a congresswoman from Georgia, is now saying the federal government is literally controlling the weather. We're controlling the weather. It's beyond ridiculous. It's got to stop. Moments like this, there are no red or blue states."