Creative Adventures — 36

Imagine You Can Manipulate Weather

How Would You Use This Superpower?

The ability to control weather conditions, such as rain or snow, has been one of the most critical powers humans have sought for centuries. Throughout history, there have been countless rituals, ceremonies, and innovation attempts to bring rain. In my hometown (Ivrindi, Turkey), residents often still participate in a special prayer for more rain.

In fiction, superheroes such as X-Men’s Storm or witches such as Narnia’s Jadis can alter the weather. Since 1940s, cloud seeding technology has been used to increase precipitation. The idea is to spray a powder into clouds where each particle acts as a seed for an ice crystal. This technique tends to bring extra snow or rain on demand, although it may not work all the time, as weather systems tend to be incredibly complicated and chaotic.

Imagine that you have the superpower to control weather.

Please respond to the following questions:

1. Imagine that you have only three chances to use this power. Think of three significant occasions or scenarios where you would like to control weather.
2. Imagine that the weather modification technology becomes feasible and available. How would this change our daily lives on Earth? Think of the economic, social, and environmental implications. Come up with 10 predictions on how our world and lives would change.
3. Of course, there will be unexpected consequences of using weather manipulation technology. Think of at least three risks that might arise from the prevalent use of this technology.
4. Imagine that you are one of the people who are settling on Mars in 2048 and you are assigned to use this technology in Mars. Write a science fiction story using these themes (geoengineering, terraforming, etc.)
5. Back to Earth: Unfortunately, we are in the midst of a climate change crisis since we have increased the amount of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere. Like a blanket, these greenhouse gases are holding the heat in. The atmosphere now holds in more heat than it has for thousands of years. This will obviously cause a diverse range of problems including droughts, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and heat waves. We have started to witness many of these problems already. It is not difficult to predict that climate change will be the most crucial and urgent global issue we will face in the next few decades, and it will probably get worse. That is why we need social and technological innovations addressing the urgency of this matter. Come up with 20 big ideas on how to resolve this wicked problem.
6. How can you contribute to the solution of global warming as an individual, activist, artist, and entrepreneur? Come up with 7 small and practical actions you can implement immediately. Greta Thunberg is a great role model for us in this regard, use her as your inspiration.
7. Imagine that new ministries or futurist agencies are established to address climate change and related issues. First, there is the Ministry of Weather Modification which will intervene in urgent weather events, crises, and emergencies. Second, there is the Ministry of Future Generations which will establish and guarantee the legal rights of future unborn generations worldwide. Third, there is the Ministry of Imagination which will support creative enterprises and entrepreneurial initiatives for alternative futures for humanity, ecosystems, and Earth. Think of 9 new and radical policies that could be implemented by each of these ministries (3 for each).
8. “Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get.” Write a short story beginning with this sentence.
9. Create your own questions and imagination experiments using this theme and its variations.

Fahri Karakas is the author of the Self-making Studio. You can explore more here.