🚀 go-pugleaf

Subject: cloudbusting
Newsgroups: alt.org.earth-first
Organization: Carleton University
Summary: 
Keywords: 

The following arrived in my mailbox.  Thought I would pass it along.

BH

    From: MRMOE@aol.com (unknown)
    To: ag497@freenet.carleton.ca
    Subject: Joel Carlinsky
    Date: Tue, 13 Feb
    
    ORGONOMY PEDDLERS, CLOUDBUSTING, AND THE ENVIRONMENT
    Wilhelm Reich, in his book, the Murder of Christ, spoke of the harm
done to
    the cause of freedom by irresponsible "Freedom Peddlers" and warned
about the
    possibility that his own work would be similarly usurped by "Orgonomy
    Peddlers" who would use it in harmful ways.  As with so much Reich
said, this
    warning has been ignored by many people favorably disposed toward
Reich and
    his work, many of whom are supporting and encouraging individuals
whose
    reckless and irresponsible misuse of Reich's discoveries and
incompetent and
    misguided efforts to "prove Reich right" are causing serious
ecological
    damage. 
    I wish to make clear that the criticism that follows is not directed
at Reich
    and his theories, but only at the actions of certain present-day
Reichians
    whom I regard as incompetent and irresponsible "Orgonomy Peddlers" of
the
    type Reich warned about.  I specifically am not contesting the facts
of
    orgone biophysics, but the misguided application of those facts by one
group
    of proponents of Reich's work, specifically, Dr. James DeMeo and his
    associates. 
    I am convinced that Dr. DeMeo and his associates are doing a great
deal of
    harm to the environment and to innocent members of the public as well
as
    hurting the long term prospects for serious investigation of Reich's
    discoveries by ill-conceived cloudbusting operations conducted without
proper
    ecological knowledge or concern for the environment.  Dr. DeMeo's
obsessive
    compulsion to convert unbelievers and his need to gather statistics
has
    resulted in devastation to ecosystems and the deaths of numerous
people due
    to storms, floods, and freezing weather. 
    In 1989, DeMeo, then living in the San Francisco Bay area, conducted a
series
    of
     cloudbusting operations in the Arizona desert.  As recounted in his
article
    in The Journal of Orgonomy, he first visited Arizona in March, two
months
    before the rainy season starts, and within 3 days had produced rain,
He
    subsequently visited Arizona one weekend each month during, the
5-month rainy
    season and brought rain each time for a seasonal total of 5 times the
normal
    rainfall for the area in which he was working. 
    Now, in any area with a well-defined wet season and dry season, all
native
    plant and animal species are adapted to the normal dry season and need
it. 
     Small burrowing mammals such as pocket mice, kangaroo rats, gophers,
etc. 
    give birth underground in the dry season; if it rains unexpectedly at
the
    wrong time of year, the burrows flood and the infants drown; reptiles
such as
    snakes, lizards, the desert tortoise, which is on the endangered
species
    list, the gila monster, found only in Arizona, lay their eggs in the
dry
    season under a thin coat of sand, just enough to hide them but allow
the sun
    to incubate them.  If it rains out of season, the sand is washed away
and
    they lose a clutch of eggs.  These small mammals and reptiles are the
base of
    the food chain and if their population crashes so will that of the
owls,
    hawks, foxes, coyotes, badgers, and other predators that depend on
them. 
    In Contact With Space, Reich described exactly what he did in Arizona. 
He
    spent 5 months in the desert.  He drove 100 miles every day just to
    familiarize himself with the landscape so he could note any changes in
it. 
     By contrast, James DeMeo lived in Northern California and commuted
down to
    the desert one weekend each month.  After 5 months of patient work,
Reich
    succeeded in obtaining a lush growth of grass without a drop of rain
having
    fallen.  That's right! Reich, according to his own report, did not
create
    rain in the desert and did not want to! In fact, he explicitly says
that rain
    would have made it impossible to obtain the increase in plant growth
he did
    obtain, since it would have drowned the developing vegetation. 
Reich's goal,
    in which he was successful only after 5 months of patient daily labor,
was
    not to make rain, but to revive the stagnant energy field of the
desert to
    the point where it could regulate itself and produce rain at its own
times,
    not according to some man-made schedule.  DeMeo misses this point
entirely. 
     He produces-rain on a highly artificial schedule only to create
impressive
    charts and graphs, ignoring the catastrophic effects of 5 times normal
    rainfall on all plant and animal species, and then, totally
disregarding what
    Reich plainly said, claims to have "replicated' Reich's work in the
desert. 
     He repeatedly refers to "Reich's rainmaking expedition" and to Reich
"making
    rain in the desert" when in fact Reich specifically said he did not do
so. 
    In more recent years DeMeo has undertaken two trips to Namibia to
break
    droughts there with a cloudbuster.  He also trained local operators
and left
    equipment with them so that Namibia now has a permanent
drought-abatement
    program in place.  Under normal conditions-normal for the last 5-6000
years,
    that is-Southern Africa has a regular cycle of 3 or 4 good years
followed by
    a drought year.  In the dry years, the prevailing winds pick up
millions of
    tons of dust and carry it out over the ocean.  About half of it falls
into
    the ocean where it provides silica and phosphates-essential
nutrients-to the
    photo plankton which are the base of the marine ecosystem food chain. 
So in
    years when Southern Africa has droughts, life in the South Atlantic
    flourishes and in years when Southern Africa has good rains, the South
    Atlantic marine life dies back.  The remainder of the dust is carried
over to
    Brazil, where it is the sole source of trace elements not found in
Brazilian
    soils which are essential nutrients for many tropical rain forest
plant
    species.  Like the sea-life, the Brazilian rain forest therefore
flourishes
    in years when Namibia has a drought and declines in years when Namibia
has
    plenty of rain.  By establishing a permanent drought abatement
facility in
    Namibia, DeMeo has caused irreparable harm to the global environment. 
He
    simply doesn't know-or care-anything about ecology. 
    In another case of ecological ignorance and irresponsibility, he
reports in
    one of his publications that to make up a water deficit during- a
recent
    series of dry years in California, he extended the rainy season by a
month
    one year and 6 weeks another year.  I have spoken to a biologist at
the Point
    Reyes Bird Observatory who tells me that in both of the years in
question
    they lost a significant percentage of baby birds due to inclement
weather
    during the normally dry nesting, season.  Baby birds get pneumonia in
wet
    weather.  Incidentally, some of the birds affected were on the
endangered
    species list. 
    DeMeo has also done cloudbusting operations in the Middle East.  I
have
    documentation in my files showing numerous deaths of people in the
region as
    a result of catastrophic weather he caused. 
    Lest I seem to be singling Dr. DeMeo out for exceptionally harsh
treatment,
    some of his associates are just as unaware of ecology and almost as
harmful
    to the environment.  DeMeo is the leader of a group called the
C.O.R.E. (for
    Cosmic Orgone Engineering) network.  Two other members of the group,
Dr. 
    Stephen Nagy and Mr. John Schleining, have taken it upon themselves to
play
    Smokey the Bear and stop forest fires in Oregon in recent years. 
According
    to their own reports published in the Journal of Orgonomy, they have
caused
    up to 2.5 inches of rain in a dry summer month which normally has
about .25
    inch.  This is not drought relief; it is blatant disruption.  The time
to
    break a years-long drought is in the normal rainy season, not in what
is
    normally the dry season.  Despite what Smokey told these people in
grade
    school, natural wildfires have an important role in forest life-cycles
and
    should not be prevented.  They open up stands of trees so some can
grow,
    recycle nutrients back into the soil, help some kinds of seeds
germinate, and
    clear away underbrush that would otherwise accumulate enough in
several years
    to cause an eventual really disastrous fire.  By meddling in normal
forest
    fire cycles, Schleining and Nagy are following an outmoded
fire-suppression
    policy which the Forest Service now realizes was a mistake and has
abandoned. 
    According to the same report in the Journal of Orgonomy, the
cloudbuster was
    also used to prevent fire in another way besides increasing rainfall:
it was
    used to decrease the number of lightning strikes in the area.  Now,
aside
    from its role in creating useful and necessary fires, lightning fixes
    atmospheric nitrogen into compounds plants can utilize.  For plant
species
    that lack a symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria on their roots,
including many
    temperate-zone forest trees, lightning plays an essential role as a
source of
    fertilizer, so this application of the cloudbuster, far from
benefiting the
    environment, amounts to mere vandalism of Oregon's forests. 
    Cloudbusting, to be done responsibly, requires an ecologist as part of
the
    team.  Otherwise, even with a thorough knowledge of orgonomy and the
best of
    intentions, harm will result.  For any large-scale or long-term
project, an
    environmental impact study prepared by an ecologist familiar with the
area is
    a must.  This is standard procedure nowadays for all government
agencies and
    large corporations; without it, cloudbusting is just another
environmental
    problem.  It will not help orgonomy to become known as a form of
pollution. 
    Although at the early stages of his cloudbusting work, Reich did use
terms
    like
     "engineering" and "weather control," by the end of his career he had
    superseded such concepts and, drawing the analogy of the difference
between a
    dictator and a guide, stressed that the function of cloudbusting is
not to
    control weather in a dictatorial manner, but to remove blockages that
    obstruct normal atmospheric functioning and restore the ability of the
    atmosphere to regulate itself.  Cloudbusting in Reich's concept is not
    technology, but atmospheric medicine; the healing of a sick atmosphere
to
    restore atmospheric self-regulation, after which it should be left
alone. 
     People who use terms like "weather control" and "engineering-" to
describe
    cloudbusting, miss the point entirely.  Reich was very clear on this
point. 
     DOR fields-some natural, some caused by nuclear and/or
electromagnetic
    technology-obstruct normal atmospheric conditions.  The cloudbuster
can and
    should be used to remove such obstacles and heal the atmosphere.  It
should
    not be used to impose an artificial, man-made climate regime for
political or
    economic purposes. 
    In his promotional literature, Dr. DeMeo speaks glowingly of his wish
to
    "green the worlds' deserts" and "turn barren deserts into lush
pastures." But
    what he thinks of as "barren" deserts are in fact complex and fragile
dryland
    ecosystems composed of hundreds of plant and animal species that are
    well-adapted to their dry habitat over thousands of years. 
Artificially
    increasing rainfall to the point of creating "lush pastures" will doom
many
    of them to extinction.  The increase in pasturage of the type that
will
    support domestic cattle will result in the exploitation for cattle
grazing of
    habitat of many native life-forms now protected by the fact that they
live in
    regions too dry for humans to exploit.  Cattle grazing, and the
    land-degradation it causes, is a major cause of wildlife extinctions
and
    ongoing recertification in much of the world, including much of the
    recertification that Dr. DeMeo wrongly ascribes to atmospheric stasis. 
A
    short-sighted program to green the world's deserts will only result in
a
    further impoverished biosphere. 
    It should be noted that although there are no laws specifically
regulating
    cloudbusting, the National Environmental Policy Act requires that any
project
    that will affect the environment prepare an environmental impact study
and
    have a means-such as public hearings-by which members of the public
can voice
    objections and exercise some input into decisions that can affect
their
    lives.  The Endangered Species Act prohibits any project that would
destroy
    members of a listed species or their habitat. And The Wilderness Act
    prohibits any action that would modify the natural conditions of a
designated
    wilderness area, which in the Western United States would be
impossible to
    avoid, given the extent of the area covered by a typical cloudbusting
    operation.  The authorities, of course, make no effort to enforce such
laws
    in the case of cloudbusting because they regard it as ineffective.  It
is
    extremely hypocritical to take advantage of their disbelief to violate
laws
    with impunity while simultaneously denouncing them for their refusal
to
    believe in the cloudbusters' effectiveness.  In spite of the failure
of
    environmental protection agencies to enforce the laws, those laws are
    reasonable and justified for the protection of the environment and a
    responsible person who cares about the earth and its creatures would
    voluntarily comply. 
    I have harshly criticized Dr. DeMeo and his associates, but I have
tried to
    make my criticisms substantive.  In the past, Dr. DeMeo and his
friends have
    responded to criticisms by name-calling and personal attacks on the
alleged
    motivations, affiliations, character, psychiatric condition,
lifestyle,
    criminal history, and previous publications of the critic, all of
which is
    totally irrelevant.  DeMeo also tends to confuse any attack on his own
work
    with an attack on Reich and orgone theory in general and frequently
responds
    with a recital of the wrongs inflicted on Reich by the F.D.A. 40 years
ago. 
     I therefore want to point out that ad hominum attacks and rehashing
old
    grievances will hardly constitute a rebuttal to the specific
criticisms I
    have made. 
    There are several excellent sources of information on Reich and
orgonomy
    other than James DeMeo and his clique.  For example, an expensive but
very
    good correspondence course in orgone physics is available from Dr .
Charles
    Kelley, 13715 S.E. 36th Street, Steamboat Landing, Vancouver, WA
98684.  Dr. 
    Kelley was a student of Reich in the 1950s and a former meteorologist. 
His
    course, while rather expensive is probably the best systematic
presentation
    of Reich's physics available. 
    I am available for consultation and would welcome correspondence from
anyone
    who wants information on orgonomy or has anything to say on the
subject. 
     Comments on issues raised in this article are invited. 
    
    
    Joel Carlinsky
    6 Pond Road
    Hawley, MA 01339
    U.S.A. 
    
    
    
    
     C.O.R.E. NETWORK CENSORS THE INTERNET
    
    Among the countless small movements utilizing the internet to spread
their
    messages is orgonomy, the science of orgone energy developed in the
1940's
    and 50's by the late Dr. Wilhelm Reich.  An orgonomy Mailing List
exists with
    about 80 members and an orgonomy bulletin board called Public
Orgonomic
    Research Exchange (P. 0. R. E.), run by a high-school science teacher
in
    Maine named Jamerling Ogg. 
    One of the many aspects of orgonomy is a device invented by Dr. Reich
called
    a cloudbuster.  This device, although intended to improve atmospheric
    conditions by freshening the atmosphere and setting stagnant energy
into
    motion, to the benefit of all species, can also, according to Reich
and
    others, manipulate weather conditions and in the wrong hands do
ecological
    damage.  A group of Reichs' followers called the Cosmic Orgone
Engineering
    Network (C. O. R. E.) have done a lot of experimenting with
cloudbusters and
    due to almost total ignorance of ecology and an arrogant irresponsible
    attitude have caused considerable environmental harm.  Since orgonomy
is not
    part of mainstream orthodox science, no government agency regulates
    cloudbusting and only the small number of Reichians is concerned. 
    An environmental activist with a long-standing interest in orgonomy,
Joel
    Carlinsky, has documented numerous cases of environmental harm done by
the
    experiments of the C.O.R.E. Network.  He sent an article critical of
their
    irresponsibility to Mr. 0gg to be posted on P.O.R.E. Mr. Ogg, trying
to be
    fair and impartial sent a copy to the C.OR.E. group, inviting them to
write a
    response.  What he got instead was a threat of a lawsuit if he
published
    Carlinskys' criticisms.  This tactic, although never successful in
court, is
    frequently used by polluting industries to intimidate and silence
    environmentalists.  Unfamiliar with environmental activism and fearing
heavy
    financial losses from what had started out as a mere hobby, Mr. Ogg
decided
    not to publish the article.