Moscow Mayor Promises a Winter Without Snow

[Sol Invictus]

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1930822,00.html

Pigs still can’t fly, but this winter, the mayor of Moscow promises to keep it from snowing. For just a few million dollars, the mayor’s office will hire the Russian Air Force to spray a fine chemical mist over the clouds before they reach the capital, forcing them to dump their snow outside the city.

Authorities say this will be a boon for Moscow, which is typically covered with a blanket of snow from November to March. Road crews won’t need to constantly clear the streets, and traffic — and quality of life — will undoubtedly improve.

The idea came from Mayor Yury Luzhkov, who is no stranger to playing God. In 2002, he spearheaded a project to reverse the flow of the vast River Ob through Siberia to help irrigate the country’s parched Central Asian neighbors. Although that idea hasn’t exactly turned out as planned — scientists have said it’s not feasible — this time, Luzhkov says, there’s no way he can fail.

[The Lawspeaker]

Another costly folly...

[Wölfin]

That's ridiculous. One thing that makes Moscow so beautiful in the winter is the snow. To me its what makes it so attractive, I have such beautiful and romantic images of snow-covered Moscow in my mind. Snow is one of the most uplifting elements of winter.

[Sol Invictus]

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[Sol Invictus]

I'd like to know what kind of agents they plan on spraying in the skies, and what their effects on humans are. Did the Russian people get to decide whether or not they would not like snow, or that they would like to be sprayed on with chemical agents? Disgusting.

[Eldritch]

That's ridiculous. One thing that makes Moscow so beautiful in the winter is the snow. To me its what makes it so attractive, I have such beautiful and romantic images of snow-covered Moscow in my mind. Snow is one of the most uplifting elements of winter.

Ever been to Russia? Walking two blocks on a sidewalk there during winter is a death-defying act. If this actually were feasible I'm sure Moscovites (sp?) would welcome it.

[Sol Invictus]

Ever been to Russia? Walking two blocks on a sidewalk there during winter is a death-defying act. If this actually were feasible I'm sure Moscovites (sp?) would welcome it.

People have been doing this for millions of years, and not just in Russia. Look at the Canadian North, for instance, and have been getting along just fine with out potentially deadly toxins being released above them. Don't fix a problem when there isn't one to begin with, especially when it will probably create even more problems.

[Fortis in Arduis]

That's ridiculous. One thing that makes Moscow so beautiful in the winter is the snow. To me its what makes it so attractive, I have such beautiful and romantic images of snow-covered Moscow in my mind. Snow is one of the most uplifting elements of winter.

How nice for you.


Controlling the weather in Moscow is nothing new, he says. Ahead of the two main holidays celebrated in the city each year — Victory Day in May and City Day in September — the often cash-strapped air force is paid to make sure that it doesn't, well, rain on the parades. With a city budget of $40 billion a year (larger than New York City's budget), Moscow can easily afford the $2-3 million price tag to keep the skies blue as spectators watch the tanks and rocket launchers roll along Red Square. Now there's a new challenge for the air force: Moscow's notorious blizzards.

"You know how every year on City Day and Victory Day we create the weather?" Luzhkov asked a group of farmers outside Moscow in September, according to Russian media reports. "Well, we should do the same with the snow! Then outside Moscow there will be more moisture, a bigger harvest, while for us it won't snow as much. It will make financial sense."

They can do it. Good for them.


I'd like to know what kind of agents they plan on spraying in the skies, and what their effects on humans are. Did the Russian people get to decide whether or not they would not like snow, or that they would like to be sprayed on with chemical agents? Disgusting.

Here is your answer:


The plan was unsurprisingly rubber-stamped this week by the Moscow City Council, which is dominated by Luzhkov's supporters. Then the city's Department of Housing and Public Works described how it would work. The air force will use cement powder, dry ice or silver iodide to spray the clouds from Nov. 15 to March 15 — and only to prevent "very big and serious snow" from falling on the city, said Andrei Tsybin, the head of the department. This could mean that a few flakes will manage to slip through the cracks. Tsybin estimated that the total cost of keeping the storms at bay would be $6 million this winter, roughly half the amount Moscow normally spends to clear the streets of snow.

That is hardly poisonous, you scaremongering bore.

[Eldritch]

People have been doing this for millions of years, and not just in Russia. Look at the Canadian North, for instance, and have been getting along just fine with out potentially deadly toxins being released above them. Don't fix a problem when there isn't one to begin with, especially when it will probably create even more problems.

You're right, but notice I did say "if it were feasible". ;)

I don't believe for a minute that this is actually possible. If it was, it would be widely used already.

The problem is just that they don't take proper care of sidewals in Russia during winter. They keep the automobile lanes reasonably clear, but the sidewalks ...

http://img1.photographersdirect.com/img/915/wm/pd391890.jpg

[Sol Invictus]

That is hardly poisonous, you scaremongering bore.

It is if you inhale it. I don't know about you, but I like my oxygen cement-free.

[Inese]

Hm people should not try to influence the way of mother nature so much!! :rolleyes2: Winter is winter and in Northern countrys it has snow ---- it is total normal. When they dont want snow they can go to Ibiza or Turkey in the winter months! What is next please?? No rain in the summer for two weeks because a builidng need new concrete???:033102st:

[Svarog]

The only valid 'against' point i heard so far is Laurentian's one as snow indeed does makes Moscow beautiful and 'magical' looking, but on the other hand, we don't have to actually be there but people who lives there are tired of pretty looking streets and prefer they can move and work properly, by that I mean, go to work, school, etc
Snow indeed is a huge problem in Moscow, and if this would be possible imo would be much cheaper than an actual cleaning of streets after, not to mention all the money that goes on fixing the roofs after the winter in Moscow, snow makes a huge damage.

[Octothorpe]

Hmmm. There's a much easier way getting rid of the snow once it's fallen (or transform it into rain, instead): take a large weather balloon into high orbit (geosynchronous would be nice, but not necessary) and inflate it with whatever gas you've brought with you. Spray a vacuum-resistant laquer on the outer surface. Wait for it to stiffen. Then, slice the balloon in half. The result is a nice, ready-made hemisphere. Then, spray a layer of reflective material on the concave surface. This makes it a reflective mirror. Then place a few attitude jets at the edges, and point it down on Moscow. The space mirror would reflect enough light (one hopes!) to change the air temperature so that the snow turns to rain, or is somehow minimized. There! No chemicals required. Also, it'd make those long winter nights a thing of the past. Party all night, without streetlights! ;) See, wasn't that easy? :D