10 PM NETWORK NOVEMBER 2016 WWW.PMI.ORG
theEdge
Make It Rain
As droughts become the new normal in some
parts of the world, more governments and private
organizations are sponsoring projects to modify
weather patterns. From India to the United States,
Morocco to Argentina, cloud-seeding projects are
sending pilots directly into cloud banks. There, the
planes shoot flares of superfine salt particles to create raindrops or silver iodide to create snow.
Fifty-two countries now have cloud-seeding
programs, according to the World Meteorological Organization, 10 more than four years ago.
Bloomberg estimates that the Chinese government
spends hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars each
year funding cloud-seeding projects in 22 of its 23
provinces. There were 55 cloud-seeding projects
in just the United States in 2014, according to the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—about one-fifth in parched Los Angeles,
California. The Los Angeles County Department
of Public Works recently sponsored its first cloud-seeding project since 2002, a US$550,000 effort to
boost the region’s rainfall levels.
In the Indian state of Maharashtra, which is
reeling from a deep, prolonged drought, a US$4.5
million, three-month cloud-seeding program was
completed in 2015—the largest initiative of its
kind ever attempted in the country. “Our situation
is severe,” the state’s minister of revenue, Eknath
Khadse, told Bloomberg. “There is no other technology available in the world to bring more rains.
We must be willing to try it.” During the project’s
execution phase, when a cloud-seeding flight would
indeed spark rain, residents danced in the streets.
Liquid Benefits
“Cloud seeding is no kind of black magic. It’s
applied microphysics,” says Bruce Boe, vice president of meteorology, Weather Modification Inc.,
Fargo, North Dakota, USA. The company is the
world’s largest private aerial cloud-seeding organization, with a portfolio spanning six continents.
Governments typically sponsor Weather Modifi-
In the Right Place
All project sites aren’t created equal—some countries are
more cost-competitive than others in certain ways. To make
the most of their overseas investment, organizations must
size up the competition.
Among 10 countries* surveyed, the three most competitive,
by major cost factor:
Source: Competitive Alternatives, KPMG, 2016. *Results based on a comparison
of costs in more than 100 cities across 10 countries (Australia, Canada, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, U. K. and U. S.).
FACILI T Y COSTS
1. Mexico
2. Germany
3. Canada
TRANSPORTATION
1. Japan
2. Canada
3. Germany
LABOR
1. Mexico
2. Canada
3. Italy
Countries with lowest overall business costs:
1. Mexico 2. Canada
4. Italy
3. Netherlands
5. Australia
Countries with the most significant decreases in business
costs from 2014 to 2016:
0
- 8
- 4
Australia Italy Germany Canada France
- 9.9% - 9.5%
- 8.6%
- 7.4% - 6.9%
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