This is a rather unique instance of a company having an unexpected environmental impact (or what economists call a “negative externality.”) Given how hard it is to predict the weather, it seems terribly hard to prove causality in this case. Was it good, ethically, for VW to stop using its anti-hail cannons in response to farmers’ complaints, or was it just good PR?
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LINK: VW weather-altering tech causes storm in Mexico (by Peter Campbell for the Financial Times)
Volkswagen is reversing course on the use of controversial weather-altering technology at a major Mexican car plant after local farmers complained that the system caused drought by preventing rainfall.
The German carmaker had installed hail cannons, which fire shockwaves into the atmosphere, at its Puebla site to prevent the formation of ice stones that had been damaging finished vehicles parked outside its facility.
But local farmers said the devices, which were set to fire automatically under certain weather conditions, caused a drought during the months that should have been Mexico’s rainy season….
What do you think?
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