Drought in Venezuela prompts Chavez promise to 'bomb clouds'

Following on the perceived successes with cloud seeding efforts in China, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez promised to solve his country's drought by hopping on a plane to 'bomb clouds.'

Across China's northern region - and particularly in Beijing - water shortages have become dangerously amplified as populations continue to swell. As a result, China has begun to explore cloud seeding methodologies - which amount to firing rockets laced with silver iodide into cloud formations to induce ice crystal formation and to help produce rain or snow. China's cloud seeding efforts have recently been blamed for one of the worst blizzards in 50 years. The snow has caused an estimated $650 million in damage and has disrupted travel across the country. Facing a severe drought brought on by the effects of El Nino weather patterns, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is reaching out to a team of Cuban scientists to explore cloud seeding approaches of his own. "I'm going in a plane; any cloud that crosses me, I'll zap it so that it rains," Chavez said. The Venezuelan drought has prompted the communist government to ration water and electricity, and the restrictions have angered much of the population - many of whom have criticized the government of poor planning.