Traditionally, cloud seeding has involved dropping a vapor into the clouds (usually silver iodide) that's designed to bond with the water, making it heavier and creating rain or snow. But this ground-based generator is designed to spray upwards into the clouds. According to the Associated Press, many people believe the U.S. is falling behind in the cloud-seeding arms race:

Government agencies and utilities from California to North Dakota spend an estimated $15 million a year on cloud seeding, and the number of projects has jumped by nearly a third in the last decade.

But spending in the United States is far lower than in many other countries. China spends an estimated $100 million a year on cloud-seeding efforts that include using anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers to blast the sky with silver iodide.

"What's going on in the U.S. is tiny," said Arlen Huggins, an associate research scientist at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nev. "There's more being done outside the U.S. than here."

Other countries conducting cloud-seeding research include Australia, France, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Venezuela.

But the National Research Council reported in 2003 that there's no evidence this technique actually works. At the same time, scientists involved in the report say more study and research are needed, and utilities like Pacific Gas & Electric have been doing cloud-seeding for years, saying they've seen an increase in precipitation as a result. (PG&E uses snowmelt in turbine-power plants.)

Another question: whether silver iodide, the chemical used to make water heavier, is safe. Residents of one area where PG&E wants to install seven 20-feet-tall generators are raising questions — but the charmingly named Weather Modification Association insists it's perfectly safe. I love the fact that there's an interest group called the Weather Modification Association.

So with clean water growing scarcer and more precious, are we going to lose the weather-control race before we even know it's happening? And is water laced with silver iodide still considered "clean water"?

Image by AP. [Associated Press]

• Supercomputers and weather control - The Beijing Meteorological Bureau purchased one of the ten most powerful supercomputers in the world from IBM to help predict weather and pollution levels for all events in and around Beijing. The Chinese are also adept at controlling the weather. The Beijing Weather Modification Office (seriously) fires cloud seeding material into oncoming rain clouds with anti-aircraft guns, draining the precipitation before it can cause problems.
• Cyber warfare - China has claimed that they will "attack" and shut down websites that broadcast Olympic events illegally. No one is sure if this means they intend to attack other countries' websites or private sites hosted internationally. If they do, it could be the first case of open international cyber warfare.
• On demand coverage - NBC will be broadcasting Olympic events both live and tape delayed on several of the television networks they own, and will also provide on-demand video streams of events on the web. In total, they will present more than 3,600 hours of Olympic coverage. That's more Olympic programming in 2008 than the sum of all the hours of Olympic TV coverage ever. Dude.
• Anti-terrorism efforts - Security has been tight at the Olympics since the 1970s, but even more so since 9/11. In addition to metal detectors, bag searches, long lists of prohibited items (no crossbows!), facial recognition software, bomb sniffing dogs and whatever else the Chinese can come up with, they'll be using special equipment that lets officials detect and identify radioactive isotopes. So strontium crossbows are right out.
• Timing - Most Olympic races are timed to the thousandth of a second. In track events, the timer is set off by the starter's gun and stopped by a laser at the finish. A high-speed camera at the line takes 2,000 images per second to help determine the winner if the race is close. Swimming events, held in the Water Cube (pictured), are timed by contact plates that determine when a swimmer leaves her mark and when she touches the wall to end the race. Image by: IOC.

Sources:
China threatens Olympic Cyber Attacks. [Defense Tech]
IBM To Work Beijing Olympics Weather Magic. [ChinaTechNews]
Universal Detection Technology Secures Beijing Olympic Contract. [TMCnet]
China Leads Weather Control Race. [Wired]
How Olympic Timing Works. [HowStuffWorks]
Digital technology to play major role in Olympics. [LA Times]