The weather doesn't follow human plans, and getting the right conditions for repeated scientific studies is hard to do.

天公不作美，不按人的計劃行事，要想獲得合適的條件進行反覆的科學研究是很難的。

But though the side effects of cloud seeding are still unknown, and though it's also not clear if there's an economic benefit to doing so, new science is shedding light on its potential.

但是，儘管雲播的副作用仍然未知，儘管也不清楚這樣做是否有經濟效益，但新的科學正在揭示其潛力。

It's almost if you guys were creating clouds out of nowhere, you actually target storm systems.

簡直就是你們在無中生有地製造雲彩，其實你們的目標是風暴系統。

If there's no clouds in the sky that have any moisture in them, then way can't do anything.

如果天空中的雲朵沒有任何水分，那麼方式就無能為力。

What we can do is tap into what's there and assist Mother Nature kind of like a steroid kick for the clouds or something way in all of its forms.

我們能做的是挖掘那裡的東西，協助大自然母親那種像類固醇踢雲或什麼方式的所有形式。

Water powers our very existence.

水是我們生存的動力。

A droplets epic journey from sky to see is an elegant loop that sustains all life on this planet.

水滴史詩般的旅程，從天空到看見，是一個優雅的循環，支撐著這個星球上所有的生命。

But today about a billion people are living in water scarce areas in the United States.

但如今美國約有10億人生活在缺水地區。

There's California, where in one single year a historic drought cost the state over 10,000 jobs and nearly $2 billion in lost revenue.

還有加州，在一年的時間裡，一場歷史性的乾旱讓該州損失了超過1萬個工作崗位和近20億美元的收入。

But what if we could hack into the water cycle and unlock more precious water from the clouds?

但如果我們能黑進水循環，從雲端解鎖更多珍貴的水呢？

A decades old technology long shunned by science may hold the key.

一項被科學界長期迴避的幾十年前的技術可能掌握著關鍵。

Since the 1946 experiments of Dr Vincent Schaefer, we have known that some clouds can be modified through seeding to yield additional precipitation.

自從1946年Vincent Schaefer博士的實驗以來，我們已經知道有些雲可以通過播種來產生額外的降水。

What exactly is cloud seeding?

雲種到底是什麼？

Cloud seeding is really an enhancement of the natural precipitation process, so basically you're just making the storm or efficient getting more moisture out of it exactly at To do that, pilots target clouds full of moisture and eject small amounts of an inert chemical.

雲播種是真正的自然降水過程的增強，所以基本上你只是使風暴或有效地得到更多的水分，正是在為了做到這一點，飛行員的目標雲充滿水分和噴射少量的惰性化學品。

Then the water in the cloud condenses around the new particles and gets heavy, falling to the ground as precipitation.

然後，雲中的水在新的顆粒周圍凝結，變得沉重，作為降水落到地上。

Brian Kindred is one of the company's pilots.

布萊恩-金德是該公司的飛行員之一。

He steers right into the heart of storms to fire off a special kind of pyrotechnics.

他直接駛入風暴中心，發射一種特殊的煙火。

And what's inside of these guys?

那這些人的內心是什麼？

It's a silver iodide mixture, the ideas that will be above some liquid water, and as it's falling through, it'll turn into snow.

這是一種碘化銀的混合物，意念會在一些液態水上面，當它落過之後，就會變成雪。

Silicon fall out of the cloud.

硅掉出雲。

Since the 19 forties, people have been seeding clouds and watching the effects with their own eyes.

從1940年代開始，人們就開始播種雲彩，親眼目睹效果。

But there's always been something missing the cold, hard scientific evidence to back it up.

但總是缺少一些冷冰冰、硬邦邦的科學證據來支撐。

In 2017 the National Science Foundation funded a study to determine cloud seatings effectiveness.

2017年，美國國家科學基金會資助了一項研究，以確定雲座的有效性。

Weather Modification International provided the planes.

天氣改造國際公司提供了飛機。

A team of scientists set out into the Idaho mountains with Doppler radars and state of the art weather stations to record what happens on the ground when planes above our cloud seeding radar images show how ice crystals formed in the clouds in the exact pattern that whether modifications pilots were flying.

一支科學家團隊帶著多普勒雷達和最先進的氣象站進入愛達荷州山區，記錄地面上發生的事情，當飛機在我們的雲層播種雷達影像顯示，冰晶如何在雲層中形成確切的模式，是否修改飛行員正在飛行。

But there's still questions about its long term effects.

但對其長期影響仍有疑問。

How does making it rain in Idaho affect what happens?

在愛達荷州下雨對發生的事情有什麼影響？

Estate over, who owns the precious water in those clouds and the effects of silver iodide on the environment are still debated.

莊園過後，那些雲中的寶水歸誰所有，碘化銀對環境的影響還在爭論中。

For now, national weather bodies have yet to endorse the practice of cloud seeding.

目前，各國氣象機構還沒有認可雲播的做法。

E think that people get a little anxious when they hear about people sort of playing the weather God, which in a way you guys are kind of doing here.

E認為，當人們聽到人們有點玩天氣神的時候，就會有點焦慮，從某種程度上來說，你們在這裡算是做了。

We're not really playing God.

我們不是真的在玩上帝。

I think that's really overstating what we're doing.

我認為這真的是誇大了我們的工作。

Human activity effects, the weather all of the time we're being very specific and targeted, environmentally friendly in what we're doing to enhance the national natural precipitation, enhance the natural process.

人類活動的影響，天氣所有的時候我們都是非常具體的，有針對性的，環保的在做，加強國家自然降水，加強自然過程。

It turns out that some companies will pay million's to enhance the weather companies like Idaho Power.

原來，有些公司會支付百萬元的費用來加強像愛達荷電力公司這樣的氣象公司。

The company serves more than 500,000 customers with the network that includes 17 hydro electric power plants.

該公司為50多萬客戶提供服務，其網絡包括17座水電站。

To them, water is money.

對他們來說，水就是錢。

Let's do this.

讓我們做這個。

Idaho Power has invested over $3 million in the cloud seeding program to increase the snowpack at the state's highest peaks.

愛達荷電力公司已投資300多萬美元用於雲層播種計劃，以增加該州最高峰的積雪。

Why is it so essential to increase the snowpack up here?

為什麼增加這裡的積雪量如此必要？

Because we're on the front end in the top end of the food chain for water.

因為我們在水的食物鏈頂端的前端。

So that's what feeds our streams and rivers and feeds our hydro system later in the summer and fall.

所以這就是我們的溪流和河流的水源，也是我們夏秋兩季水力系統的水源。

And that's really when we need that extra energy.

而這時我們真的需要額外的能量。

How much for interpretation are we talking about in regards to the increase in snow pack?

關於雪量的增加，我們說的解釋是多少？

As a result of these systems, we're seeing generally in that 8 to 15% increase.

作為這些系統的結果，我們看到一般在8到15%的增長。

How many homes can that power like?

這種力量能像多少家？

What are you getting out of that?

你能從中得到什麼？

On average, that's in excess of 60,000 homes, according Toa, Idaho power.

根據愛達荷州託亞電力公司的數據，平均下來，就有6萬多戶人家。

Last year's cloud seeding program has provided a 300% return.

去年的雲播計劃已經提供了300%的回報。

That's $9 million worth of water that otherwise might have never fallen on these mountaintops.

這就是價值900萬美元的水，否則可能永遠不會落在這些山頂上。