In recent years, worries about the impacts of climate change, including droughts, famines, floods and severe weather,

have increased the conversation around scientific efforts to modify our climate.

Can we use science to undo what we have done? It's a question Jim Fleming, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Science, Technology and Society Emeritus,

at Colby College, is uniquely qualified to answer.

With an education in atmospheric science and hands-on experience of investigating major weather events.

Jim is also a historian with a vast knowledge of prior and ongoing attempts to control our climate.

Jim, what first drew you into this field of study?

I have a background in atmospheric science, and I was studying that out of Colorado State University.

And there were people there in the 70s that wanted to modify clouds.

They wanted to intervene in the weather.

I studied the tropical atmosphere.

And so I had this big picture

of, that sounds like a crazy idea, was what my first impression. And I took a technical master's

degree in atmospheric science, worked in the field. And then we were flying around in a surplus World

War II bomber instrumented aircraft only when the weather was bad.

And we ended up coming in after a long flight in a storm.

And the pilot cut off the top of some pine trees because it was a regional airport.

I was a navigator and I saw the trees on both sides of me.

And I said, basically I just got on the horn.

I said, brace for impact. And we ended up cutting off the top of the pine tree but not crashing the

plane. It was my job to clean out the instrument package. It was full of pine cones and branches.

And right about then, you know, there was some other reasons at the time, too,

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