(Ken Silva, Headline USA) In the early hours of July 4, a flash flood swept through an area of Hill Country dotted with summer camps and small towns about 70 miles northwest of San Antonio. At least 68 people died in Kerr County, and 10 girls from one camp were still unaccounted for, officials said in a late afternoon update on July 6. More than a dozen deaths were reported in nearby counties.
While all the victims haven’t even been accounted for, online observers are already formulating theories about why the flooding was so historically disastrous. Some are pointing a finger at Rainmaker Technology, a California–based weather modification startup that engages in “cloud seeding”—a type of geoengineering that aims to increase the amount of rain by spraying substances such as silver iodine into the clouds. Rainmaker CEO Augustus Doricko has denied responsibility for the tragedy.
“Rainmaker did not operate in the affected area on the 3rd or 4th or contribute to the floods that occurred over the region,” he said on Twitter/X.
The natural disaster in the Texan Hill Country is a tragedy. My prayers are with Texas.
Rainmaker did not operate in the affected area on the 3rd or 4th or contribute to the floods that occurred over the region.
Rainmaker will always be fully transparent. https://t.co/J5QlUbruCd
— Augustus Doricko (@ADoricko) July 5, 2025
Nevertheless, lawmakers have already jumped at the opportunity to ban cloud seeding while the topic is in the news cycle. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said Saturday that she’s introducing a bill that prohibits the “injection, release, or dispersion of chemicals or substances into the atmosphere for the express purpose of altering weather, temperature, climate, or sunlight intensity.”
“I want clean air, clean skies, clean rainwater, clean ground water, and sunshine just like God created it!! No person, company, entity, or government should ever be allowed to modify our weather by any means possible!!” Greene said, adding that Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., has joined her cause.
This is not normal.
I want clean air, clean skies, clean rain water, clean ground water, and sun shine just like God created it!!
No person, company, entity, or government should ever be allowed to modify our weather by any means possible!!
Honored to add @timburchett as a…
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) July 5, 2025
The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency has already launched a probe into at least one geoengineering firm: a startup that’s been launching balloons filled with sulfur dioxide (SO2) into the atmosphere.
According to the EPA, the company in question, Making Sunsets, has already launched dozens of balloons filled with SO2, which is an air pollutant that can be harmful to humans. The EPA also noted that Making Sunsets is already banned in Mexico.
Making Sunsets has been pushing back against the EPA’s accusations online. Its cofounder, Andrew Song, quipped that it “only takes 124 balloons filled with sulfur dioxide deployed into the stratosphere to start the stop of global warning.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
