Fringe ARG: Man-Made Tornadoes?

The latest Fringe ARG update gave us a further understanding of the world that Fringe invites us to explore. The real-life tornado that ripped into Parkersburg, Iowa, earlier this year meshes nicely with other viral elements, such as the Sheep circles and the Comic book previews.

This is yet more evidence that we are looking at the idea that mankind has found a way to manipulate nature through science and technology. The Sri-Lankan Tsunami triggered by a high picthed sound emitted from an unidentified aircraft, the Iowa Sheep circles that reveal Golden Spiral and Golden Rectangle structures, the dead cows with human organs, the Parkersburg tornado. Each of these examples, some connected, some seemingly disconnected, tell us that man is experiementing with nature, through the wonder (or evil) of science.

This is not pseudo science, but this is within the scope of possibility. Take a look at this recent article posted by Tyler Hamilton (thestar.com), which reveals that phenomena such as man-made tornadoes (just like the one hinted at in the Fringe ARG) are very much a possibility, right here, right now:

SARNIA–A curious-looking wood cylinder with a round opening at the top and a small heating element at the bottom sits in Louis Michaud’s garage, bicycles hanging overhead and a workbench pressed against the wall.

The retired refinery engineer picks up a propane torch, lowers it into the opening, and lights a tiny piece of saltpetre. A loud fizzling is heard and a thick smoke begins to rise from the centre.

At first the smoke has no form, but it soon swirls upward into a well-defined vortex – what, on a larger scale, you might call a tornado.

“The air is being drawn in on its own. There’s no fan or anything involved,” says Michaud, explaining the physics of convection and how rising air behaves like a spinning top. “This is what’s going on in the atmosphere. The air is heated in the bottom by the sun and then it rises, cools and comes back down again.”

“I was thinking if we got one of these to produce a tornado 200 metres high, the first people to buy one would be Disneyland.”

If people accept it, the potential is unlimited. He says down the road, hundreds of vortex engines could be located in the ocean along the equator, where the warm tropical water would provide an endless source of energy.

Why would anyone do such a thing?

To cool the planet, Michaud says. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are what prevent the sun’s heat from radiating back into space, he explains. A series of controlled tornados along the equator would carry that heat to the outer edges of the atmosphere, where it could more easily escape.

In other words, Michaud believes man-made tornados could function as exhaust systems for the planet, a massive air conditioner that could help manage global warming.

There’s simply too much at stake to ignore this potential, he says.

So there we have it, imagining the impossible is actually very possible. What I’m wondering at this point, is whether the guys doing the experimenting (Massive Dynamics?) are doing it for the good of humanity, or for their own selfish agendas?