Isn there some hot debate about commercialization of storm chasing?
Definitely…and the arguments have raged for several years, especially since the advent of Usenet and the World Wide Web opened the Internet to mass debate forums. There is little doubt on all sides that storm chasing was heavily influenced during the 1990s through video sales and publicity. Many chasers, especially some long-time veterans, consider commercialization of chasing harmful to the hobby, by creating economic and not artistic or scientific motivations, attracting a reckless thrillseeking element (yahoos), “dumbing down” the knowledge base, and causing unsafe accumulations of large crowds on small roads. Others disagree that these problems exist, or that money and video publicity are factors. For more, please see “A Cancer Within” by Rich Thompson and Roger Edwards.
