Chavez seeks rain

CARACAS, Venezuela, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez asked Cuba to help ease his country's drought with a cloud-seeding program.

Chavez, in a television appearance Saturday, said he'd be on a plane that seeds clouds over Venezuela to try to cause rain as part of a plan in which his allies in Cuba would take part.

Venezuela is facing drought conditions that have led to water shortages across the country. Chavez asked his citizens to limit showers to 3 minutes -- cutting back on shower-singing to make the process quicker -- to save water in one of the more interesting attempts to conserve water.

"Some people sing in the shower half an hour," Chavez said during a televised portion of a recent Cabinet meeting. "No kids, 3 minutes is more than enough. I've counted, 3 minutes, and I don't stink."

The drought has also caused a drop in the availability of electricity, much of which is generated by hydroelectric dams. Chavez's opponents warn the shortages could last months.

Chavez has blamed climate change for the drought, which meteorologists link to the current El Nino system, but his political opponents hope to use the problem to their advantage as both sides begin posturing ahead of 2010 legislative elections.