Chemtrail conspiracy theory

"Chemtrails" redirects here. For the Beck song, see Chemtrails (song).

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High flying white jet leaving an expanding contrail

The chemtrail conspiracy theory holds that some condensation trails (contrails) are actually chemicals or biological agents that are deliberately sprayed at high altitudes around the world for a purpose undisclosed to the general public. Versions of the chemtrail conspiracy theory circulating on the internet and radio talk shows theorizes that this activity is directed by government officials. As a result, federal agencies have received thousands of complaints from people who have demanded an explanation. The existence of chemtrails has been repeatedly denied by government agencies and scientists around the world.

The United States Air Force has stated that the theory is a hoax which "has been investigated and refuted by many established and accredited universities, scientific organizations, and major media publications". The British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has stated that chemtrails "are not scientifically recognised phenomena".The Canadian Government House Leader has stated that "The term 'chemtrails' is a popularized expression, and there is no scientific evidence to support their existence."

The term chemtrail does not refer to common forms of aerial spraying such as crop dusting, cloud seeding or aerial firefighting. The term specifically refers to aerial trails allegedly caused by the systematic high-altitude release of chemical substances not found in ordinary contrails, resulting in the appearance of supposedly uncharacteristic sky tracks. Believers of this theory speculate that the purpose of the chemical release may be for global dimming, population control, weather control, or biowarfare and claim that these trails are causing respiratory illnesses and other health problems.

The techniques alleged in Chemtrails conspiracy theory are very similar to cloud seeding They also resemble some proposed geoengineering techniques, especially those which involve using aircraft to distribute precursors for sulfur aerosols or other particles into the atmosphere. However, geoengineering as a discipline is not well funded, and scientists have been unable to get funding for more promising geoengineering techniques such as the use of balloons to distribute sulfur aerosols precursors.

Overview

The chemtrail conspiracy theory began to circulate in 1996 when the United States Air Force (USAF) was accused of "spraying the US population with mysterious substances" from aircraft "generating unusual contrail patterns" . The Air Force says the hoax was fueled in part by authors citing an Air University strategy paper entitled Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025 to allege the Air Force was currently conducting a secret government program to modify the weather. The paper was presented in response to a military directive to anticipate future developments and strategies for maintaining the United States' military dominance in the year 2025 and identified as "fictional representations of future situations/scenarios". The Air Force has stated that the "purpose of that paper was part of a thesis to outline a strategy for the use of a future weather modification system to achieve military objectives" and that the paper "does not reflect current military policy, practice, or capability."The Air Force has stated that its policy is to "observe and forecast the weather" so that the "information can be used to support military operations" and that it is "not conducting any weather modification experiments or programs and has no plans to do so in the future". Additionally, the Air Force states that the "'Chemtrail' hoax has been investigated and refuted by many established and accredited universities, scientific organizations, and major media publications."

In Britain, when the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was asked "what research her Department has undertaken into the polluting effects of chemtrails for aircraft", the response was that "the Department is not researching into chemtrails from aircraft as they are not scientifically recognised phenomena." An IPCC special report AVIATION AND THE GLOBAL ATMOSPHERE published in 1999, states that "aircraft line-shaped contrails are estimated to cover about 0.1% of the Earth’s surface" and that the "contrail cover is projected to grow to 0.5% by 2050." The report also states that contrails tend to warm the Earth’s surface, similar to thin high clouds.

In a response to a petition by concerned Canadian citizens regarding "chemicals used in aerial sprayings are adversely affecting the health of Canadians," the Government House Leader responded by stating that "There is no substantiated evidence, scientific or otherwise, to support the allegation that there is high altitude spraying conducted in Canadian airspace. The term 'chemtrails' is a popularized expression, and there is no scientific evidence to support their existence." The house leader goes on to say that "it is our belief that the petitioners are seeing regular airplane condensation trails, or contrails."

Various versions of the chemtrail conspiracy theory have circulated through internet websites and radio programs. In some of the accounts, the chemicals are described as barium and aluminum salts, polymer fibers, thorium, or silicon carbide. In other accounts it is alleged the skies are being seeded with electrical conductive materials as part of a massive electromagnetic superweapons program based around the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP). Those who believe in the conspiracy say the chemtrails are toxic, but the reasons given by those who believe in the conspiracy vary widely, spanning from military weapons testing, chemical population control, to global warming mitigation measures. Federal agencies and scientists have consistently denied that chemtrails exist, insisting the sky tracks are simply persistent contrails. As the chemtrail conspiracy theory spread, federal officials were flooded with angry calls and letters. A multi-agency response to dispel the rumors was published in a 2000 fact sheet by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a step many chemtrail believers have interpeted as further evidence of the existence of a government cover-up.

Proponents of the chemtrail theory say that chemtrails can be distinguished from contrails by their long duration, asserting that the chemtrails are those skytracks that persist for as much as a half day or transform into cirrus-like clouds. Air Force officials counter these are typical characteristics of contrails given certain surrounding atmospheric conditions, and their duration and rate of dissipation can be accurately predicted when humidity level and temperature are known.

Contrails vs chemtrails

Contrails can be visible for several hours but chemtrail conspiricists try to differentiate chemtrails from contrails by describing them as streams that sometimes persist in the sky for hours, and which sometimes trace criss-crossing, grid-like patterns, or parallel stripes which eventually blend to form large clouds. Another feature that proponents say distinguishes a chemtrail from a contrail is the presence of visible color prisms in the streams, unusual concentrations of sky tracks in a single area, or lingering tracks left by unmarked or military airplanes flying in atypical altitudes or locations.

Government agencies and other experts on contrail or atmospheric phenomena deny the existence of chemtrails, insisting that the characteristics attributed to them are simply features of contrails responding differently in diverse conditions in terms of the sunlight, temperature, horizontal and vertical wind shear, and humidity levels present at the aircraft's altitude. These experts respond that what appears as patterns such as grids formed by contrails result from increased air traffic traveling through the gridlike United States National Airspace System's north-south and east-west oriented flight lanes, and that it is difficult for observers to judge the differences in altitudes between these contrails from the ground. The jointly published fact sheet produced by NASA, the EPA, the FAA, and NOAA in 2000 in response to alarms over chemtrails details the science of contrail formation, and outlines both the known and potential impacts contrails have on temperature and climate. The USAF produced a fact sheet as well that described these contrail phenomena as observed and analyzed since at least 1953. It also rebutted chemtrails' theories more directly by characterizing the theories as a hoax and denying the existence of any chemtrails.

Patrick Minnis, an atmospheric scientist with NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, is quoted in USA Today as saying that logic is not exactly a real selling point for most chemtrail proponents: "If you try to pin these people down and refute things, it's, 'Well, you're just part of the conspiracy', he said."

In 2001, United States Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced legislation that would have permanently prohibited the basing of weapons in space, and he listed chemtrails as one of a number of exotic weapons that would be banned. Proponents have asserted that because explicit reference to chemtrails was entered by Congressman Kucinich into the congressional record, this constitutes official government acknowledgement of their existence. But that bill received an unfavorable evaluation from the United States Department of Defense and died in committee, with no mention of chemtrails appearing in the text of any of the three subsequent failed attempts by Kucinich to enact a Space Preservation Act.

Further reading

• Thomas, William, "Stolen Skies: The Chemtrail Mystery", Earth Island Journal, July 1, 2002
• Smith, Jerry E, "Weather Warfare: The Military's Plan To Draft Mother Nature", Adventures Unlimited Press, December 30, 2006
• Penner, Joyce E. (1999). Aviation and the Global Atmosphere. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Working Group III., Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521664047, 9780521664042. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Thomas, William (August 2004). Chemtrails Confirmed (illustrated edition ed.). Bridger House Publishers. ISBN 1893157105, 978-1893157101. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)

See also

• Aviation and climate change
• Crow Instability
• Aerial spraying
• Geoengineering
• Cirrus cloud
• Toxic Skies

External links

• Chemtrails in the Skeptic's Dictionary.
• NASA Langley's Contrail Page
• EPA Non-road Engines, Equipment, and Vehicles pollution information
• NASA Presentation explaining the formation of and problems presented by persistent contrails
• CCSP, U.S. Climate Change Science Program
• USGCRP, U.S. Global Change Research Program
• CCTP, U.S. Climate Change Technology Program