By
TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
PROVIDENCE — Are those white streaks in the sky harmless vapor trails from airplanes or are they plumes of chemical-laden aerosols intended to modify the weather or, perhaps, manipulate our brains?
Conspiracy theorists claim these cloud-like “chemtrails” are part
of a far-reaching government campaign spewing chemical particulate such as
aluminum into the air to repair the ozone layer, cool the planet and experiment
with new military weapons. These programs, they argue, poison the land and
water, and trigger a host of illnesses.
Despite a lack of established research, believers of the chemtrail
campaign point to lingering condensation trails, or contrails, in the sky as
evidence that harmful substances are being dispersed from high-flying aircraft.
Ordinary contrails, they argue, quickly dissolve, while chemtrails persist and
spread into artificial, toxic clouds.
Skeptics, including meteorologists and scientists, have repeatedly
dismissed this theory, saying certain atmospheric conditions, namely wind and
high-moisture content, allow the white plumes from airplane exhaust to endure
for hours.
For decades, scientists have debated the merits of cloud seeding
and other climate-engineering methods. One process, called solar radiation
management, or stratospheric aerosol geoengineering, artificially reflects
solar radiation back into space with particles of metal such as aluminum.
This
controversial tactic is often debated as a solution to the higher temperatures
brought by climate change, with most climate experts arguing that cost and the
risk of unintended consequences are too great.
While its effectiveness is disputed, weather engineering has been
attempted. Cloud seeding was employed during the Vietnam War, with uncertain
results, while other aerial weather control efforts have been used to produce
rain in drought-stricken regions. But, so far, there is scant evidence that an
organized, wide-scale program or testing is happening.
Still, some followers suggest that aerial geoengineering is a
government program run amok.
According to one popular website, chemtrails are signs of chemical warfare used for psychological manipulation and even population control.
According to one popular website, chemtrails are signs of chemical warfare used for psychological manipulation and even population control.
Supporters of this claim believe noxious clouds contribute to drought, flooding, deforestation and higher ultraviolet radiation. Chemicals such as barium and cadmium, they believe, enter the bloodstream and brain and contribute to cancer, asthma and Alzheimer’s disease.
A growing association of believers, from celebrities to concerned
parents, are convinced of a clandestine climate geoengineering operation, one
that is confirmed in snippets of interviews with government scientists and
references in lesser-known studies.
Proponents argue that government scientists
have no First Amendment protection allowing them to speak out while National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees are under a federal gag order
on the topic.
The 52-page
report also maintains that it presents hypothetical findings that don't reflect
military policy and viewpoints. Nevertheless, the document reports that climate
geoengineering has been practiced for decades and will likely be viable as
weather-monitoring technologies improve.
Many believers in the theory claim that the United Nations, NASA
and the CIA are running chemtrail programs. NASA public affairs specialist
Sarah Ramsey recently told ecoRI News that the aeronautics agency doesn’t
address conspiracy theories and she wasn’t aware of any geoengineering
programs.
“We generally don’t comment on conspiracy theories because we
focus on science," she said. "All of our science is out there for
people to look at.”
During a Feb. 25 House hearing, Cumberland resident Thomas
Loiselle said he was a skeptic of geoengineering until after nearly three years
of research and observation he concluded that something unnatural was going on.
Undisclosed spraying of chemicals, he claimed, happens regularly
across the globe and in Rhode Island. Chemtrails were even visible above the
Statehouse that day, Loiselle said. “It’s not only affecting the environment
it’s affecting us," he testified.
Loiselle referred to the expanse of online videos about chemtrails
and testimony from believers of active geoengineering programs, which he
prefers to call a "conspiracy reality."
"The preponderance of evidence goes way beyond a conspiracy
theory,” he said after the recent hearing.
A House bill, sponsored by Price
and Rep. Karen MacBeth, D-Cumberland, asks the state Department of
Environmental Management to oversee and regulate any climate geoengineering
programs underway in Rhode Island's airspace. Loiselle said the legislation
would therefore uncover any climate-engineering projects by requiring them to
register with the state.
Rep. Aaron Regunberg, D-Providence, didn’t profess to believe in
an active geoengineering conspiracy but called it an insane answer to
addressing climate change. “If we tried that there would be significant
consequences,” he said.
The legislation was held for further study.