Planes and jets are commonplace. When you look up, you are guaranteed to find a plane flying across the sky. It’s normal, right? But look right behind it. Why are there clouds coming out of the jets?
These are called contrails or condensation trails. Water droplets come out of the plane and turn into clouds. They are produced by changes in air pressure because the planes are cruising several miles above Earth’s surface. Because they are made of water, most of these contrails disappear after several minutes.
But is that the case?Are these “contrails” actually harmless clouds, or something more… For you, these are actually chemicals that are secretly being dispersed across America for several reasons, hence the name “Chemtrails”. The why can be many things, weather modification, brainwashing, population control, or even chemical warfare under the noses of many Americans.
How did this theory come to be? Well, it was the government themselves! In 1996, the United States Air Force (USAF) published a report on weather modification. With the words “weather modification” and “aircrafts” in the same paper, this caused the theory to emerge that the USAF was spraying mysterious substances onto the U.S. population. Multiple agencies and scientists dismissed the theory entirely. Despite this document saying otherwise, many chemtrail believers interpret it as further evidence of the government cover-up.
How did they come to this conclusion?
There are many reasons you may believe there is a government cover-up. For one, people can say there is historical backing. In the 1950’s to 60’s, Britain was sprayed with airborne chemicals to assess the country’s resistance to actual chemical attacks by other countries. Another event similar to this happened in 1950, where in San Francisco, military ships sprayed chemical agents to gauge how dangerous this type of attack would be. People say that contrails and chemtrails can be distinguished by how long they linger in the air, claiming chemical composition would last longer in the sky than normal contrails. Another piece of evidence was the barrels in flight tests, believing that they were filled with dangerous chemicals.Somebody came on television in 2007 to claim that the barrels that were filled with water and used for flight tests across the country contained hazardous levels of barium that was over the U.S. national limit. In May 2014, a video went viral of a plane landing in a foggy night that was described as emitting chemtrails by the original poster. In October, another video went viral of a plane dumping fuel to lighten the load for an emergency landing.
So, is it true? Is the government really dispersing chemicals upon the American citizens?
In short, no.
When the USAF, themselves, had addressed it, they said that the weather modification device in the paper wasn’t actually in use and instead just an idea for the future, wasn’t this the same government that sprayed a chemical agent across San Francisco? Yes, but in 1969, President Richard Nixon halted the process altogether. So, to say that this is evidence to Chemtrails dispensing chemicals all across the nation without us knowing is blowing the whole event out of proportion! The idea of “chemtrails” and contrails being distinguished by how long they stand in the air is a misunderstanding of clouds and the water cycle. The reason some contrails last longer than others is because of the weather. Temperature, humidity, and wind speed all factor into how long the contrail will stay in the sky. The guy on television that claimed the unsafe barium in the water? The equipment turned out to be misused and the level of barium was exaggerated x100! The video of the plane landing on a foggy night? A news channel pointed out that the way passengers were seated, they would be able to see anything being sprayed. The October video of emergency fuel dumping? The person who posted it admitted that the video was actually a prank. Barrels? Those were meant to represent the weight of passengers and water is pumped from barrel to barrel in order to test how pilots would react to different centers of gravity while the plane is in flight. Even a former CIA employee, Edward Snowden, stated that he had searched for anything related to chemtrails and couldn’t find a thing despite being able to access a ridiculous amount of resources and networks. Many arguments center around science but that is not the case as many people in the field denied that chemtrails existed and dismissed the whole theory.
Despite this amount of evidence, why do people believe this sort of thing? Many conspiracy theories involve the government tricking the masses and hiding the truth. The whole synopsis of the theory is based on lack of scientific knowledge and general distrust of the government. Whether it’s fear or a feeling of antagonism, it’s enough to ignore scientists in the field to fuel the narrative of chemicals falling from the sky.
Chemtrails do not exist. They are just condensation trails that seem to last longer than others. The reason for this is just because of the weather that day. There are no secret chemicals in the air and other evidence pointing to the theory is flimsy at best. Please rethink the planes in the sky as not some malicious way to control Americans but harmless clouds.
Dionne Eskridge – The Chicago Academy for the Arts – DMSF Class of 2027