ARE CHEMTRAILS REAL OR BALONEY

Is the US military spraying bio-weapons over the population? I doubt it!

Recently Simone Fluter <simone at agt dot net> wrote directing my attention to a part of the cultural spectrum I'm not usually tuning in. It seems that since January of this year the Net conspiracy theorists have been going wild with speculation over the nature and purpose of chemtrails [17]. These are, supposedly, contrail-like formations produced by military aircraft over the US, Germany, and Australia, among other places. It's claimed that the chemtrails differ from actual (and harmless) contrails in a number of particulars. The paranoids among us, urged on by late-night talk-show icon Art Bell (he's the one who fanned the flames of the "Saturn-like object near comet Hale-Bopp" [18]), believe the "chemtrails" are evidence of a vast government conspiracy to expose citizens to bio-warfare agents for some undisclosed purpose. Www.alltheweb.com lists 214 sites in response to a search for "chemtrails"; search.netscape.com lists 81. Here are a couple of them [19], [20], and here is a small Web ring [21] devoted to chemtrails.

I was unsettled, as my informant had been, at being unable to locate any sites debunking this yarn, which has all the hallmarks of an urban legend for the Millenial end-times. I wrote to a trio of pseudo-science debunkers and urban-legend explicators and within half an hour had this reply from David Emery <urbanlegends dot guide at about dot com>:

One excellent debunking of the chemtrails baloney exists. It was written by an engineer named Jay Reynolds last year and can be found here [22]. I've corresponded with Mr. Reynolds and know him to be a knowledgeable and passionate opponent of pseudo-science in general. One might wish that his writing were less abstruse, but he appears to have a good command of the technical issues here.

Reynolds explains how contrails work and how various they are; that there is no carcinogenic Ethylene dibromide in JP-8+100 jet fuel; how aerosol material released at contrail altitudes would actually disperse and fall to earth; how Richard Finke, the earliest poster of the chemtrails legend, admitted he made up the laboratory that supposedly had tested the sprayed chemicals; and how William Thomas, the legend's most zealous popularizer, stands to gain financially from its spread. (He sells vitamin and mineral supplements to protect against chemical warfare agents.)

After I posted the chemtrails story as a Tasty Bit of the Day, several readers responded with additional relevant links.

There is evidence that contrails can add to cloud cover [23]. Over the past decade NASA has been investigating the possibility that growing air traffic might exacerbate global warming [24].

Nik Clayton <nclayton at lehman dot com> pointed out this Fortean Times investigative article [25] summarizing the early days of the chemtrail frenzy. The article claims that most of the furor had died down by April 1999. This points up an under-appreciated feature that renders the Web an ideal medium for the viral spread of urban legends: "dead" pages can linger on the Web for months or years, like encysted bacteria, waiting to reinfect a new generation.
Carl Juarez <cjuarez at emerald dot oz dot net> supplied the following citation from the Progressive Review [26] (search in this lengthy page for SUDBURY):
SUDBURY STAR (CANADA): The United States Air Force says none of its jets has been flying in the skies over Espanola (Ontario) and spraying a mysterious substance being blamed for illnesses by some residents of the paper mill town. If there are problems being caused by low-flying aircraft, "It's not the air force" causing them, said Lt. Col. Stevie Shapiro of the USAF press office in Washington, D.C... Some Espanola residents say they have "photographic evidence" which suggests KC-135 military aircraft has emitted or sprayed substances at low altitude... The Espanola residents have environmental test results showing the emissions contained carbon and military chaff, a fine material used by military pilots to block enemy radar... Tests also found unusually large numbers and varieties of fungi and molds.

I wasn't able to locate the original story in the Sudbury Star newspaper's site, but did find a followup [27] (search on this page for Spraying):

Spraying fears bunk, mayor says: Concerns in Espanola over hazardous chemicals being spread by unidentified aircraft are being written off by the town's mayor as bunk promulgated on the Internet by conspiracy theorists... More than 250 Espanola residents have petitioned the town to investigate a substance they say has been falling from the sky on almost a weekly basis since February. [Residents] have suffered neck pain, breathing problems, headaches, burning eyes and hacking coughs... [The mayor] said that after seeing the results of tests on air and water samples in the town, he's had enough of the residents' claims, which he says have not been scientifically documented.

I hope in coming days to see the chemtrails story added to the generally accepted canon of provably false urban legends.

Note added 1999-08-23: Lauren Weinstein <lauren at vortex dot com> writes:
I addressed this in one of my RealAudio Vortex Daily Reality Reports & Unreality Trivia Quiz segments sometime back. Please see (or rather hear) the report for 5/11/99 at [27a]. The contrail stuff is 100% nonsense, of course.

I received the following note from Rory Jaffe, MD, MBA <rsjaffe at ucdavis dot edu> (Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine).

While the new "chemtrails" fears may be urban legend, the US military did, in the 1950's, spray a usually harmless bacteria over the San Francisco Bay Area to study potential spread of biological weapons. People can get infected with the bug in certain circumstances, but the Army's variant appears not to be a problem. See the attached article abstract below (the journal referenced is very reputable). Serratia marcescens usually makes nice red colonies on the petri dish, so is easy to track. That's probably why the military selected it.

Cooper, R; Mills, J.: Serratia endocarditis. A follow-up report. Archives of Internal Medicine, 1980 Feb, 140(2):199-202. (UI: 80108385) Language: English; Pub type: Journal Article

Abstract: Seventeen new cases of Serratia marcescens endocarditis observed in the San Francisco Bay Area since June 1974 are presented. Fifteen patients had a history of illicit intravenous drug use and four patients had prosthetic heart valves. Seven patients with infection of right-sided heart valves did well, although surgery was required in two for persistent fever or recurrent pulmonary emboli. Only three of ten patients with left-sided infection survived despite synergistic antibiotic combinations and high serum bactericidal titers. Fifteen isolates of Serratia from patients with endocarditis were serotyped, and none of these serotypes corresponded to the pigmented strain aerosolized by the US Army in the Bay Area in 1951. The isolation of the same Serratia strain from two patients and their shared injection paraphernalia provided insight into the pathogenesis of endocarditis in the intravenous drug user. A revised therapeutic approach to this difficult infection is presented.

[17] http://home.att.net/~malrm/CT01.html
[18] http://tbtf.com/archive/1997-01-11.html#s09
[19] http://www.contrailconnection.com/
[20] http://strangehaze.freeservers.com/index.html
[21] http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=contrails;list
[22] http://jcleary.hypermart.net/contrail%20hype.htm
[23] http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jan99/1999L-01-11-02.html
[24] http://hyperion.gsfc.nasa.gov/AEAP/
[25] http://www.forteantimes.com/
[26] http://prorev.com/indexa.htm
[27] http://www.thesudburystar.com/nf/nfpage.asp
[27a] http://www.vortex.com/reality/

Chemtrail theory
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A view such as this is consistent with reports of heavy chemtrail activity. The chemtrail theory is a group of theories regarding possibly anomalous apparent contrails from aircraft. Contrails are formed by condensation of water vapor in the aircrafts' exhausts. Proponents of the theories maintain that some trails have an appearance and quality different from those of normal water-based contrails, and are not consistent with the known properties of contrails. The general unifying factor is the belief that some kind of chemical or biological agent is being released, or that it is at least possible.

The term "chemtrail" should not be confused with other forms of aerial dumping (e.g. crop dusting, cloud seeding or aerial firefighting), although the principle is much the same. It specifically refers to alleged covert, systematic, high-altitude dumping of unknown substances generally for some illicit or undisclosed purpose, be it that of governments, terrorists, private corporations, or all of the above.

Among the theories proposed for the purpose of the alleged "chemtrails" are: atmospheric and weather modification, biological warfare, mind control, occult purposes. They are also theorized to be part of a system to counter the effects of global warming, to create a cheap wireless communications network for the military, or to create a more sophisticated radar system (for both defensive and scientific application).

The chemtrail theory apparently first achieved prominence in mid-to-late 1990s. [2][3] Chemtrails have been discussed on radio programs hosted by Art Bell and Jeff Rense, who frequently deal with paranormal and conspiratorial topics, as well as in more mainstream news sources. According to a FAQ posted at Jeff Rense's website, "chemtrails (CTs) look like contrails initially, but are much thicker, extend across the sky and are often laid down in varying patterns of Xs, tick-tack-toe grids, cross-hatched and parallel lines. Instead of quickly dissipating, chemtrails expand and drip feathers and mares' tails. In 30 minutes or less, they open into wispy formations which join together, forming a thin white veil or a 'fake cirrus-type cloud' that persists for hours."

Lacking proper scientific equipment, most chemtrail theorists can only speculate about the composition of the alleged chemtrail. However, one chemtrail theorist, Clifford E. Carnicom, operator of a website entitled Aerosol Crimes and Cover-ups, claims to have analyzed ground-level air samples following chemtrail events. It is not clear what his experience or expertise in chemical analysis is, but he carefully detailed the methods and procedures he used. He claims to have found airborne aluminum, barium, calcium, magnesium and titanium, and "microscopic fibers" in areas supposedly exposed to chemtrails.

"Chemtrails" are mentioned in House Bill HR 2977, the Space Preservation Act of 2001, introduced by Congressman Dennis Kucinich, where it appears as one of a list of "exotic weapons systems" to be banned under the bill. Proponents of the reality of chemtrails point to this as official acknowledgment of the possibility, at least, of such weapons systems. The reference to Chemtrails was omitted from the version of the bill re-introduced by Kucinich in 2002 as HR 3616 or in 2003 as HR 3657.

An article entitled The Chemtrail Smoking Gun by Bruce Conway, suggested that chemtrails represent the implementation of technologies suggested in a 1992 National Academy of Science study, Policy Implications of Greenhouse Warming; specifically, that chemtrails are part of a secret project intended to mitigate global warming.

In the Las Vegas Tribune article of September 9, 2005, entitled Chemtrails - Coming Out Of The Closet?, Marcus K. Dalton stated that United States Air Force scientists working at Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Dayton, told an Ohio newspaper, Columbus Alive, that they had been conducting two aerial spraying experiments: "one involved aluminum oxide spraying related to global warming and the other involved barium stearate and had to do with high-tech military communications." Dalton basically rehashes William Thomas's article in Convergence Weekly, though some new information is presented.

Skeptical response
Skeptical groups, including the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, assert that contrails normally exhibit a wide variation in appearance and that the descriptions and photographs of "chemtrails" are perfectly consistent with those of ordinary contrails . They also voice various objections to the idea of chemtrails:

Some skeptics claim it would require a massive cover-up operation involving hundreds of thousands of aviation employees, service businesses, airlines and/or military personnel, atmospheric scientists, and meteorologists all over the world.
Depending on what the alleged purpose of the chemtrail spraying would be, spray released above 30,000 feet is likely to be highly unpredictably dispersed due to high-altitude winds..
Assuming drugging the population is the purpose, some ask "why not just drug the water supply for a fraction of the cost"? Drugging the public via chemtrails would surely be extremely expensive and inefficient.
How do aircraft accused of depositing "chemtrails" manage to pass inspection without the deception being discovered?
Official and governmental bodies have consistently denied the existence of such spraying — although if such a conspiracy existed, such denials would be expected.

Similar phenomena
Airplanes occasionally jettison fuel during flight, and sometimes even jettison toilet waste. There has been little outcry about these occurrences, however.

Often during air shows, colored smoke trails can be seen. These trails are generated by color dye in a cartridge at the exhaust of the engine.

Fertilizers and pesticides are sprayed over large fields from low flying aircraft. In the Vietnam War, the defoliant Agent Orange was sprayed in order to remove the leaves from the trees.

Pro-Chemtrail Theory links

Aerosol Crimes and Cover-ups — allegations about government cover-ups

Chemtrail FAQ from Rense website — conspiracy FAQ attributed to the organization Blue Skies International

Chemtrail Central — Pro-Chemtrail Theory

Educate Yourself — Suggests using Orgone to combat chemtrails

Anomalies Unlimited — Against "secret human experimentation"

apfn.org — American Patriot Friends Network

The Smoking Gun — site with "proof of global geoengineering projects"

Weather Wars — Weatherman Scott Stevens examines the chemtrail phenomena and man-made weather

Etheric Warriors — claims solution to chemtrails, among other things

Tearing Down the NWO Strongholds — methods of protection against chemtrails

AltNews.INFO Chemtrails — Documenting the heavy Northern California chemtrailing activity

Chemtrails911 - Articles, discussion, and pictures

Image links

Chemtrail central image search — searchable database of purported chemtrail images

Rense.com chemtrails data page — Links to purported chemtrail images and other resources

Skeptical links

hans-egebo.dk — anti-chemtrail opinion

New Mexicans for Science and Reason — a chemtrail debunking page

Iangoddard.net — contrail analysis

Crank.net — skeptical website listing chemtrail resources

lacarte.org — collection of chemtrail debunking sources

Contrails- or 'Trails-con?' — A comprehensive look at what the author considers "A hoax;" Includes a timeline

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemtrail_theory"
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LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CHEMTRAILS

Aerosol Crimes (Chemtrails) DVD

Petition For Chemtrail Disclosure

ChemTrail Tracking USA-Yahoo Club

Rep. Kucinich's HR 2977 Names Chemtrails As An 'Exotic Weapon'

How Kucinich’s “chemtrails” disappeared… from right under Congress’ nose!

2005 CHEMTRAILS OVER AMERICA

Chemtrails Over London

Chemtrail Photos From England

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS CONCERNED OVER CHEMTRAILS

T he forbidden knowledge.com Chemtrails

AEROSOL CRIMES & COVER UP

CHEMTRAILS SCIENTIST TALKS TO PRESS
Ohio is the home of Wright-Patterson – the air force base working with electromagnetic and weather modification technology. A scientist working at Wright-Pat recently told reporter Bob Fitrakis that two different projects are being conducted. One involves cloud creation experiments to lessen the effect of global warming. Other chemtrails are connected with the military’s extremely high-power Radio Frequency beam weapon in Alaska called HAARP.

“The scientist claims that the two most common substances being sprayed into chemtrails are aluminum oxide and barium stearate. When you see planes flying back and forth marking parallel lines, X-patterns and grids in a clear sky, that’s aluminum oxide, according to the scientist. The goal is to create an artificial sunscreen to reflect solar radiation back into space to alleviate global warming. In some cases, barium may be sprayed in a similar manner for the purpose of “high-tech 3-D radar imaging.” (Columbus Alive Dec. 6, 2001)

WORDS OF THE DAY

comet n. A celestial body, observed only in that part of its orbit that is relatively close to the sun, having a head consisting of a solid nucleus surrounded by a nebulous coma up to 2.4 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) in diameter and an elongated, curved vapor tail arising from the coma when sufficiently close to the sun. Comets are thought to consist chiefly of ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide, and water. [Middle English comete, from Old English com¶ta, from Latin, from Greek (ast¶r) kom¶t¶s, long-haired (star) from kom¶, hair.]

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WORD HISTORY: Comets have been feared throughout much of human history, and even in our own time their goings and comings receive great attention. Perhaps a comet might seem less awesome if we realized that our name for it is based on a figurative resemblance between it and human beings. This figurative name is recorded first in the works of Aristotle, in which he uses kom, the Greek word for "hair of the head," to mean "luminous tail of a comet." Aristotle then uses the derived word koms, "wearing long hair," as a noun meaning "comet." The Greek word was adopted into Latin as coms, which was refashioned in Late Latin and given the form comta, furnishing Old English with comta, the earliest English ancestor of our word comet.
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contrail n. A visible trail of streaks of condensed water vapor or ice crystals sometimes forming in the wake of an aircraft. Also called vapor trail
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Chemtrails is a name used by some to describe certain kinds of trails visible in the sky behind high-altitude aircraft. Such trails are usually referred to as contrails and ascribed to condensation of water vapor in the aircraft exhaust. Those who use the word chemtrails maintain that the phenomena they observe have an appearance different from those of contrails, and are not consistent with the known properties of contrails. They believe that these trails indicate some kind of chemical spray. Since no government or other organization has acknowledged such spraying, the belief is an example of a conspiracy theory.
Possible conspiratorial explanations include atmospheric and weather modification, biological warfare, or purposes associated with a New World Order.

Chemtrails have been discussed on talk-radio programs hosted by Art Bell and Jeff Rense, who frequently deal with other paranormal and conspiratorial topics. According to an FAQ posted at the Rense website "chemtrails (CTs) look like contrails initially, but are much thicker, extend across the sky and are often laid down in varying patterns of Xs, tick-tack-toe grids, cross-hatched and parallel lines. Instead of quickly dissipating, chemtrails expand and drip feathers and mares' tails. In 30 minutes or less, they open into wispy formations which join together, forming a thin white veil or a 'fake cirrus-type cloud' that persists for hours."

Skeptics assert that contrails normally exhibit a wide variation in appearance and that the descriptions and photographs of "chemtrails" are perfectly consistent with those of ordinary contrails.

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Debunking a new urban legend: chemtrails

Pro-Chemtrail Theory links

Image links

Skeptical links