What Are Chemtrails? Tennessee Senate Passes Bill Based On Conspiracy Theory

(Image: Unsplash/ Representational)

The Tennessee state passed a bill on Saturday banning “chemtrails.” The expression “chemtrails” frequently appears in various conspiracy theories, which falsely suggest that the visible white streaks trailing aircrafts are toxic.

“The intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight is prohibited,” the bill reads, according to Leading Report.

What Are Chemtrails?

“Contrails” – short for “condensation trails”- are the white trails left by aircrafts in the sky. They are formed when fine soot particulates and water vapour from burning jet fuel freeze into ice. “Chemtrail,” on the other hand, is a portmanteau of the words “chemical” and “trail”, and it refers to a widely popular conspiracy theory that claims the trails are actually formed of chemical or biological agents deliberately sprayed by the aircrafts as part of a clandestine global conspiracy. Proponents of this conspiracy theory believe that it is done with the purpose of psychological manipulation, population control, biological or chemical warfare, or testing of biological or chemical agents on people.

The chemtrails conspiracy theory has been widely debunked by the science community and it has been established that there is no evidence to suggest that aircrafts are spraying chemicals in the sky. A 2016 paper published by the Environmental Research Letters surveyed 77 atmospheric chemists and geochemists to establish if there are any evidence of chemical spraying from planes. All the surveyed scientists, except one, confirmed that there is no evidence of planes spraying chemicals in the air.

Why is Tennessee Banning Chemtrails?

Republican Senator Steve Southerland earlier introduced a bill in the senate highlighting concerns over alleged geoengineering experiments conducted by the federal government in Tennessee. The bill claims “the federal government or other entities acting on the federal government’s behalf or at the federal government’s request may conduct geoengineering experiments by intentionally dispersing chemicals into the atmosphere, and those activities may occur within the State of Tennessee.”