Iowa joins GOP-led states in advancing anti-‘chemtrails’ bill banning geoengineering
Iowa is the latest Republican-controlled state to take up a “chemtrails” bill that would ban the emission of air contaminants into the atmosphere to intentionally alter the weather.
Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Birmingham, one of 23 Republican co-sponsors of the bill, House File 191, said that while little is known about weather engineering technologies, a geoengineering prohibition was justified so further research could be done.
“It is incumbent on the state of Iowa to exercise sovereignty in this area,” Shipley said.
Tennessee became the first state last year to enact a law banning geoengineering. Other states, including Kentucky, Arizona and Florida, have followed suit by introducing legislation eyeing a ban on geoengineering, which describes a range of large-scale interventions in the Earth’s natural systems to directly combat climate change.
Federal researchers into geoengineering is limited while researchers look to better understand the science behind geoengineering and its impact before potentially deploying it on a larger scale.
Proponents say it could cool the earth as a stopgap measure to climate change until humanity stops burning the fossil fuels that pump greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. But there are concerns it could cool the Earth too much or unevenly, or potentially worsen global warming if a geoengineering project were suddenly halted.
What would the bill do?
Iowa’s Environmental Protection Commission would have to adopt rules to enforce the ban on geoengineering.
The bill does not target any specific technologies, but broadly prohibits geoengineering.
More commonly known geoengineering methods are solar geoengineering and cloud seeding.
Solar geoengineering seeks to temporarily lower Earth’s temperature by releasing particles in the atmosphere to reflect sunlight back into space.
Cloud seeding involves emitting particles in the atmosphere to increase rain and snowfall. At least nine states have used it to overcome drought or help irrigate fields for farmers, including California, Nevada, Colorado and Texas.
While the House bill does not codify any penalties, a similar Senate bill, Senate File 142, would make it a class D felony to engage in “polluting atmospheric activity, cloud seeding, or weather engineering.” It would be punishable by no more than five years in jail and a fine between $1,025 and $10,245.
Bill’s supporters link geoengineering ban to ‘chemtrails’ conspiracies
Several speakers referred to widely debunked conspiracies about “chemtrails” released from aircraft that some believe are laced with toxic chemicals spread by the government to control the weather or exercise mind control.
These are falsely confused with contrails, or the white streaks that appear behind an aircraft when water vapor condenses and freezes around the exhaust.
Conspiracies surrounding chemtrails and geoengineering are linked by the notion that nefarious actors are manipulating the weather with toxic chemicals.
To debunk the widespread conspiracy theory, the EPA partnered with the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2000 on a report debunking the chemtrails theory. Other agencies, such as the U.S. Air Force and NASA, have released informational sheets on contrails.
Among those who packed an Iowa House subcommittee Tuesday who say they watch the skies for chemtrails was one child, who claimed that when he plays outside, the chemtrails make him feel dizzy and sick.
A Bondurant mother cried as she told lawmakers her unvaccinated children have been sick for months with a persistent respiratory illness, blaming it on the release of chemicals in the sky.
“We are killing humanity by spraying the skies,” she said.
Geoengineering warrants ‘further investigation,’ one lawmaker says, while a Democrat remains skeptical
Rep. Ken Croken, D-Davenport, said he needed more evidence to support the legislation and it wasn’t clear to him who was responsible for potentially releasing unspecified contaminants into the atmosphere.
“I don’t know what to do with suggestions that someone is seeding the sky in some way,” Croken said. “I don’t know how to respond to that.”
Reps. Sam Wengryn, R-Pleasanton, and Craig Johnson, R-Independence, supported advancing the bill to the full House Environmental Protection Committee.
“I think there’s something behind this that might at least garner some further investigation in it,” Johnson said.
USA Today reporter Elizabeth Weise contributed to this article.
Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. Reach her by email at mjpayne@registermedia.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @marissajpayne.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa joins GOP-led states in advancing anti-‘chemtrails’ bill banning geoengineering
