FACT BRIEF: Did the Arizona Senate advance a bill to ban so-called chemtrails? – Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting

No.

While the Arizona Senate did advance a bill that would prohibit solar radiation management, a type of geoengineering, there is no link between this practice and a persistent conspiracy theory involving “chemtrails.” The theory—which has been repeatedly and extensively debunked—posits that plane contrails, caused by freezing water vapor, are actually plumes of toxic chemicals or radiation released to control the weather or humans. 

Geoengineering and weather modification are scientific fields that explore the use of technology or chemicals to alter weather or atmospheric conditions, typically for agricultural purposes or to combat risks posed by climate change. Arizona law already requires licenses for weather modification projects. 

Another bill introduced in the state House this session aims to broadly ban the study or use of weather modification technologies, despite such interventions remaining largely theoretical. The legislation, backed by Arizonans who believe in chemtrails, would require the state to investigate any reports of geoengineering activity. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.

Sources

• Arizona State Legislature, Arizona Senate Bill 1432
• University of Cambridge, Social media posts around solar geoengineering ‘spill over’ into conspiracy theories
• Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Contrails, not Chemtrails
• United States Environmental Protection Agency, Aircraft Contrails Fact Sheet
• National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, Solar radiation modification: NOAA State of the Science factsheet
• Arizona Mirror, As climate change intensifies, GOP bill would bar ‘geoengineering’ to combat it
• Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 45 – Waters; Chapter 9
• Arizona Mirror, Chemtrail believers sway GOP lawmakers to support geoengineering ban
• Arizona State Legislature, Arizona House Bill 2056