State lawmakers push to ban practice that opposition labels a conspiracy theory: Claims of ‘mass sterilization or mind control’
When world events become increasingly difficult to explain, it’s not surprising when conspiracy theories that offer seemingly plausible reasoning take hold among the population.
One of those conspiracy theories concerns chemtrails. Believers suggest that the white lines left in the sky by aircraft are from the spraying of toxic chemicals — like bioavailable aluminum — by planes over the Earth.
As Mother Jones pointed out, those who push this theory suggest that these substances are released for “mass sterilization or mind control.”
However, there is no evidence to support this theory, with those white lines created when condensed water vapor from airplane exhaust crystallizes in cold air.
But that hasn’t stopped supposed chemtrails from becoming a government issue. In Tennessee, a ban on geoengineering practices — such as chemtrails and cloud seeding — has been pushed forward, per NBC, while Florida has also introduced a bill to ban weather modification.
It’s difficult to ban something that isn’t happening in the first place, but regardless, the possible introduction of these restrictions into law further adds fuel to the conspiracy theory fire, pushing the idea further into the public consciousness and painting the individuals who put forth these bills as public saviors.
With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. set to be nominated as health secretary under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, we could be set to hear about chemtrail theories a lot more. The 70-year-old has stated his belief the activity is occurring on social media, and since it’s gaining traction among voters, it’s likely to be spoken about more often.
That’s not to say that some weather engineering doesn’t exist. Cloud seeding, for example, has been used to encourage snow or rainfall in drought-hit areas. This is achieved by releasing silver iodide into clouds, and according to the Desert Research Institute, it has been utilized in California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota, Utah, and Idaho.
However, according to a study summarized by Earth.org, this only brings a 10% to 15% increase in precipitation. It doesn’t solve drought issues completely, but it can alleviate some of the water-sourcing problems this extreme weather event brings.
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But weather engineering has been cited by conspiracy theorists as a way to create hurricanes or make them stronger, forcing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to step in and explain that this simply isn’t possible.
Conspiracy theories like these take focus away from the actions that we can actually take to solve issues. For example, weather engineering talk stops us from making positive changes to reduce the risk of extreme weather events, such as moving away from dirty fuels, harnessing renewable energy, and encouraging more sustainable industrial practices.
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State lawmakers push to ban practice that opposition labels a conspiracy theory: Claims of ‘mass sterilization or mind control’ first appeared on The Cool Down.
