Chemtrails: More Commonly known as Contrails

If you've never heard of "chemtrails", you are not alone. As far as conspiracies go, it is a little obscure. On a nut-job scale of 1 to 10, 1 being Bigfoot and 10 being the reptilian overlords mentioned in my previous post, this is about an 8. Add to that the idea that it is all part of a plan by an elite, super governmental agency to rule the world, I would raise it to a 9.5. If you have to add more than one conspiracy to your conspiracy to have it make sense, you've essentially added two piles of crap together to form an even larger pile of crap.

Okay, you're probably still wondering what the heck a chemtrail is. There are a small number of people who believe that contrails formed by airplanes are actually a chemical spray released intentionally by someone on board for various reasons. I have heard a few so far. One theory is that an agency or the government is "seeding" clouds to produce rain. The government has been testing this for years with mixed results. In fact, just a few years ago during the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Chinese government attempted this in order to avoid rain during the opening and closing ceremonies. (The idea was to make it rain before the events so that the clouds wouldn't rain on the day of the event.) Another theory is that the chemtrails act like artificial clouds, which reflect sunlight to reduce global warming. I can think of at least a few alternatives that would be safer and more effective, but I'll talk about that later. And the most recent claim I heard was that the chemicals were being released to alter soil so that only Monsanto seeds would grow in it (Monsanto is a company which engineers seeds for farmers, and is often used as fodder for conspiracy theories).

As early as 1905, the government has experimented with cloud seeding. Over the years, new techniques were developed which provided varied results. The basic principle is that by introducing massive amounts of particulates into clouds, you could create artificial rain. I fail to see the validity of this claim for a couple of reasons. The first of which leaves me wondering what the benefit is to the people creating the rain. Are the farmers paying them to do it instead of relying on nature itself or irrigating? If you could, as the Chinese attempted, prevent rain by pre-seeding the clouds, then what is the benefit of a drought? Perhaps malice is the only motive they can come up with; in which case I must warn them, you can't wear your tinfoil hat during an MRI. Even if you assume cloud seeding is effective, it's hard to come up with a logical reason for doing it.

Creating artificial clouds to combat global warming doesn't seem like a bad idea, until you really think about it. Using clouds to reflect sunlight seems plausible, but clouds can disperse and dissipate quickly, depending on weather conditions, and they would only cover a small percentage of the sky. Furthermore, any small benefit gleaned from this process would be outweighed by the possible health risks of dumping these chemicals. The cost of carrying the extra payload on airplanes would make it very cost ineffective as well. A more effective and cost-savings solution would be to offer incentives for reflective roofing materials and new road construction. It would be much safer and last longer too. If the government was trying to combat global warming, why would it be necessary to keep it a secret? Oh so many questions, oh so little answers.

The last claim I mentioned was that some super agency was using the chemical spray to change the properties of the soil so that only Monsanto brand seeds could grow in it. Don't let the complexity of this conspiracy fool you into giving it false credibility. If you apply some critical thinking, it's just as silly as the first two claims (or perhaps more so). If you were heavily (or supported people who were) invested in the Monsanto company, it might be beneficial to eliminate the company's competition. Altering soil by releasing chemicals 30,000ft in the air is laughable for a few reasons. The first of which would be to ask, why not limit your dispersion of the chemicals to rural areas? I have seen many pictures of supposed chemtrails over urban cities such as Atlanta (which has pretty sizable airport...hmmm). I don't think Monsanto loses much money from people with their own gardens. Are we also supposed to believe that this altered soil wouldn't effect common foliage such as trees and grass? I haven't seen Monsanto brand trees or grass seed on sale at Home Depot yet. While you are suspending your common sense, you might as well ignore the fact that everyone involved (which would have to be thousands) in the conspiracy is essentially blinding spraying chemicals on their families, their friends, and themselves. Of course everyone has a price, but at what point does it become cost ineffective to keep everyone quiet.

Some people think there is a difference between the contrails you see following a plane and shortly dissipating and the ones that linger for hours and turn into clouds. The science involved is pretty basic. If you have a rough understanding of cloud formation, you can understand how a jet exhaust could create a cloud. At high altitudes, the air is thin, cold and usually low in humidity. Jet engines release many things in their exhaust, including CO2, water vapor and other particulates. Water vapor condenses to form tiny droplets which are visible as a haze or cloud. Depending on the altitude, temperature and relative humidity, the cloud can last a few lengths of the plane or stretch across the horizon. But some people try to debunk this argument by saying that the long-lasting trails are seen at the same time as ones that disappear quickly. If the planes were flying side-by-side, I might actually give this theory a second thought. More than likely, the planes are flying at different altitudes and in different regions of the sky. Atmospheric conditions around each plane will vary. In the above picture, the "chemtrail" they are pointing out is simply a contrail that has been twisted and morphed, most likely from wind.

Trying to debate someone who believes in this nonsense is an exercise in futility. If you don't believe them, you are close-minded, influenced only by "mainstream" media or a sheep; with a fragile view of the world around you and a fear of the "truth". That goes for almost every other conspiracy too. If you have some free time and want to make a difference, take the time to debate with them. You should know, however, that you will never convince them they are wrong. Your goal is to influence those people who have not decided one way or the other about the validity of the conspiracy. Good luck!