The chemtrail conspiracy theory is the erroneous belief that long-lasting condensation trails are "chemtrails" consisting of chemical or biological agents left in the sky by high-flying aircraft, sprayed for nefarious purposes undisclosed to the general public. Believers in this conspiracy theory say that while normal contrails dissipate relatively quickly, contrails that linger must contain additional substances. Those who subscribe to the theory speculate that the purpose of the chemical release may be solar radiation management, weather modification, psychological manipulation, human population control, biological or chemical warfare, or testing of biological or chemical agents on a population, and that the trails are causing respiratory illnesses and other health problems.
I will be arguing against the conspiracy theory.
I do not deny that there are genuine concerns about the environmental impact of aviation and that harmful chemicals are emitted by aircraft. Like other emissions resulting from fossil fuel combustion, aircraft engines produce gases, noise, and particulates, raising environmental concerns over their global effects and their effects on local air quality. Jet airliners contribute to climate change by emitting carbon dioxide (CO2), the best understood greenhouse gas.
Airports can generate water pollution due to their extensive handling of jet fuel and deicing chemicals if not contained, contaminating nearby water bodies. Aviation activities emit ozone and ultrafine particles, both of which are respiratory health hazards, causing an estimated 6,800 premature deaths per year. Piston engines used in general aviation burn Avgas, releasing toxic lead.
I also do not deny that weather modification is a real thing. It is the act of intentionally manipulating or altering the weather. The most common form of weather modification is cloud seeding, which increases rain or snow, usually for the purpose of increasing the local water supply. Weather modification can also have the goal of preventing damaging weather, such as hail or hurricanes, from occurring; or of provoking damaging weather against the enemy, as a tactic of military or economic warfare like Operation Popeye, where clouds were seeded to prolong the monsoon in Vietnam.
Airplanes are also used for crop dusting, which involves spraying crops with crop protection products from an agricultural aircraft. There are also genuine concerns about the effects of aerial applications of pesticides and the chemicals' effects as they spread in the air. For example, the aerial application of mancozeb is likely a source of concern for pregnant women.
Psychological manipulation, human population control, biological and chemical warfare are also all real things, I do not deny this. However there is no evidence that the chemtrails purported by conspiracy theorists differ from normal water-based contrails routinely left by high-flying aircraft under certain atmospheric conditions.
So whilst the chemtrail conspiracy theory might not be quite as mad as what it first seemed, we are still a long way off contrails being an evil government run scheme in which 40,000 commercial pilots and air traffic controllers are in on the plot to poison their own children.
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