Introduction
Small kids always get so excited when they see the trails of clouds left behind by airplanes. They normally call other kids to watch and admire the white path left by these streaks. Chemtrail is a controversial topic in the sense that while some people find the patterns made by the streaks as beautiful and harmless, others are concerned that they aggravate global warming. As a result, people have come up with various theories to explain chemtrails and their dangers. This paper explores the basis of conspiracy theories and their arguments. It also uses scientific theory to explain how a contrail comes about. While some people argue that the government is spraying the atmosphere with dangerous chemicals, others hold that there is no scientific evidence to support this claim
Scientific explanation
Although contrails are thought to be dangerous, there is a scientific explanation behind the trails. When jets are flying in the air, their engines expend very hot air as well as water vapor as byproducts. Since the air is very cold in the high altitude where the jets fly, the process of condensation occurs when the humid hot air hits the cold air in the atmosphere (Freeland 89). Moreover, the process of condensation is facilitated by the low pressure in the surrounding areas. When the vapor that is emitted by the hot engine meets the cold air, it condenses into water droplets that form a mist that are seen as contrails, short form for condensation trails. This trail keeps on disappearing as the water vaporizes.
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Although this explanation makes sense and seems unharmful, a deeper exploration and what is emitted by the engine shows that it is not only hot air and vapor that is emitted but also other poisonous gases. It is common knowledge that human activities that lead to the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere involve the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas to generate energy. Similarly, jet uses fossil fuel for energy and this raises concern especially due to the altitude within which these gases are emitted. As Royce explains, oxides of nitrogen are generated since the water vapor contains high temperature leading to dissociation of oxygen and nitrogen in the air (66). Nitrogen oxides are harmful and they have been cited as one of the leading causes of global warming and climatic change.
Additionally, the combustion of jet engines leads to the emission of carbon dioxide which has been attributed to global warming. Therefore, this explanation shows that the contrails may not be harmless after all. Global warming has a hoard of harmful effects on people, animals, and environments that include changes in the patterns of the rain, acid rain, decrease in vegetation, flooding, droughts and many others. Global warming has been at the center of focus in the 21st century since people are concerned about its impact on the present and in the future. This, therefore, explains why some people are paying attention to chemtrails.
In addition to these scientific explanations, people have come up with various theories to explain chemtrails. Some of these theories have not been backed up by any scientific evidence and therefore they remain as speculations.
Chemical conspiracy theory
Although the government has continued to insist that contrails are a result of condensation and they are harmless, some people are concerned that trails are now thicker and larger as opposed to how they used to be. According to conspiracy theorists, the government has been putting harmful products to the trails to create chemtrails. Some extremists believe that the government has a secret program to pollute the air using harmful chemicals (Fee and Webb 186). Conspiracy theorists hold on to events such as droughts, extreme weather conditions, forest fires, neuronal disorders such as autism and Alzheimer's, to justify their theories. However, there is no direct correlation between contrails and the effects mentioned by the proponents of conspiracy theory.
The conspiracy theorists differentiate contrails and chemtrails. As free and Webb explains, conspiracy theorists believe that contrails are formed when aircraft at high altitudes release water vapor in the upper troposphere such that the air becomes saturated (186). These trails are visible and they range from seconds to a few hours. Chemtrails, on the other hand, are thicker and they last longer than the contrails. Therefore, conspiracy theorists believe that those thick trails left by aircraft are dangerous since they contain harmful chemicals.
These conspiracy ideas started emerging in the 1990s when some citizens of the United States started growing suspicious of the government. Publications began to be produced regarding the chemtrails and some of the notable publications include Mystery Contrails May Be Modifying Weather Chemtrails confirmed, and Mystery lines in the Sky. The movement continued to gain popularity in the 2000s and its supporters continued to produce books and videos mostly through the internet.
Although the believers of the conspiracy theory have different explanations towards the chemtrails, they share common ground. For example, they all believe that the government is intentionally spraying a substantial amount of chemicals in the atmosphere using jets. However, the claims diverge where people convey different opinions as to why the government would engage in the act of poisoning the air. Some claim that chemtrails are unintentional by-products of geoengineering. They further claim that these ineffective geoengineering practices are concealed by the scientists and the government to prevent the public from finding out.
Yet others argue that chemtrail is intentional but the resulting effects are not intentional. There is also another group that claims that chemtrails are profiteering efforts of large oil companies or agricultural companies and even perhaps part of population controls. Still, others posit that the government may be experimenting with weather manipulation to defend itself against the enemy. This is not an isolated case since the British once seeded the clouds with salt, silver iodide and dry ice to make rain. This shows that weather manipulation may be possible.
However, these claims have something in common: they lack substantial evidence. They fail to put up a detailed and more concrete explanation for the chemtrail phenomenon. On the contrary, they counter scientific explanation with vague allegations and conjecture (Free and Webb 186). Moreover, the evidence used to justify this phenomenon has very wide variations making it even harder for anyone who follows facts and even logic to agree.
Reputable scientists have dismissed conspiracy theories arguing that such experiments have no real use. For example, Baskin explains how some scientists have come up with research papers that show that chemtrails do not exist (148). Scientists claim that they have not found credible evidence that links the thick trails with dangerous chemicals. Moreover, such claims are heavy and serious and scientists claim that there is no plausible reason why the government would be endangering the lives of its citizens considering that its families live in the same world. There is no evidence that shows what could motivate the government to spray dangerous chemicals in the atmosphere to cause diseases and climatic changes. Some also claim that the government cannot intentionally cause harm to its own citizens. Moreover, if such issues exist that put people live in danger scientists would not hesitate to investigate and find the truth.
However, as seen at the beginning of the paper, it was seen that coal-based jets produce carbon dioxide and oxides of nitrogen. Therefore, the issue of contrails and global warming is not an isolated case. The byproducts of the engine when the fuel combusts releasing gases that may be responsible for global warming. Nonetheless, this does not support the conspiracy theory. However, this shows that the jet byproducts are unintentionally contributing to global warming. This however differs from the conspiracy theory that claims that the pollution is intended.
Therefore, while the conspiracy theorists claim that chemtrail exist where the government has been spraying dangerous chemicals in the atmosphere, scientists claim that chemtrails do not exist. Scientific evidence shows that contrails are formed through condensation when hot humid air from the jet engine is released to the cold temperatures at high altitudes. However, conspiracy theorists put across an argument that the government is engaged in a plan to poison the atmosphere by spraying dangerous chemicals. Although these claims have not been confirmed they still remain a hot topic of discussion.
Works Cited
- Baskin, Jeremy. Geoengineering, the Anthropocene and the End of Nature. Springer, 2019.
- Fee, Christopher R., and Jeffrey B. Webb. Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories in American History [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO, 2019.
- Freeland, Elana. Chemtrails, HAARP, and the Full Spectrum Dominance of Planet Earth. Feral House, 2014.
- Royce, Rolls. The Jet Engine. John Wiley & Sons, 2015
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