Chemtrails Debunked
Although conspiracy theories come and go, one of the most persistent theories that have been around for more than 3 decades is the idea that airplanes aren’t leaving contrails, but are leaving chemtrails instead. When you look up into the sky to see an airplane flying, there can be white streaks left by that plane. These condensation trails occur because the plane interacts with the atmosphere, but some believe that these are chemicals being sprayed on the population.
Why would chemicals be used on people? To control them… as the chemtrail theory goes.
What Is a Chemtrail?
In short, a chemtrail is defined as a contrail that an airplane would leave behind that contains a substance that has a nefarious purpose for some reason. Some theories say that the chemicals would be used to control certain population groups or to eliminate those that are sick and elderly. High cancer rates in some areas are even pointed to as evidence of a chemtrail campaign. It’s like spraying crops, but jets are spraying people as they fly to the next airport.
The reason why the theory is growing in prevalence is because airplanes seem to be leaving a lot more contrails in the sky. They also seem to be lasting a lot longer, which makes it seem like there could be other substances contained within them. The only problem is that contrails have existed for as long as airplanes have been able to fly through high altitude pockets of cold air.
How Come the Theories of Chemtrails Still Exist?
Airplanes have been making contrails since 1918, which means pretty much since they were invented and could fly in the upper atmosphere. It is believed that contrails used to dissipate rapidly, but they don’t today, and that’s why they are chemtrails instead. In reality, however, contrails don’t always dissipate in a few seconds. Any time the temperature is below -40C, a contrail can actually last for several minutes.
It’s always been that way. There are photographs of contrails that have been persistent in the sky that date back to 1950 that can be found online that are documented in individual photo albums. Images taken for Life show persistent contrails that dates back to 1940. For those war theorists out there, the first actual documented persistent contrail is believed to have been observed in 1921.
Aren’t There Higher Chemical Levels?
In short, the answer is no. There are some results that are high, such as a chemical testing of aluminum and barium that happened in Phoenix that has become very famous in the conspiracy movement. The only problem is that the levels found were so high that everyone in Phoenix should already be dead. An investigator, Clifford Carnicom, claims to have discovered high levels of chemicals in contrail residue, but his own readings show levels that are actually lower than normal.
What’s most interesting, however, are the deliberate fakes and mistranslated articles that are floating about the internet regarding chemtrails. A popular article which claims to prove that Germany used chemtrails is actually mistranslated very deliberately. Many videos are simply downright hoaxes that are faked like UFO sightings.
Just because lots of people believe that chemtrails exist doesn’t make it automatically factual. At one point, lots of people believed that the sun orbited around the Earth and that our planet was the center of the universe. Chemtrails are even mentioned in a bill before Congress, but so are UFOs and aliens and there’s even a plan to respond if there’s a zombie apocalypse.
Can Contrails Form X Patterns?
One of the most persisting beliefs that exist for chemtrails is that it is believed that two contrails cannot form an X in the sky. The problem is that when the conditions are right for a contrail to linger, the amount of air traffic that is in the skies almost demands that contrails cross each other. It’s not the weather on the ground that matters. It’s the weather that is up in the sky at cruising altitudes that matters.
Because weather patterns can be so different at the various atmospheric levels, it isn’t just a contrail that can look unusual sometimes. Punches in clouds can sometimes appear and clouds, like fall streak clouds, can even look like contrails when they are in a clear blue sky. Clouds can taper sometimes and look a bit odd, but there can also be wind shears and pockets of cold, moist air that develop short length contrails.
Are Chemtrails Something To Be Scared About?
To say that a contrail is just warm air interacting with cold air isn’t quite correct. It’s engine exhaust, which also means that there are sulfate particles, oxides, carbon dioxide, soot, and even fuel residue that can be found in these clouds. They provide additional cloud cover, which might not be good for the environment, and the extra soot could be bad for someone’s health in high air traffic zones.
Taking a leap to say that world governments are using this phenomenon to release other substances into the air is what turns a contrail into a chemtrail. At best, even if chemtrails did exist, the purpose would be most likely to seed clouds or perhaps be an ill-advised method of trying to fight of global warming. Any chemical that is released at 30,000 feet is just going to disperse through unpredictable wind patterns.
There could never be any targeted campaign to experiment on anyone because predicting the delivery of the chemtrail substances would be impossible. Not nearly impossible. Completely impossible.
Is there a legitimate concern about the environment that can be discussed with a contrail? Absolutely. With the amount of air traffic that occurs in the skies, the exhaust of a jet engine is pumped into the air above all of us whether a contrail forms or not. At some point, that could very well enter the air that we are breathing. That’s a concern that we can all share.