Remember the time when you were 8, lying on your back on the terrace or in your garden staring at the sky? Suddenly you would hear a noise and see trails of white clouds being formed in the blue sky. You would then call out to your siblings and ask them to come and look at it and be fascinated by the beauty of it. What if now I tell you that there was a purpose behind that beauty and that those “trails of white clouds in the blue sky” were a part of the plan of the government to control and regulate everything that you do, see, eat, believe, etc.
The Belief
The formation of the contrails, that is the condensation trails is attributed to the scientific condensation process that occurs due to the extremely low temperatures in the higher atmosphere. This conspiracy theory is based on the belief that the government takes advantage of this phenomenon to release certain chemicals in the form of ‘chemtrails’ into the Earth’s atmosphere. The purpose of this is they say is an attempt to modify the weather, to control human population, to control thoughts, to manage solar radiations or biological and chemical warfare. Some also believe that it is done for the profit of drug companies by inducing diseases in the population. So, that’s basically controlling a person’s entire life.
The Birth of the Belief
Now, whenever we talk about a conspiracy theory or an event that cannot be explained enough for satisfaction, more than 50% of the times, it has to do with the US. So, this one also originated there. It all started when the United States Air Force (USAF) published a weather modification report in 1996 associating it with chemtrails left behind by the aircraft. This belief was popularized by people who put it on the internet forums and talked about it on late-night radio shows. By 2000, a lot of “important” agencies like NASA, EPA, FAA had published reports stating otherwise which only heightened the belief that the government was trying to cover up.
The Strengthening of the Belief
- After WWII, pictures of aircrafts containing barrels allegedly containing chemicals started doing grounds. The government said that those barrels had water and were there to stimulate the weights of soldiers on board to check the center of gravity. The proponents, however claim to have noticed aerosol dispersion systems in there.
- A 2007 Louisiana television station report found lower levels of air to suspiciously contain unsafe levels of barium.
- ‘Contrails’ comes from the words condensation and trails. These are simple trails that are left behind by aircraft due to condensation caused because of the extremely low temperatures in the higher atmosphere and they disappear from the sky in a very short time. ‘Chemtrails’ on the other hand comes from the words chemical and trails. These, when left behind by aircraft, stay in the sky for a significantly longer time.
- Also, artificial climate modification has had a long history and it is actually a thing. For instance, cloud seeding was used by the Chinese authorities to ensure that the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics wasn’t washed out. Most of the believers in the theory look at weather modifications as the main purpose of chemtrails.
The Opinion of the People
According to a BBC report, the proponents believe that this is a global conspiracy and it involves the national governments, UN, scientific associations, big businesses, and the military. Suzanne Maher, a believer of the Chemtrails theory says, “Twenty or thirty years ago, we still had aircraft and had a beautiful blue sky. There were no trails.” The scientific community, however, has dismissed any such happening even after some reports have given evidence of the presence of chemicals in the air.
A survey by Cooperative Congressional Election Study shows that almost 9% of those questioned believed this theory to be ‘absolutely true’ while another 19% believed it to be ‘somewhat true’.
It is true that the media controls our mind and that is why even the most absurd seeming claims hold a chance to be true.
