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An unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that claims the US government is controlling the weather, or its citizens, by spraying dangerous "chemtrails" from airplanes has now made its way into several state legislatures where it could manifest into real-life laws.
It's an example of how unproven and off-the-wall theories are bubbling into mainstream discourse under the Trump administration, many of which sow distrust in the government. This effort in particular could prevent actual scientists and engineers from slowing the breakneck pace of global warming, which is inflicting a devastating toll on Americans in the form of extreme weather.
Florida's legislature is moving along a bill that would ban geoengineering and weather modification in the state, and an Alabama legislative committee discussed a similar bill last week. Last year, Tennessee lawmakers banned the release of airborne chemicals, which critics called "nonsense."
Though debunked many times over the years, chemtrail believers say the white condensation lines left behind by airplanes in the sky are filled with toxic chemicals. But the theory has re-manifested itself in a resurgence over controversy around scientists' efforts for weather modification and geoengineering.
And those who believe in the conspiracy now have a platform from the head of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
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📸 : Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
