Contrails, the vapor trails that follow high-flying airplanes, are the subject of the “chemtrails” conspiracy theory, which baselessly alleges that the trails are actually chemicals that are used for secret purposes, including weather modification.
The EPA published a webpage Thursday with information about contrails and geoengineering that experts tell The Hill is accurate.
Dustin Tingley, a public policy professor at Harvard University, described the EPA’s webpages as “rather thoughtful.”
“The EPA did a responsible job of taking the concerns that people might genuinely have and providing easy to understand explanations,” Tingley said.
Columbia University climate economist Gernot Wagner also said the webpages published by the EPA are accurate.
“The actual ‘About’ page on the EPA website does not seem to get it wrong,” he said.
The EPA webpage describes “chemtrails” as “a term some people use to inaccurately claim that contrails resulting from routine air traffic are actually an intentional release of dangerous chemicals or biological agents at high altitudes for a variety of nefarious purposes, including population control, mind control or attempts to geoengineer Earth or modify the weather.”
However, Zeldin also characterized questions about contrails as “legitimate” in a written statement.
“Americans have legitimate questions about contrails and geoengineering, and they deserve straight answers,” he said. “We’re publishing everything EPA knows about these topics on these websites.”
He also posted a similar sentiment on social platform X: “Americans have questions about geoengineering and contrails. They expect honesty and transparency from their government when seeking answers.”
Read more at TheHill.com.
