While Democrats have proposed legislation aimed at making life more affordable, Connecticut Republicans have fixated on a number of outlandish ideas and conspiracy theories like chemtrails and weather engineering.
Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott, has introduced legislation that would “require the disclosure of chemicals disbursed in the air by the federal government and weather engineering activities.” The bill demands that the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection post online any chemicals disbursed in the air “including stratospheric aerosol injections, solar radiation modification experimentations and other weather engineering activities.”
This proposal effectively requires the government to reveal information regarding what are commonly referred to as “chemtrails,” a conspiracy theory based on the belief that emissions from airplanes are actually chemicals being introduced to the atmosphere for various purposes.
Specific references to “solar radiation modification” and “stratospheric aerosol injections” suggest the bill is focused on conspiracy theories that incorrectly allege that someone is injecting chemicals into the air to control the weather or force some other change on the populace.
Weather engineering conspiracy theories gained traction last year after a pair of hurricanes impacted the Southeastern United States and claims that the storms had been manipulated using technology circulated online. However, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the technology to control the weather in this way does not exist.
Meanwhile, “chemtrails” are water condensation formed by a plane’s engine exhaust; that they are used to control or modify weather is a widely debunked conspiracy theory. The bill drafted by Sampson requires DEEP to publish federal information regarding “chemtrails,” but the General Assembly does not have any power to compel the federal government’s publication of any such information.
Connecticut Republicans have dedicated their time and taxpayer resources to this issue, nonetheless.
