{"id":6544,"date":"2016-02-21T09:38:28","date_gmt":"2016-02-21T17:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/?p=6544"},"modified":"2026-03-19T13:58:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T20:58:39","slug":"chemtrails-or-contrails-is-there-any-evidence-at-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/chemtrails-or-contrails-is-there-any-evidence-at-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Chemtrails or Contrails – Is there any evidence at all ?"},"content":{"rendered":"

(c) Copyright 2016-2017 David Dilworth<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do “Chem-trails” (aircraft Chem<\/strong><\/em>ical–contrails<\/strong><\/em>) exist ?<\/p>\n

Are hundreds of pilots secretly and deliberately spraying megatons of toxics<\/span><\/em> from hundreds of high-altitude airplanes on American citizens across the United States, in a daily<\/em><\/span>, massive, ongoing multi-decade pollution campaign ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Short version<\/strong>: No.<\/p>\n

And Who am I? There’s probably no one with more meaningful credentials than I to STOP chemicals getting sprayed on the public.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why? I literally LED an epic battle of hundreds of Northern California concerned citizens who STOPPED REAL CHEMICAL SPRAYING on California cities and residents by airplanes in 2007-2008.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And We WON ! <\/strong>We stopped the insane spraying.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since then, I’ve investigated “Chem0Trails” DEEPLY, TWICE ! !
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

and found ZERO EVIDENCE both times ! !
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

So you can stop wasting your time and worry – about Chem-trails.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Aircraft

Aircraft Wingtip Vortex Clouds at ground level – Not Spray or Engine Exhaust<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Long Version – Full Article<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credibility:
\n<\/strong>First: Do I have adequate credibility to analyze the alleged “Chem-trails” from both sides<\/strong> of the Clean Air <\/strong>vs Scientific Scrutiny <\/strong>dispute<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

Well, on the “Clean air” side I once led a (conceptually)<\/em> very closely related campaign — the successful battle to stop the 2008 aerial spraying of (secret and untested) pesticides from airplanes on California cities for the Light Brown Apple Moth<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I conceived of, researched and created the successful lawsuit that stopped the very real aerial spraying of pesticides on the cities of our Monterey Peninsula and Santa Cruz by a rogue California government agency. <\/em><\/strong>This included creating the litigation strategy<\/strong><\/a> and hiring the law firm to argue it<\/strong>. I also led organizing in every other area of the successful campaign<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m also fairly well versed in the relevant scientific research of environmental impacts including:<\/a>\u00a0meteorology, fluid dynamics and flight. I have advocated for clean air<\/strong> at National, State and regional levels while serving as an official on Sierra Club\u2019s National & California Clean Air Committees<\/strong>.\u00a0 Due in part to the LBAM campaign<\/a>, I understand the many relevant sciences and politics related to aerial spraying of toxics more than well enough to be able to teach a college class on it.<\/p>\n

So if anyone could be persuaded that secret toxic spraying of “Chem-trails” exists, shouldn’t I be on the really, really<\/span> short list<\/em> ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the other side of the debate, the Scientific Scrutiny side<\/strong>, I was responsible for evaluating the evidence and related scientific studies for the LBAM lawsuit<\/a>. \u00a0What’s considerably harder, to win the lawsuit<\/strong>, I had to apply the science to the law<\/span> – which is hard for many lawyers and nearly impossible for scientists<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In spite of attacks on our science evidence and rationale in that campaign (almost exclusively by those with financial conflicts of interest), two different courts solidly upheld our<\/em><\/span> arguments and stopped the pesticide spraying. We won and stopped the spraying.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

(I’ve also served for a decade as a Head Judge for the Monterey County Science Fair<\/strong>, and personally conducted hundreds (depending on your definition, tens of thousands) of commercial and fun experiments.)<\/p>\n

I really do get how “experts” can irrationally fight against public interests, and support toxic spraying<\/strong> (actually the pro-spraying scientists all had a financial interest), during our non-profit’s 15 month, $70,000 LBAM campaign<\/a> my credibility was attacked personally, publicly, repeatedly and bitterly by financially conflicted scientists of the California Department of Agriculture.<\/p>\n

I was also attacked by hostile, irrational media (not to mention any names, like the Monterey Herald’s Royal Calkins<\/a> and Carmel Pine Cone’s Paul Miller<\/a>)<\/strong> — who despite strong (essentially overwhelming) evidence to the contrary, selectively believed the California government’s false science and legal claims<\/a>. They both rejected the US-EPA’s conclusions and the Court decisions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Winning the Court cases vindicated the science, our logic, the law and my efforts to put them together (best of all was the great party to celebrate where I gave\u00a0 out some 40 awards to the most effective activists).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Research:<\/strong><\/p>\n

To prepare for this article I read extensively about “Chem-Trails.” This included many (certainly not all) but probably most of the most popular arguments, <\/strong>websites<\/a>, books, and articles arguing that “Chem-Trails” exist, as well as hundreds of pages of technical research and policy documents<\/em> they used to <\/b>allegedly<\/b><\/span>\u00a0support their claims<\/b>. Additionally, some 8-10 years ago I researched the same claims and spoke with a number of\u00a0 “Chem-Trails” advocates.<\/p>\n

Concern: Chemical Trails from Airplanes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

More than a few kind and thoughtful friends are concerned that government or industry is secretly spraying dangerous chemicals on the American public from high flying jet airplanes essentially everywhere,<\/strong> nearly daily, for more more the past decade<\/strong>. Allegedly you can see them “every day” from almost anywhere in the United States<\/strong> !<\/p>\n

To see if there is anything here besides unfounded worry; to\u00a0<\/strong>get a scientific handle<\/a> on this, lets start with definitions<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is the Definition of \u201cChemtrails<\/a>\u201d ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Answer: There is none. Period !
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

There simply is no clear, testable, and verifiable definition for “Chemtrails<\/a> – scientific or otherwise.”\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are only vague allegations that some unnamed government or industry has a massive program to spray mega-tons of some chemical or biological materials<\/strong> on the public and has been doing it “every day” for more than a decade and seemingly everywhere. Further, some individuals claim that metal powders Aluminum<\/a> (dioxide?) and Barium (salts<\/a>)\u00a0 are the main materials sprayed.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, basic questions are never clearly answered<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Where’s the evidence? ? ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

and\u00a0When were “Chem-trails” first (actually – ever) discovered?<\/strong>\u00a0What evidence<\/strong> did the discoverer observe to decide sky-trails they were not normal contrails from jet aircraft ?<\/p>\n

Indeed, and directly on point — how does anyone claiming they see “Chem-trails” — clearly<\/span> determine they are not normal contrails from jet aircraft ? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

What evidence is there ? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Some people I’ve spoken with firmly and\u00a0 (demonstrably wrongly) believe every trail in the sky are Chem-trails.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Without a clear definition of Chemtrails, how can we even discuss it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the other side of the debate, the science\u00a0 side, there is a clear definition of standard jet-Contrails<\/em> and they have been studied extensively<\/strong><\/a>. Though apparently those research papers are not read, studied or understood by many, if any Chemtrails advocates.<\/strong> Nor\u00a0could any Chemtrails advocates\u00a0<\/strong>furnish the answers and definitions I ask for in this article.<\/p>\n

\"Jet

Normal Jet Engine Exhaust Con-<\/em>trail\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Normal Contrails<\/strong> (“con<\/strong><\/em>densation trails<\/strong><\/em>“)<\/a> are thin, long clouds<\/strong> of condensation<\/strong> caused by flying aircraft and left behind them.<\/p>\n

Contrails are caused by TWO phenomena <\/strong>(weirdly many scientific articles miss one or the other):<\/p>\n

1) by Vortexes from wingtips <\/strong>(see the image at the top of this article), <\/strong>or<\/p>\n

2) the slightly different mechanism of Condensation of jet aircraft Exhaust<\/strong> in very cold, wet atmosphere. These aircraft created clouds can be water vapor or ice. Contrails<\/strong> may “persist for hours (or days<\/a>) and spread to be several miles wide, eventually resembling natural cirrus or altocumulus clouds.” <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Just like clouds are not perfectly continuous and uniform, Contrails may also disappear and re-appear in localized spots where the air is not quite wet enough or cold enough<\/strong><\/em>, resembling a dotted-line<\/strong>, or a line drawn by a pen running out of ink<\/strong>. Contrails are documented in photographs as long ago as the 1940s.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Contrails are very sensitive to temperature and humidity<\/strong> (how wet the air is); meaning they can disappear or reappear with small changes in distance or altitude; sometimes just in a few feet.<\/p>\n

Next, lets review some relevant, undisputed facts \u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Undisputed Fact: Jet Planes (everyday commercial jet aircraft) spew millions of pounds of toxics every day. Every instant<\/em> their engines are running their engines emit toxic air polllution. And there are some 37 million commercial jet flights per year (as of 2016). <\/strong>Roughly a million people are flying above the ground at any given moment.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every day, while aloft, normal Jet airplanes normally leave tons of harmful and toxic pollution in their wakes. This toxic pollution is not regulated or limited by any government!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

It includes Sulfur Dioxide<\/a><\/strong>, Lead<\/a>, unburnt hydrocarbons<\/a><\/strong> and Nitrogen Oxides<\/a>. Its not intentional pollution, its just reckless corporate greed monsters.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

(The \u201cmost commonly used aviation gasoline<\/strong>\u201d, \u201c100LL<\/a><\/strong>\u201d still contains tetraethyl-lead<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 which due to its high toxicity is prohibited in ground vehicles<\/strong>. Lead is #2 at the top of ATSDR\u2019s list of most toxic materials<\/em> in 2015<\/strong><\/a>. It took at least 35 years to outlaw tetraethyl-lead<\/strong> \u00a0from gasoline car fuels; 35 years after it was known to be deadly.)<\/p>\n

2. Undisputed Fact: The US government has conducted some outrageous secret medical experimentation on its own citizens<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A subject of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment<\/strong> has his blood drawn, c. 1953<\/p><\/div>\n

U.S. government agencies and industry has\u00a0 conducted non-consensual, harmful, and unethical Aerial Spraying of US Citizens with Secret Bacteria (Operation Sea-Spray, San Francisco 1963<\/a>) <\/strong>and Pesticides<\/strong> (LBAM, Monterey and Santa Cruz, 2008<\/a><\/strong>).<\/p>\n

(The US government also has an outrageous history of conducting non-consensual, Unethical and sometimes deadly, human Medical<\/em> experimentation<\/a><\/strong> including: “the deliberate infection of people with deadly or debilitating diseases, <\/strong><\/p>\n