Low-Energy Fridays: The Truth About the Government Weather Control Program

Like most Americans, I love a good conspiracy theory. I’m not saying I believe them (for the record, I think JFK was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, not Bigfoot), but even obviously false conspiracy theories can provide a glimpse into human psychology. So when I heard state legislatures were passing laws to ban “chemtrails,” I got excited. Digging into the matter, however, I discovered the disturbing truth.  

For the uninitiated, this conspiracy theory refers to the idea that the U.S. government uses airplanes to spray chemicals into the atmosphere for some kind of nefarious purpose. The supposed evidence for this is that jets sometimes leave a trail of white, cloud-like material behind them as they fly overhead, which proponents of the theory call “chemtrails.” Scientists, journalists, and government officials have repeatedly explained that these are actually just contrails—trails of cloud-like ice crystals formed when water from the jet’s exhaust encounters cold air. Unfortunately, these explanations have had little effect. 

Proponents have long speculated that chemtrails are used as a means of mind control or population control. In recent years, some chemtrail theory advocates have suggested that the trails are being used to control the weather. Therefore, when bills banning weather modification began popping up throughout the states, it was natural for some in the media to see a conspiracy of conspiracy theorists behind it. Twenty-two states have introduced bills to ban weather modification; Tennessee enacted a ban last year, and similar legislation is awaiting the governor’s signature in Florida.

There’s only one problem: The government does, in fact, have a weather-control program. Multiple governments have multiple types of weather-control programs, in fact, although the details are not quite as exciting as conspiracy aficionados might hope. 

A number of researchers have proposed offsetting some of the climate-changing effects of greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface. Known as solar radiation management—or as geoengineering more generally—the process would involve sending light-reflective particles into the upper atmosphere. This remains mostly a theoretical idea, although some small-scale testing has occurred. 

At the other end of the spectrum are attempts to induce rain or snowfall in a given area through cloud seeding. This also involves spraying particles into the air, albeit different particles (typically silver iodide), which have been shown in laboratory settings to induce ice crystal formation in clouds. Typically, cloud seeding is used to help farmers in need of water for their crops; it can also be used to help prevent rainfall in subsequent days. Nine states currently have cloud-seeding programs.

Those who believe the chemtrails theory would likely favor a weather-modification ban. But there are other reasons someone might be wary about weather modification, too. Geoengineering has drawn critics from both the right and the left. Supporters argue that it represents a relatively cheap way to reduce the costs of climate change; skeptics raise the possibility of unintended consequences, asserting that we shouldn’t mess around with the Earth’s atmosphere. Cloud seeding can also be polarizing, and there are ongoing disputes about its effectiveness. It’s also worth noting that proposed legislation typically only prohibits the release of substances designed to affect weather or climate—meaning that if the government was using jets to release mind-control chemicals over the local country club, these bills would not stop it from doing so.  

The fact that the debate over weather-modification technologies has drawn in some wilder theories is hardly surprising because it involves technologies that, while largely unfamiliar to the public, could affect fundamental aspects of people’s daily lives. While I personally think research into geoengineering is valuable and that farmers who want to pay for cloud seeding should be allowed to do so, I also understand why people (including conspiracy theorists) might have concerns about it. Ultimately, weather-modification programs must gain public trust and support in order to succeed.