Experts Dismiss 'Chemtrail' Conspiracy Theories
'Nothing Odd In Those Plumes,' Scientists Say
POSTED: 9:32 a.m. MST November 19, 2002
DENVER -- Scientists and government experts say there's nothing sinister in white contrails left by jets flying at high altitudes.
A New Mexico geophysicist disagrees and told a Durango, Colo., audience that the white plumes do contain harmful chemicals that contribute to sickness and contribute to global warming.
"I have looked at those (chemtrail) Web sites a couple of times, and they're right up there with the UFO folks," Paul Newman, a physicist with the Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Branch of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration near Washington, D.C. told the Durango Herald. "There's nothing odd in what you find in those plumes, besides what you would expect out of the tail of an aircraft."
Newman was responding to a weekend talk given in Durango by Clifford Carnicom, a geophysicist and mathematician from Santa Fe, N.M. who believes a national or global organization is placing harmful particulates in jet emissions, which he calls "aerosol trails."
Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the agency has never found any evidence that harmful substances are being added to jet fuels.
"We don't have an official position on this, because we don't feel we need to have one," Kenitzer told the Herald. "A couple of years ago we were getting swamped with calls about this. All of these reports turned out to be nothing."
Carnicom told a group of about 50 Durango residents earlier that he has heard his theory discredited by scientists and aviation experts before.
"This is a very standard reply to receive -- that everything's normal. It is not normal," Carnicom told the group. "Contrails are composed of water vapor. What I'm speaking of is not emissions of water vapor. What I'm speaking of is the emissions of aerosol trails."
The FAA measures and regulates jet aircraft emissions to ensure that they comply with government safety standards set by Clean Air Act of 1970.
Brian Toon, who works for the University of Colorado at Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics said that jets fly too high above the ground to drop harmful particulates on a specific target, as many chemtrail theorists believe. He said contrails are harmless.
"If you are afraid of contrails, I would recommend you never open your freezer, because there's ice in your freezer and that's what's in contrails," Toon told the Herald.
According to the FAA, jet emissions are composed of carbon monoxide, nitrogen and hydrocarbon oxides, and smoke.
Additional Resources:
A New Mexico geophysicist disagrees and told a Durango, Colo., audience that the white plumes do contain harmful chemicals that contribute to sickness and contribute to global warming.
"I have looked at those (chemtrail) Web sites a couple of times, and they're right up there with the UFO folks," Paul Newman, a physicist with the Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Branch of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration near Washington, D.C. told the Durango Herald. "There's nothing odd in what you find in those plumes, besides what you would expect out of the tail of an aircraft."
Newman was responding to a weekend talk given in Durango by Clifford Carnicom, a geophysicist and mathematician from Santa Fe, N.M. who believes a national or global organization is placing harmful particulates in jet emissions, which he calls "aerosol trails."
Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the agency has never found any evidence that harmful substances are being added to jet fuels.
"We don't have an official position on this, because we don't feel we need to have one," Kenitzer told the Herald. "A couple of years ago we were getting swamped with calls about this. All of these reports turned out to be nothing."
Carnicom told a group of about 50 Durango residents earlier that he has heard his theory discredited by scientists and aviation experts before.
"This is a very standard reply to receive -- that everything's normal. It is not normal," Carnicom told the group. "Contrails are composed of water vapor. What I'm speaking of is not emissions of water vapor. What I'm speaking of is the emissions of aerosol trails."
The FAA measures and regulates jet aircraft emissions to ensure that they comply with government safety standards set by Clean Air Act of 1970.
Brian Toon, who works for the University of Colorado at Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics said that jets fly too high above the ground to drop harmful particulates on a specific target, as many chemtrail theorists believe. He said contrails are harmless.
"If you are afraid of contrails, I would recommend you never open your freezer, because there's ice in your freezer and that's what's in contrails," Toon told the Herald.
According to the FAA, jet emissions are composed of carbon monoxide, nitrogen and hydrocarbon oxides, and smoke.
Additional Resources:Copyright 2003 by TheDenverChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
