Tennessee lawmakers ban geoengineering, with allusions to 'chemtrails'
Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill banning geoengineering, but in their comments, some referenced fears that appeared to stem from the “chemtrails” conspiracy theory.
The Tennessee state House of Representatives passed a bill Monday designed to prevent geoengineering, the practice of intentionally modifying the atmosphere to counteract global warming.
The bill, which had already passed in the state Senate, covers a variety of technological interventions. They include theoretical ideas about cooling the climate by an approach known as solar radiation modification, as well as more limited practices that affect the weather, like cloud seeding, a technique used to increase rain and snowfall.
Most geoengineering options are theoretical and untested. Federal researchers have taken only a few small steps toward studying their feasibility, and atmospheric scientists say there is no evidence of any large-scale programs.
On its face, Tennessee’s bill represents an attempt to prevent experimentation with or deployment of such technologies.
However, lawmakers’ discussions of the proposal toed a line between fact and fiction, with several suggesting that solar geoengineering projects are already underway and others referring to fears and misunderstandings that appeared to stem from the “chemtrails” conspiracy theory.
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