Alluding to ‘chemtrail' conspiracy theory, Mastriano floats ban on climate mitigation techniques

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An image from the International Space Station on May 15, 2002, shows condensation trails over France. Condensation trails-or contrails-are straight lines of ice crystals that form in the wake of jetliners where air temperatures are lower than about -40 degrees Centigrade. Scientists have observed that newer contrails are thin whereas older trails have widened with time as a result of light winds. (NASA photo)
Former GOP gubernatorial nominee and state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin) has introduced legislation seeking to ban conceptual geoengineering techniques he falsely links to the 'chemtrail' conspiracy theory.
In a pitch for his bill, Mastriano associated the theoretical techniques aimed at combatting climate change have been falsely associated with the baseless conspiracy theory that some condensation trails, or contrails, left by high-flying aircraft are being used to introduce toxic substances into the atmosphere.
The 'Clean Air Preservation Act' would outlaw 'solar radiation modification or sunlight reflection methods' in Pennsylvania and impose strict penalties on violators. Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Washington) is a cosponsor of the bill.
Joshua Horton, project manager at the Harvard Solar Geoengineering Research Program, told the Capital-Star that research behind solar geoengineering aims to identify ways to mitigate climate change by reflecting sunlight back into space. Solar geoengineering methods are largely conceptual and there is little evidence to suggest these methods would harm the environment or public health.
'To be clear, there is no geoengineering going on. There's no solar radiation modification going on,' Horton said. 'So to the extent that this bill is premised on the belief that it's happening, it's just factually incorrect.'
In a memo in December seeking support for the bill, Mastriano said the 'release of unknown, experimental, and potentially hazardous substances into the atmosphere without the consent of the people of Pennsylvania is a clear violation of Article 1, Section 27 of the PA Constitution.' He has previously proposed similar legislation.
Mastriano's memo also cited a 2023 White House report on potential future solar geoengineering research, falsely claiming it proves the federal government 'may conduct solar radiation modification or geoengineering experiments involving the release of air contaminants into the atmosphere, and those activities may occur within the Commonwealth.'
That report 'focused on potential research and its governance, not authorizing any deployment or specific activities,' according to Michael Thompson, managing director at the nonprofit Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Engineering. 'The report explicitly aimed to guide how research could be approached and managed, emphasizing transparency and risk assessment, and to reduce the risk that research is perceived as a step towards inevitable deployment.'
Thompson's organization seeks to promote 'just and inclusive deliberation' on the research and possible future employment of solar geoengineering. He told the Capital-Star that controversy surrounding the theoretical practice is 'amplified when state-level discussions wrongly link scientific inquiry into solar geoengineering with debunked 'chemtrail' hoaxes.'
'For solar geoengineering, public concern is understandable,' Thompson said. 'People rightly want to know what is being researched and would be alarmed by pollutants being added to the skies for nefarious reasons, but that's just not happening.'
A spokesperson for Mastriano did not respond to requests for comment.
On May 31, Mastriano held a virtual roundtable to rally support for the bill, which is awaiting consideration in the Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs committee.
Jolie Diane, who runs a website called Zero Geoengineering, called in from California to give a presentation riddled with falsehoods on 'weather modification policy and the governance of geoengineering experimentation.'
Diane has a history of lobbying state legislatures to ban solar geoengineering. She does not hold any scientific credentials, despite Mastriano calling her a 'leading expert in weather modification.'
During the roundtable, which garnered thousands of views across social media platforms, Mastriano rallied against theoretical methods such as stratospheric aerosol injection.
Horton explained that stratospheric aerosol injection, or SAI, is a conceptual solar geoengineering method that would involve aircraft introducing aerosols into the upper atmosphere to 'reflect a small fraction of incoming sunlight back to space.'
'It's pretty simple technology, but it doesn't exist yet. It's been explored almost exclusively through computer models,' he said. 'The research tends to show it would produce net benefits globally.'
Mastriano also spoke against cloud seeding, a common practice employed for decades to increase rainfall that would be banned under the bill. A 1967 state law already requires anyone who wants to try cloud seeding to apply for a license from the state Department of Agriculture.
No one has ever applied for this license, nor has the state's agriculture department ever investigated unauthorized cloud seeding, press secretary Shannon Powers said in an email.
While cloud seeding is not practiced in Pennsylvania, 'there are … cloud seeding weather modification activities that have been ongoing for 75 years, and involve putting silver iodide in clouds to enhance rainfall,' Horton said. 'A lot of small counties all over the west, and places beyond the U.S., pay for services for pilots to go up there and spray this stuff.'
Mastriano and Diane both alluded to the debunked 'chemtrail' conspiracy theory, which alleges that nefarious actors are spraying toxic substances into the atmosphere via contrails created by high-flying aircraft. He claimed that normal contrails should dissipate within minutes, falsely suggesting that if contrails are visible for longer, it's an indication they are infused with toxic substances.
According to the National Weather Service, contrails form as hot, moist air from an aircraft's engine mixes with freezing outside air. That moisture condenses and forms a contrail, which can be visible for hours depending on factors like humidity and wind.
'These clouds are not part of a global conspiracy,' Thompson said. 'Lawmakers know better than this and should do minimal homework before bringing bills to their legislative bodies.'
Mastriano has a history of sharing 'chemtrail' misinformation. In a November 2022 Facebook post, he shared a photo of contrails with the caption, 'I have legislation to stop this … Normal contrails dissolve / evaporate within 30-90 seconds.'
'When these bills appear, given there is no active nefarious geoengineering taking place
… one has to assume they are brought forward primarily for political reasons, rather than a misunderstanding of the facts,' Thompson said.
'We worry that these kinds of politically motivated legislative efforts, by fostering confusion and fear, make such nuanced and forward-looking consideration far less possible.'
Similar legislation restricting solar geoengineering has been proposed in more than two dozen states. Tennessee lawmakers passed a law banning the practice last year.
'We are concerned generally that legislation aimed at governing or banning non-existent activities, such as non-existent chemtrails, disempowers and distracts rather than enabling citizens to engage with decisions being made now that will impact them in the future,' Thompson said.