The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill on Monday aimed at preventing geoengineering, the deliberate modification of the atmosphere to address global warming.
The bill, which has already been approved by the state Senate, includes various technological interventions. These range from theoretical concepts like solar modulation to practical methods like cloud seeding, which is used to enhance precipitation.
Most geoengineering options are still theoretical and untested. Federal researchers have only taken preliminary steps towards feasibility studies, and atmospheric scientists emphasize the lack of evidence for large-scale implementation.
On the surface, Tennessee’s bill seeks to restrict experimentation and deployment of such technologies.
However, discussions among lawmakers around the proposal blur the lines between fact and fiction, with some suggesting ongoing solar geoengineering projects and expressing fears and misunderstandings that trace back to “chemtrail” conspiracy theories.
“This will be my wife’s favorite bill of the year. She has been concerned about this for a long time. It’s been happening for years,” said Republican Sen. Frank Knisley during a public hearing on the bill last month. “If you look up, one day it will be clear. The next day it will look like angels playing tic-tac-toe. They are everywhere. There’s a photo with an X in it. They denied any involvement for years.”
None of the six Senate sponsors responded to requests for comment. Nicely, who voted in favor of the bill, also did not respond after the House vote. Republican Rep. Monty Fritz, the bill’s House sponsor, only agreed to an in-person interview, which could not be arranged before the vote by NBC News.
The chemtrail theory posits that planes are not leaving contrails but rather spraying government-created chemicals for control purposes. It is a collection of unsubstantiated ideas.
Various conspiracy theories related to chemtrails have emerged recently, with believers claiming that contrails are actually aerosols designed to manipulate weather and climate. Republican Sen. Steve Sutherland, one of the bill’s sponsors, mentioned the chemtrail theory while presenting his case for the bill to reporters, as reported by the Tennessee Lookout, a nonprofit news outlet.
“We are witnessing significant changes,” said Justin Mankin, a climate scientist at Dartmouth College. The challenge arises from the fact that the entire chemtrail conspiracy accommodates various technologies with distinct goals, making it challenging to separate them. ”
Besides Tennessee, other states like Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Dakota have introduced or are contemplating similar anti-geoengineering legislation.
This trend indicates a blend of conspiracy theories, confusion, and genuine environmental concerns gaining ground in public awareness and among certain Republican circles.
“People in states like Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire fear that the chemtrail theory is factual,” Mankin explained. “By enacting legislation, policymakers are legitimizing conspiracy theories instead of relying on science to disprove them adequately.”
Josh Horton, a senior fellow studying solar geoengineering policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, mentioned that as far as he knows, Tennessee is the first state to pass such a bill in both chambers of the legislature.
If the governor signs the bill, it would prohibit the deliberate release of chemicals into the atmosphere for the purpose of influencing temperature, weather, or sunlight intensity.
The bill suggests that the “federal government” or its agents have implicated in geoengineering experiments by intentionally spraying chemicals into the atmosphere.
A White House official clarified that the government is not involved in outdoor solar radiation control testing or implementation. They mentioned engaging in limited research activities like modeling, measurement, monitoring, and laboratory studies.
The vote in Tennessee on Monday evening sparked controversy.
Democratic Rep. John Ray Clemons playfully attached an amendment to the bill suggesting that geoengineering could endanger Sasquatch habitat. His amendment did not pass.
“It’s fitting that this bill is on the calendar on April 1,” quipped Rep. Beau Mitchell, another Democrat.
The bill’s House sponsor, Fritz, cited federal funding for aerosol research as proof of the government’s intentions.
“There is intent and a plan,” he asserted. “Some individuals looking into solar radiation modification are aiming to reflect sunlight from Earth by injecting chemicals, compounds, substances, and devices into the upper atmosphere. I believe so.”
It is not surprising that lawmakers are grappling with the complexities of geoengineering. The term is broad and poorly defined, encompassing many speculative ideas from scientists brainstorming ways to combat global warming.
“It’s not fully fleshed out. It doesn’t exist,” Horton remarked. “There is jargon everywhere.”
Solar geoengineering, which the Tennessee bill seeks to prohibit, falls under this broad category. It includes activities like stratospheric aerosol injection, an unproven theory aimed at cooling the planet by injecting particles into the stratosphere from high-altitude aircraft.
Other geoengineering methods like ocean cloud brightening, cirrus thinning, and using ice cubes to absorb heat are not covered in the bill.
Tennessee’s bill also outlaws weather modification, including cloud seeding, a practice used for decades in Western states to enhance rainfall.
While some states regulate cloud seeding efforts to boost snowfall in mountainous regions, most other forms of geoengineering remain unregulated. “The Wild West of the regulation world,” Mankin noted.
The committee hearings on the bill led to a mix of truth, insinuations, and fiction.
The bill’s sponsor, Dr. Dennis Sibley, testified before both chambers of the legislature and insinuated that the federal government was releasing chemicals into the atmosphere.
“There’s no denying that weather modification is happening in our state,” Sibley stated, adding, “I am opposed to the intentional use of particulate aerosols or heavy metals to block sunlight.”
She referenced a 2023 White House Report as evidence, portraying a concept paper on geoengineering research without detailing an actual program.
Sibley did not respond to requests for comment.
During the hearing, lawmakers conflated contrails with “chemtrails,” questioning whether cloud seeding caused wildfires in Western states or if geoengineering led to higher cancer rates.
Republican Rep. Bud Hulsey even speculated if geoengineering was responsible for the decline of honey bees.
“Exactly—that’s why the bees are disappearing,” replied testimonial support David Perry, who claimed to have been a licensed healthcare provider for four decades. “Their ecosystem is impacted by these aerosols.”
There is no evidence to support Perry’s assertions. A Tennessee chiropractor with the same name mentioned during the testimony did not provide a response to requests for comment. Bees face real threats like pest pressure, habitat loss, and insecticide exposure.
“All these concepts—weather modification, chemtrails, contrails, and geoengineering—are getting muddled and intertwined,” Horton explained after reviewing recent congressional testimony.
Democratic State Sen. Heidi Campbell voted against the bill.
“It’s alarming how conspiracy theories resonate so strongly here,” Campbell expressed, also pointing out that the bill diverts attention from the primary climate issue.
Mankin and Houghton concurred that important discussions are warranted on guiding and regulating solar geoengineering research, a controversial topic among many scientists.
“Is the Tennessee Legislature the appropriate venue for this deliberation?” Horton wondered. “Probably not.”
