Publisher’s ink: Chemtrails mystery nothing but hot air?

Everyone has seen those contrails streaming across the horizon. Usually the streaks of white condensation tracing behind aircraft dissipate over time. Occasionally the sky appears like quilt patchwork with streaks crisscrossing the atmosphere.

I never gave much thought to this unusual sight until recently. A reader stopped by my office to implore the newspaper to expose the realities behind what are known as “chemtrails” and the harmful effects they may have on the human body.

Let’s face it. Chemtrails have been around for years. I remember seeing them as a kid growing up on the East Coast. To the average observer it’s simply jet exhaust. Hot engine gases making contact with the frigid atmosphere at 35,000 feet causes a vapor.

Videos of chemtrails and claims of clandestine government involvement are all over the Internet. Much has been reported on the cloud-like creations, their toxic content, and the mysterious nature of their formations. With government pork funding everything from college students preference of beer over wine to the sexual mating habits of grasshoppers one might think a chemtrail study has been performed. Has one?

Are military aircraft secretly spraying biological agents on us in some bizarre scientific experiment? Are they dropping aluminum oxide particles as a means of testing radar detection? Judging from the videos on You-tube, planes appear to be equipped with eerie looking canisters and exterior nozzles. Jets can be observed spraying large amounts of white vapor behind them.

This leads us to another question. Why haven’t the environmental police questioned those causing chemtrails hovering above us? Eventually what goes up – comes down. What are we breathing down here when those clouds finally dissipate? And what is their impact on global warming?

Chemtrails are present all over the globe, so any international conspiracy theory falls short. Besides most of the nations buying into the global warming myth are doing their best to clear the skies of everything — including aircraft.

In Europe, for example, a new ruling requiring all airlines to buy pollution permits went into effect this year. Global warming worriers may be concerned about CO2 emission, but where is the outcry over jet fumes (or other mysterious chemicals) causing those chemtrails?

U.S. and Canadian airlines along with countries like China are rigorously challenging the EU ruling. The new carbon tax is based on the total air distance traveled. It will impede economic growth and could ignite a global trade war many fear. Good luck trying to force China into paying a tax on carbon emissions.

I wouldn’t be surprised if California follows suit and imposes its own airline emissions (carbon) tax on flights traveling over the state. Instead of building a bullet train boondoggle, Gov. Moonbeam could lobby for constructing a glass-like dome over the state. This might prevent states like Arizona from seeking financial damages from air pollution wafting into their state from Los Angeles.

With all this focus on reducing carbon emission these days why is there no discussion about chemtrails and the harm (if any) on humans?

Could it be what everyone already knows? Jet aircraft exhaust is harmful if inhaled in large doses. And the atmosphere like our vast oceans is capable of dispersing and disintegrating waste over time, thus rendering it harmless.

Haven’t we come to accept some forms of pollution and carbon emission in our efforts to advance our quality of life? From the Industrial Revolution to space travel we’ve used our natural resources for the betterment of society.

Now the environmental Gestapo is demanding the elimination of gas-powered automobiles. What next? Will auto racing become a sport of the past? Will Florida impose a carbon emissions tax on vehicles entering the state, boaters, or Daytona 500 drivers?

I’ll inform readers upon my return from the Great American Race this weekend. Any chemtrails I observe will likely be caused by the Blue Angels performing their customary patriotic flyover. As for ground level carbon emissions there’s a good chance spectators will smell racing fumes along with another familiar odor associated with 100,000 vehicles making their way to Daytona Beach…the smell of money.

Richard Esposito is publisher of the Mountain Democrat.His column appears weekly.