How One Climate Scientist Combats Threats and Misinformation From Chemtrail Conspiracists

Last spring, Harvard climate scientist David Keith announced that he and a colleague intended to proceed with small-scale geoengineering experiments in the real world (see “Harvard scientists moving ahead on plans for atmospheric geoengineering experiments”).

Harvard climate scientist David Keith.

The basic idea behind the technology they’re studying, known as solar geoengineering, is that spraying certain particles into the stratosphere could reflect enough heat back into space to offset some level of global warming. But the move from lab research to atmospheric experiments has sparked controversy.

Among other concerns, critics argue it’s far too dangerous to consider tinkering with the global climate system. But the field, and Keith’s research in particular, has also gotten ensnared in conspiracy theories about “chemtrails.” Proponents assert that the condensation trails created by aircraft are actually evidence that the military, or someone, is already spraying chemicals into the sky for wide-scale weather modification, mind control, or other nefarious purposes.

Read the Medium MIT Technology Review story by James Temple - “How One Climate Scientist Combats Threats and Misinformation From Chemtrail Conspiracists.”