Good post, OZ. I'm one of the fence-sitters. I've actually done a bit of research on this supposed phenomenon. I am also a weather-weenie, although not even close to the arena of knowledge you posess.

This is what makes me wonder, and granted, it is anecdotal, and therefore suspect; I would expect the same standard put toward my story as any other unsupported story, and this IS unsupported.

Here goes: For the last three years, I've been pursuing the green flash. For those that aren't familiar with this atmospheric experience, or think it's a legend told to tourists -- the green flash is most often an inferior mirage, and requires a surface (the sea, for instance) that is warmer than the ambient air. It also generally requires some elevation above the horizon to see and photograph. Immediately after the sun goes down (or just before the sun comes up) , the light rays are refracted and, defract through the atmosphere, producing the view of a flash of green or blue. There are a myriad of related phenomena.

Okay, bear with me here, OZ. I've captured about 20 green flashes, all after sunset. Exceptional ones have been less than six. I figured that worst case was, after a couple of years, I'd have thousands of beautiful tropical sunsets captured, and I do. I am RICH with sunset photos. There is NO such thing as a bad sunset......... until recently.

Here's where the speculation comes in. So, a few months ago, I am on top of the bluff, taking pictures of newborn Booby birds. I look overhead and see several crosses of contrails. Now this is unusual for our experience. We're a teensy island, with less than 1500 souls here. True, we have airports and jets, and contrails are not unusual, just the curious crossing. Generally, the contrails go in the direction of the planes -- toward the big island 85 miles to our NW. So, I take photos of the contrails, just becuase they are unusual.

The following week, we began experiencing something I don't recall, at least for the past 2 years. Prior to that I cannot truthfully say, as I wasn't as aware of sunsets as I am now. What changed, is that now there is an everpresent haze........ the sun sets into it, and I cannot see the moment it crosses the horizon...... it just fades to zilch.

We have no industry here, although nearly everyone has an automobile. I've been looking at the Saharan dust layer, looking for plumes of particulate from volcanic action, even considered the Florida fires. I can't figure it out. Now, I realize I'm trying to attach a causitive action toward a possibly unrelated observation. Still, I can shake this whackamole notion.

Two weeks ago, we had a weak wave pass through here (before that was a tropical storm that was somewhat close)>..... and that wave cleared the air. For the first time in months, the "seeing" at night was good, and the known celestial objects and known satellites were again very bright. Shortly thereafter, the dreaded crossed and double-crossed contrails. Thereafter, the "seeing" is fuzzy, and this is a place that has almost no light pollution -- look at us on the night view of GoogleEarth...... we don't even cause a dim glow.

Listen, I know how this sounds. My background is in chemistry, with a minor in math and physics. I believe in empirical evidence..... that's why I feel like such a wingnut telling you all this.

So here I am, no more sundown pictures, at least until a hurricane passes by or over. The most colorful sundowns are often immediately after a tropical cyclone. Currently, the haze is back. I think to myself:

is this (a) a global phenomenon?
(b) a Caribbean factor, related to some variable I am unfamiliar with?
(c) something I can figure out if I spend enought time on CIMSS?
(d) something I should just chock up to long-term Rayleigh or Mie scattering and say to hell with it, no green flash for you???

I'm stumped, and feel like a fool for laying this all out.

Anyway, that's my subjective story. I think I have a sense of you OZ, and I don't think you'll dismiss this with a one-line post, but I truly want to know what you think. There's probably nowhere else here I'd post this story. I hardly believe it myself, but I do. If only I hadn't spend the last few years taking sunset photos, I could talk myself into a "seasonal" thang.

Sorry to be so verbose, but you asked.

By the way, Oz, I thought this was really kind of begging the question:

The above quote is from a chemtrail website, claiming that chemtrails first occured in 1997. Now read the quote below. Are the chemtrailers just lying or scaremongering. As you can see, contrails have been forecast and observed since the birth of high altitude aircraft. There are hundreds of photos of aircraft from these early era's that show contrails being formed on bombing runs from the UK to Germany, surely this was well before 1997 wasn't it?

You're kind of saying all chemtrails are really contrails and therefore the presumtion is incorrect as we KNOW contrails were in existance before 1997. That's not really a clear logical argument, as it is hinged on the hypothesis that chemtrails don't exist. Do you see what I mean?

Anyway, I hope you can provide an explanation that resonates plausibly for me. I don't want to believe in chemtrails. This is not a challenge, by the way......... the simplest explanation to my story would be to say that I've invented the variables in the equation, or have mistaken or exaggerated the observable phenomenon. I really want to know, simple as that.

I'll dig up a couple of the best ones I have and post them here, OZ. The first one I captured....... it appeared as convex on both sides, and appeared "floating" above the horizon. For all practical purposes, it was a green UFO. People I showed the photo to almost always said: "Oh, man, that looks so fake." hahahaaaaa! It's true. It DOES look fake.

Give me a day, I'll wander through my archived disks and share a few winners (well, winners, IMO).

I know. It's very difficult to address an anecdotal recounting. If I didn't have so much photographic evidence of what once was, and is no more, I myself would think I was making a mountain out of a molehill.

I really miss the nightly event. I'd go to the bar across the street, set up my tripod on a table on an elevated dock/cabana, and watch the sunset, accompanied by a couple of Heninkens; sometimes my Bride would join me. No point in even going there any more. I can't even see the Sun as a sphere lately....... it's just a diffuse glow. I don't know what to make of it. I believe my observations are merely evidence, a far cry from proof.

Cheers

I'm just a regular uneducated bloke in the Big Apple. I started noticing the differences in the sky and investigated it as best I could.
Are Chemtrails real? In my mind yes.
If anyone over 30 can remember gazing at the sky as a child, does it look the same now as it did then. In my eyes, no. The sky was much bluer than today. Look at some old tv shows or movies from the 60's and 70s with outdoor scenes and look at the sky. There are clouds up there that are "new" to me. There are clouds and things up there that just don't make sense. Common sense.

I've seen the white planes laying down the grids. I've seen those grids to strange things. I've seen strange clouds just appear and grow out in odd shapes like plasma or something. I've seen lines in the grid shift like a piece of the sky moved. JFK and LGA are not far from me. One's pattern goes over my house at different altitudes. Therefor I notice when there is a plane in the sky, out of place. Barring the stuff they leave behind, I have not been able to find a reasonable answer to why there are planes flying in the patterns that they do. Outside of regular routes, running grids.

From my eyes, something has changed up there. In the day, the sky is, for a lack of better words, washed out. Don't be fooled when at night you can see the stars. The sun is not hitting the haze, it's still there.

There are a lot of unexplained things going on up in the sky. It has been for a long minute now. My personal opinion is that anyone who takes the time out to look for them selves and use common sense will see something amiss. Those that don't are in on it.

My question is this. Let's assume chemtrails are real. What are they doing?

I have read many theories. Weather Manipulation, Biological Agents, Nanotechnology, Shields to keep physical things out, Filtering the sun, dimming the sun, chemical manipulation, warming the planet etc, etc.

I fear there are a few different projects going on. From the pictures and accounts I've seen, I gather there are different types of chemtrails. Types meaning in the way they are administered. Some appear abstract and others in grids. I believe the abstract is used for saturation and grids for testing and coverage. Saturation used for delivery systems for earth bound and atmospheric payloads. Grids for testing various systems and calibrated delivery to the atmosphere. What they are delivering and testing? thats enough from me for now.

Originally posted by mantic

If anyone over 30 can remember gazing at the sky as a child, does it look the same now as it did then. In my eyes, no. The sky was much bluer than today. Look at some old tv shows or movies from the 60's and 70s with outdoor scenes and look at the sky.

Could it be reasonable to assume air traffic had increased exponentially over the last few decades

Oz, I'm commenting so this bumps into my ATS faves list.

I got pretty darn well beaten up in the other thread of late, so I commend you for starting this one. I have to go back now, and read up...

Sorry, you have not convinced me that you have debunked the chemtrail theory. I know someone is spraying our atmosphere with something. Most likely weather manipulation. Another theory I have read about is it is protection from holes in the ozone layer.

I live near a big city there is a lot of air traffic. I see planes fly over my home all the time. On some days I wake up in the morning and there are chemtrails all over the place. While I am looking at the chemtrails other commercial planes are flying over head at all different altitudes and not creating trails. So explain that to me how are some planes making trails and other are not. I sometimes wake up early enough to see them spraying. I see unmarked planes usually all white but sometimes these planes are all red or orange. While these unmarked planes are spraying I see the regular commercial planes flying overhead and no trails are seen.
On days that I see the spraying the sky is clear blue early in the morning and by noon the chemtrails have expanded to create a hazy overcast.

I have been in the same area for my whole life and do not remember seeing this until recently. I can say I started noticing this around 2001 or so. Something is going on. My wife thinks I am nuts when I come in the house and tell her "they are spraying again".