When did you start/stop believing in chemtrails

The chemtrail theory started around 1996 and over the years many believers and skeptics have posted about it on the internet. But what happens when beliefs change? Lots of people support (or oppose) a theory quite vocally for a while, and then when they eventually their belief was incorrect they sometimes start vocally supporting the other side, but most often just fade off into the background.

ATS Members, what's your story?

1. When (what year)did you first hear of chemtrails, and what was your initial impression?
   
2. Did you notice persistent trails before or after you heard of chemtrails?
   
3. Did your belief ever change? When was that?
   
4. What happened after the change? Did you drop it, or switch sides in the discussion?
   

(also, it would be interesting to hear where you were living at the various times, to see if location plays a role at all).

Personally I first heard of chemtrails in early 2007, at the time I though there was not enough evidence to support the theory, and I explained this. Nothing has changed there.

As a child in the 60's 70's and 80's I distinctly remember looking at the trails disappear behind the jets that would fly over the sky's in Los Angeles county. I don't know when that changed and I don't know what it is is, but something is definitely different now. 100% different. Couple that with my absolute distrust of the authorities and my brain could come up with some fancy possibilities...

1.When did you first hear of chemtrails, and what was your initial impression? I heard about them on GLP 2011ish sometime this year and I didn't know what to think. Every time I saw a plane outside I would basically run back into the house screaming or holding my breath. Now I don't know, I hate to say if I haven't dropped dead I just don't give a f.

2.Did you notice persistent trails before or after you heard of chemtrails? Yes and no, I didn't think they were spraying anything before; I just thought they were old planes flying around ready to fall apart, smoking at the seams.

3.Did your belief ever change? Not really, just emotionally exhausted.
When was that? Months after GLP broke my spirit, February/March-ish.....
What happened after the change? Not much, fell into a slight depression, got scared about leaving the house. Mom went shopping and I just sat reading stuff on GLP.

4.Did you drop it, or switch sides in the discussion ? Mostly.
Haven't discussed it without fear of a mental breakdown, sanity is more important then chemtrails; sorry to say.

I heard about them first on Art Bell's Coast to Coast radio show probably just before Y2K (the only reason I remember this is because of the abundance of Art Bell's commercials encouraging everyone to buy something to save them from the end of the world that Y2K was to bring... I do have to say, those commercials made me lose a lot of respect for that show). It took me many years of staring at the sky to figure out what the difference was between chemtrails and contrails. As the years dragged on, and as my interest in conspiracies on increased, I started becoming what I'll refer to as an almost-believer... meaning that I can never put full belief into anything without some evidence other than someone saying that "these ones look different than those ones", but something seemed fishy about the whole thing (and also enjoy a good conspiracy theory).

The last time I took a plane (last year), I watched the altitude and compared it to the contrails in the sky and confirmed that every contrail that I saw was above the altitude at which they were supposed to form. So the little investigating that I could do proved nothing towards the conspiracy and only confirmed that chemtrails may indeed be contrails. But again, my investigation was very limited so nothing to base a belief upon.

Currently, I think it is a possibility (mainly due to unmanned flights being a common thing in the military... easily could be the case with chemtrails), but am leaning more towards the side that chemtrails are contrails, and that the whole theory is bunk and part of the disinformation program to discredit conspiracy theorists (I learned about rods around the same time from the same source and only recently come to the conclusion that that was another bunch of disinformation). But I think we all need to keep an open mind (and stop blindly believing in anything we hear Art Bell, Alex Jones or David Icke tell us). As the slogan goes... Deny Ignorance (but I fear that we are all guilty of forgetting to do this)

None-the-less, I really do hate the abundance of these trails in the sky killing our perfect blue skies and feel that nothing is efficient about this form of transportation (along with our cars and other heavily polluting means). We need to stop this destruction of the beauty that nature provides for us!

reply to post by Uncinus


I probably first heard of this concept (this hoax and myth) here on ATS --- since others have brought it up, and keep doing so.

Never any doubt that it was bogus, but that's the result of my life's experience as an airline pilot. All my colleagues, and anyone else who is involved in the aviation industry also know they are nonsense.

This older (from 2004) thread on ATS deserves a read....especially the OP:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Ive never believed in them because the first time I heard the theory was when I lived in New Mexico. Where there just arent any.

Putting two and two together, (the extremely dry air, the official version of what they are) it made no sense to me at all to toss out the evidence of my own eyes, and the scientific explanation for the trails, and instead create some excuse for why the PTB just had no interest in poisoning New Mexicans.

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
Ive never believed in them because the first time I heard the theory was when I lived in New Mexico. Where there just arent any.

What year do you think that was?

reply to post by Uncinus


I lived there from 1996-2009 in the fall. I had been visiting there from 1992. I heard about chemtrails here at ATS in 2007.

Originally posted by Uncinus

1. When (what year)did you first hear of chemtrails, and what was your initial impression?
   
2. Did you notice persistent trails before or after you heard of chemtrails?
   
3. Did your belief ever change? When was that?
   
4. What happened after the change? Did you drop it, or switch sides in the discussion?
   

1. Roughly 2005 or 06 when I was 13 or 14, before I had a good foundation in science and verifying claims. Same time when i started investigating 9/11 claims and UFOs.
   
2. Always noticed persistent trails, I live near an airport so I've also seen contrails formed at the wingtips of airplanes that are about to land (from vortices that cause condensation, or something like that? It's humid here, so doesn't seem too unusual).
   
3. Belief changed in 2008 or so when i developed reasoning skills and became a skeptic.
   
4. Now chemtrailers' ignorance of basic meteorology bother me, as do the other people who have fantastical claims that are unfalsifiable since their minds are impervious to logic.
   

reply to post by Uncinus



I first heard about Chemtrails this year, I didn't know what to believe, and I still don't know what to believe. I have honestly never seen a chemtrail, I've seen contrails, and yes they were contrails, they disappeared quickly. Like I said, I'm still trying to do more research into this. I believe it could be real but I really don't know what to think. I thought I saw some about 2 weeks ago but I looked into it and they were just normal clouds.

reply to post by Uncinus

When (what year)did you first hear of chemtrails, and what was your initial impression?

A few years back i heard some talk about "chemtrails." It sounded scary and sinister, but I didn't look into it right away. My initial impression was that it was plausible, based on no research, which I think is key to the whole "chemtrail" topic

Did you notice persistent trails before or after you heard of chemtrails?

Oh yes. My father and I were both "lifers" at Lockheed, so to speak. I have had an interest in planes for at least 35 years. I had no idea that I would soon learn what contrails where being reported as "new" or as "chemtrails," and there were several "plots" to distribute said "chemtrails"

Did your belief ever change? When was that?

I never "believed" per se, although I did feel it was plausible based on no research. That plausibility was erased the first time I saw pictures of these alleged "chemtrails," as I instantly recognized them as contrails.

What happened after the change? Did you drop it, or switch sides in the discussion?

I took a side, which is that "chemtrails" are a hoax. After reading what people think those involved with aviation are doing, I felt I should defend what i did for a living. It is being trashed by the ignorant followers of fear-mongering charlatans.

Also, I was living (as I still am) between Washington and California.

I doubt you would be surprised to hear there are more persistent contrails In Washington, by my account

S&F

I start and stop believe in chemtrails in matter of seconds, it goes like this;
Me: look up to the sky......"what are those things ?" they spraying chemicals all over us" Sht we cannot do anything about it" -sigh- -go on with my life-

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


I have seen lots of pictures and video of chemtrails over New Mexico.

Originally posted by SaveTheWolves
reply to post by Illusionsaregrander

 

I have seen lots of pictures and video of chemtrails over New Mexico.

I have seen lots of pictures and video of contrails over New Mexico.

reply to post by adeclerk


I'm not saying there aren't contrails. You 'contrail only' people seem to think that the ones of us who believe chemtrails exist don't believe contrails exist. I see your implications of that all the time in that you are always telling us about contrails. We know contrails exist. It's like a person who doesn't believe in the existence of elephants...all they do is keep describing cows!

I think I first came across chemtrails through Fortean Times magazine, though not sure when. Pretty sure I was certain from the start it was a hoax (and certainly made no logical sense), even though it wasn't until 2002 that I really got seriously involved in meteorology, as a result of finally entering the world of the internet.

It's only in the last 10 years that I've gotten more concerned about the implications for climate (and other issues) due to our ever increasing obsession with flying and the way contrails are affecting our skies.

For the record, I have not flown since 1984 and do not intend to ever again. I am not culpable. Are you?

Originally posted by SaveTheWolves
reply to post by adeclerk

 

I'm not saying there aren't contrails. You 'contrail only' people seem to think that the ones of us who believe chemtrails exist don't believe contrails exist. I see your implications of that all the time in that you are always telling us about contrails. We know contrails exist. It's like a person who doesn't believe in the existence of elephants...all they do is keep describing cows!

The problem is that I have yet to see a "chemtrail" that doesn't look like an ordinary contrail. Unless you happen to have a photo of a "chemtrail"?

reply to post by adeclerk


You've seen lots of photos and videos...you choose not to believe your own eyes. And you try to take the focus off the elephant and draw attention to the cow.

Originally posted by SaveTheWolves
It's like a person who doesn't believe in the existence of elephants...all they do is keep describing cows!

Well to be honest, they're describing huge big grey animals from Africa with big ears, thin tails, hard rough skin, massive legs, tusks, a 'trumpeting sound' when angered, that live in family units and display a considerable degree of sentience.

You think they're cows. But they sound like elephants to me.

Originally posted by SaveTheWolves
reply to post by adeclerk

 

You've seen lots of photos and videos...you choose not to believe your own eyes. And you try to take the focus off the elephant and draw attention to the cow.

I've also heard of "chemtrails" that fall from the sky and are made up of cobweb like substances. Have yet to have seen a picture of those either. Believers are going to believe, regardless of whether or not there is evidence.