 |
| A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737 leaves vapor contrails after flying through low-altitude clouds.
(TENGKU BAHAR/AFP/Getty Images file) |
By BY LON WAGNER
The Virginian-Pilot
HAMPTON - The conspiracy, those wise to it suspect, was hatched by the government. Probably in a building like those at NASA Langley Research Center, down a predictably nondescript hallway, by a scientist eyeing the world's atmosphere through powerful satellites.
Pat Minnis sat at his desk last week, his eyes skittering after the cursor on a huge-panel computer screen. He zoomed in on a recent day, at a certain time, then clicked to a different satellite angle to look at the clouds.
 Pat Minnis |
Minnis looks like a regular guy, from his subtle-yet-snazzy blue sweater down to his Rockport slip-ons. His silvery hair is cut short and stylish and is thick enough to hold his reading glasses when he glances up.
He doesn't look like someone who would help poison the population, like someone who would turn blue skies gray, or like someone involved in the cover up.
But that's what some people think.
Minnis is a senior research scientist at Langley, where he studies the atmosphere. His satellite tracking, analysis and explorations over the past 15 years have made him a top expert in cirrus clouds and contrails, the wispy lines formed in the sky by aircraft exhaust.
Therein, often to Minnis' amusement, lie the seeds of conspiracy. Some people look at contrails and instead see "chemtrails," telltale marks of something suspicious.
" There are tanker planes leaving airline terminals all over this country every day," one person wrote to counter Minnis' explanation that contrails are frozen water vapor. "They are loaded with chemicals, which they spray in the skies over heavily populated areas."
"Why do some planes fly by and the contrails disappear while others leave those long contrails that expand and stay?" another wondered. "The strange thing if you watch closely is that it's the same planes making what looks to be some kind of grid."
At 9 tonight, the Discovery Channel will explore the conspiracy theory behind "chemical contrails," and they interviewed Minnis to shoot it full of holes. He's slightly anxious about the show and, because of that, watched a similar special about radioactive fallout from bomb tests in the 1950s.
"It looked like they treated the scientists pretty straight," he said. "They came on to me like you're going to be believable, but who knows."
Minnis and NASA study contrails for the same reasons they study the clouds and the weather: NASA flies things, and if something affects the skies, they need to know how.
During the course of his research, Minnis and associates have discovered that airplane contrails - the non poisonous variety - actually create cirrus clouds on days they wouldn't usually exist. Because of this, he calculates that cirrus-cloud cover over the United States is increasing by 1 percent each decade.
Minnis spun around in his chair. "That's one of the things we found out from the 9/11 experience, After 9/11, there were not planes, and the astronauts on the space station noticed, 'We don't see any contrails over the United States. That's really strange.' "
Minnis clicked around his Web site, showing satellite shots of chalky white slashes blanketing the sky, covering in one shot the entire state of Kansas. What happens, he explained, is that when the airplane exhaust injects water into the already cold, moist atmosphere, ice crystals form and then grow.
"Here's another one," Minnis said, turning back to his computer. "This is over the East Coast. You can see there are just hundreds and hundreds of these things."
Such an explanation - that contrails are innocently formed by commercial planes - is enough to rile "the chemtrailers," as Minnis calls them. But some of the experiments he's been behind? Those are like smacking a hornet's nest with a stick.
One interesting thing Minnis has learned about contrails is that, on some days, they stay in the sky for a long time, wind comes through and swirls them, and they turn into what look like regular cirrus clouds.
With the skies so full of contrails, it can be hard to see how long they last or how far they move. So the government found a way to do some checking. Imagine what the chemtrailers thought the day they flew a DC-8 off the coast of Northern California, in perfectly clear air, and went round and round over the same area to make a racetrack pattern for Minnis and others to watch.
They tracked the massive oval as it passed over Northern California, floated over the Sierra Nevada mountain range and disappeared. Another time, a plane nicknamed the NASA Vomit Comet made a figure-8 in the sky off the Texas coast.
Minnis tracked the contrail for 14 hours as it oozed over the Gulf of Mexico, then across Florida, before it turned into an amorphous blob.
"Again," he said, "if you had been sitting in a fishing boat down in the Gulf, you would have just thought this thing was a cirrus cloud."
Unless you were a chemtrailer - then you would be even more sure that something was up. For the record, even though the government has planes and the government can make clouds, "There is no real truth to weather modification," Minnis said. "That is not going on now. What we're able to do now is inadvertent."
Minnis knows this is tantalizing stuff to some, and he grinned.
A direct question, from the chemtrailers: Is it true that contrails are really part of a soft-kill weapon program in which the government is spraying chemicals on its own people?
Minnis looked up. His mouth curled into a smile.
"Not that I know of," he said.
He paused.
"No comment,"
He laughed.
• Reach Lon Wagner at (757) 446-2341 or lon.wagner@pilotonline.com.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
Are Conspiracies Theories Being Intentionally Discredited?
This is obviously a silly story making fun of 'conspiracy' theories. The question in my mind is -- Why did the government sources report this to the press as a story at all? Perhaps it is an effort to induce the public not to take conspiracy theories seriously. With a large portion of US Citizens not believing the official government story on 9/11, would the government be trying to discredit 'non-official theories?
Jet Fuel Rises
Jet fuel jettisoned by commercial airliners to reduce landing weight or fuel vented by military aircraft becomes vapor- which evaporates- and does not reach the ground.
Venting fuel
Venting fuel is standard procedure for all kinds of aircraft, including civilian airliners. If you have a window seat, you can see them do it sometimes.
Abuse of the environment? Maybe, it depends on if it is being added faster than nature can process it.
Not all pollution has a net effect. In fact, it is often pollution that appears to be minimal which is the real danger. Note: No, I don't like being sprayed with kerosene, I'm just point out that it really might not be harmful, or at least not as bad as some think. Also consider that if it really does prevent aircraft detonation, maybe it is a necessary evil.
Contrails
Joel M. Venting fuel is to reduce weight not prevent explosion solely. Actually an empty fuel cell is more likely to explode do to fumes then liquid fuel. What you see coming from the wing tips are contrails being formed around where the air-to-air missiles are hung. "Conspiracy" I think not its just the way things move in the air, maybe you should research things before you post! When you gas up your car you let out more fumes from your tank then what you say is happening. Now I'm not saying that fuel dumping doesn't happen, it does but above 6K feet at the lowest! My back round air traffic controller for over 20 years and simply watching and reading about just about everything I can get my hands on concerning Aircraft and how they fly. Pleas, before you post again leave your Conspiracy Club Card at the home page and check your facts!!!
Contrails = Chemicals and Shadows...
While the chemical effects of jet contrails may be uncertain, the contrails definitely contribute to a little-known yet significant phenomenon called Global Dimming. In April 2006 PBS aired a NOVA episode "Dimming the Sun" with powerfully compelling data over several decades analyzed by highly-regarded scientists including James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute and dozens of others. The program profiled results of contrail data following 9/11, some of which NASA Langley's Pat Minnis noted in this article. The article did not mention how these added man-made clouds block solar rays, contributing to the dimming effect. This, in turn, masks the effects of Global Warming, minimizing the urgency with which humans need to take immediate critical steps to halt the detrimental damage to the atmosphere. It would be interesting to know Pat Minnis' take on the work of James Hansen, since they both work for NASA, as well as his thoughts on contrails contributing to the dimming.
Chemtrails are real.
I'm an avid sky watcher and within the last 10 years I've been seeing very unusual contrails being produced by airplanes. These unusual contrails appear to be very thick and last for hours. They often fan out over a long period of time and can eventually turn a sunny day into a cloudy day. This to me is a recent phenomenon. About 10 years ago, contrails would fade away quickly. Now they linger for hours. We need to wake up and start paying attention to the skies. Something is going on.
Chemtrailers "Conspiracy Theory"
Oh please! Yes, the government is really poisioning it's own people as a test! Yeah, sure! Yes, I know, the chemtrailers will continue to believe what they want, regardless of what is said, done, published or otherwise stated. They apparently like the attention they get from coming up with conspiracy theories. Sorry, I don't believe in conspiracy theories, especially when it comes to contrails in the sky. I am speaking of course, with tounge in cheek. Still, come on...conspiracy?
settle down
For those who think jets dumping their fuel pose an environmental threat, I say settle down. Barring an emergency situation, it is procedure for aircraft to dump their fuel at such an altitude that it will have been diffused to nothing by the time it has the chance to reach the ground. As far as "chemtrails"; in my opinion that's right up there with the Apollo landing being shot in a basement.
are you trying to add to the hysteria?
Venting fuel tanks just limits the risk of an explosion, by allowing vapors to be released, which reduces pressure inside the tank, which isn't anything different than the standard valves on any vessel that carries fuel. Vapors are also in you gas can in your garage.
Negative, Ghostrider
Your information on the venting of fuel into the airspace around Oceana is patently un-informed. If that were the case, VA Beach would smell like JP8 and not the more common aromas associated with the Waste Management depot of I-264.
"Venting" fuel tanks, as you put it, is used in only extreme situations in which it is known that an airplane will crash, and not land safely on all its tires. Mixing vaporized JP8 and atmospheric oxygen creates what is commonly known as a Fuel/Air Explosive (FAE) and is far more dangerous than landing with gas on board the aircraft...especially to VB denizens. In any case, your conspiracy theory, along with the chemtrail one, show just how uninformed the public-at-large can be.
Contrails-Conspiracy-gobal warming-weather manipulation..
When is air traffic going to be looked at as being part of the ongoing 'global warming' problem? Maybe there isn't active chemicals being added but what is falling down on us from the chemicals in jet fuel? Too, article says weather modification is not going on now and that is an untrue statement. see Exerpt from article by William R. Cotton, Colorado State University, Deptartment of Atmospheric Science, Fort Collins, CO 80523 "...Overall there is little hard scientific evidence that anthropogenic activity, either advertently or inadvertently, is causing significant changes in weather and climate, particularly on the global scale. This is certainly true with respect to cloud seeding where there are only a few limited examples of where cloud seeding has been scientifically shown to be effective in enhancing rainfall. Nonetheless, there are many nations which are currently running operational cloud seeding projects...."
Fuel dumping....
sometimes occurs prior to a carrier landing to reduce an aircraft's gross weight. The ship and the aircraft are designed for a certain load. If the aircraft is too heavy (has too much fuel onboard), then things could break (arresting gear, hook, etc). Fuel dumping does not occur prior to a routine shore-based landing (what you see around Oceana on a daily basis). You're seeing contrails from the wingtips of the F-18s (notice that they're more common on humid days). You aren't seeing fuel (the F-18 does not dump fuel from its wings).
Conspiracy?
I think some people out there are paranoid beyond belief.
Healthy suspicion is well placed
I think the "chem trail" conspiracy theory is misplaced, however, as citizens it is our duty to be watchdogs of our government along with the "fourth estate" (the press). Laugh all you want at the conspiracy theorists but don't be too quick to dismiss a government's activities where the right hand often doesn't know what the left hand is doing. Any roofer will tell you that roofs around Oceana deteriorate faster due to jet fuel spray. As for conspiracies, one need look no farther than the public record: Blacks known to have VD that were deliberately left untreated, our own state's compulsory sterilization program for the mentally ill under Western State's Joseph DeJarnette's eugenics program. Poisoning? How about the CIA's Dr. Sidney Gottlieb who dosed hundreds of unsuspecting people with LSD under the CIA's MK-ULTRA program, leading at least one subject, (germ researcher Frank Olsen), to a drug induced suicide jump from a 13 story window in 1953. Think it can't happen today? Wake up!
What?!
Again, ths is not news! The newspaper must really be struggling if they printed it and gave it any validity. Secondly, why do you give these nut jobs the time of day? It is water vapor. These nut jobs that think it is something more need to find something more constructive to do with their lives.
Global Cooling...
Where are all the whackos that are so sure that we are causing global warming on this one?? Wouldn't the presence of clouds help to keep the heat of the sun out and reflect it back into space??? That would help to make our temps cooler. But at the same time the presence of clouds acts as a blanket and keep us warmer at night, so I guess it balances out..
Where do they get their bogus information from?? Are you talking of the contrails that you see off of the wingtips of the F18's when they are coming in for a landing?? The contrails look similar to the ones in the picture in the article and are due to air pressure dropping the temp. of the air forming clouds.
As for "dumping fuel" the FAA regulations state that it can only be done above certain altitudes. Jet fuel evaporates quickly and will evaporate before hitting the ground from the altitudes, and it is only done in emergency situations, such as an emergency landing in which the aircraft will be too heavy to land.
Contrails vs Fuel?
Hate to burst the conspiracy bubble here, but the picture above in fact shows contrails. The fuel tank vents on the 737 are further out on the wings, at least four feet beyond the flaps (which is where the contrails are coming from in the picture). To further burst the bubble, I've flown commercially well over 150,000 miles last year, and have seen such contrails on take-offs, ascents/descents, and landings. Why would they vent fuel during take-offs? Makes no sense, and if doesn't make sense, then it isn't true. Further proof that contrails are simply atmospheric disturbances: I recall seeing more than one picture of contrails from a glider which carries no fuel.
Thank you, Photoshop!!!
Just look....nice SHARPLY defined contrails from a plane moving at least 200+ mph.
This is nuts!
Looks like some people have way too much time on their hands! This is news??
They really are contrails
They really are contrails, dude. Look at the picture. They are coming off the flaps. The fuel sump tanks are in the tips of the wings. If it was streaming fuel, it would come from the wing tips. Where did you find the carrier SOP about venting fuel tanks? I missed that when I was flying the aircraft.
Contrails are one thing.......
Venting fuel tanks is another. When planes land on carriers it is SOP to vent their fuel tanks to the air to lessen the chance of explosion upon landing. You can see the venting for yourself from the jets at Oceana. Those are not contrails as pictured in the article. This is draining jet fuel into the air around Virginia Beach and the surrounding area. Look for yourself, they don't hide it, they just deny it. Health hazard??? That would pretty much be a given. Conspiracy?? No, just a blatant abuse of the environment.