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Clear skies ahead? Tennessee governor signs ‘chemtrails’ ban into law
(Credit: Getty Images)
Republican Gov. Bill Lee has quietly signed a bill into law that sponsors say will prohibit the deployment of “chemtrails” over Tennessee.
Officially, the measure sponsored by Rep. Monty Fritts, R-Kingston, and Sen. Steve Southerland, R-Morrison, is targeted at banning “geoengineering experiments by intentionally dispersing chemicals into the atmosphere.” But sponsors privately said the bill is aimed at stopping chemtrails, a popular conspiracy theory that alleges the government is using aircraft to spray chemicals into the atmosphere for the purpose of mind control.
Opponents of the proposal said it would ban legitimate practices like cloud seeding. Critics also questioned whether the state has any authority about what happens in the atmosphere.
Supporters cited a congressionally mandated White House report released last year about solar geoengineering as evidence that movements were afoot to control the climate. But the study stressed there are “no plans underway to establish a comprehensive research program focused on solar radiation modification.”
The Tennessee law states: “The intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight is prohibited.”
The measure cleared the Senate 25-6 and the House followed suit 70-22.
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