‘What are we spraying in the sky?’ Spokane councilman explores chemtrail conspiracy

A Spokane city councilman believes that the government might secretly be spraying chemicals in the air at high altitudes.

“By virtue of the fact that it is being openly discussed in certain circles, I think there may be some merit to it,” City Councilman Mike Fagan told The Spokesman-Review’s Kip Hill on Tuesday.

The internet-fueled conspiracy “chemtrail” theory speculates that hazardous chemicals are released by aircraft into the stratosphere — the visible contrails left by jets.

Contrails are nothing more than clouds, numerous scientific authorities agree. They are produced when water vapor condenses and temporarily freezes around particles produced by jet engines.

But don’t tell Fagan that.

“Could it be that the U.S. government, as well as multinational corporations, engage in SRM, or solar radiation management,” Fagan said before his vote. “We already heard a little bit, you know, about, what are we spraying in the sky?”

The Spokesman-Review said Fagan is also skeptical of vaccination science.

Fagan was suspicious of what he characterized as the government’s “denial narrative” on contrails. He compared it to the longstanding government denial that aliens crash landed in 1947 in Roswell, New Mexico.

“I kind of think that the chemtrail issue is in the same category, if you will,” he said. “Whether or not it’s happening, it’s really interesting that the narrative is always denial, denial, denial.”

This story was originally published July 20, 2017 at 5:24 PM with the headline "‘What are we spraying in the sky?’ Spokane councilman explores chemtrail conspiracy."