Across the country, anti-geoengineering bills are being proposed in state legislatures. These bills would ban the intentional release of chemicals into the atmosphere for the purpose of affecting sunlight or weather, and could impact future research into stratospheric aerosol injection — or even cloud seeding. But, unlike environmentalists who are advocating against the potential use of geoengineering — large-scale interventions to earth’s climate system — as a solution to global warming, the bills’ proponents think that it’s already happening. Their proof? You can see it in the sky, they say: just look up.“This is happening,” said one woman who testified at a hearing in Arizona. “If you deny this … that is on you.” These people believe in a conspiracy theory that there’s a large-scale chemical spraying program going on, perpetrated in secret by the government (or the elites, or the World Economic Forum, or some other shady cabal). They say you can see this spraying — which they call “geoengineering” — in the sky as “chemtrails,” the white lines behind airplanes. In fact, those lines are condensation trails, or contrails, produced when hot jet engine exhaust reacts with cold air under certain atmospheric conditions. The chemtrails conspiracy theory isn’t new, but it’s gaining influence. A 2017 study found that 30-40% of people surveyed believed that the theory was at least somewhat true, with 10% believing it fully. And as prominent political figures like RFK Jr. endorse this conspiracy theory, it’s breaking into the mainstream.In this bonus episode of “How We Survive,” Amy Scott talks with producer Rachel Kahn about how “geoengineering” has become a buzzword in the conspiracy world, and whether these formerly-fringe beliefs could have real-world consequences.