WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.359 Welcome to Meteorology Matters. We've got some 00:00:02.359 --> 00:00:04.639 really interesting stuff to look at today. It's 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:07.660 kind of this whole mix of laws and atmospheric 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:10.900 science and how we're figuring out what's going 00:00:10.900 --> 00:00:13.800 on up in our skies. Specifically, we're focusing 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.940 on this bill in Alabama, a law passed in Tennessee 00:00:16.940 --> 00:00:20.480 just last year in 2024, and then diving into 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:22.579 how critical thinking plays into some beliefs 00:00:22.579 --> 00:00:24.480 about what's happening in our atmosphere. Yeah, 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:26.679 it's this fascinating blend of policy and people's 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:28.300 perceptions. Our goal today is to understand 00:00:28.300 --> 00:00:31.160 what's driving these developments, the motivations 00:00:31.160 --> 00:00:34.159 and the logic behind them. And we want to do 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:36.000 it without getting bogged down in too much technical 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:38.619 stuff. Right. Exactly. Before we get going, just 00:00:38.619 --> 00:00:40.479 a reminder that if you're interested in more 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:42.719 combos like this, you can follow meteorologist 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:45.880 Rob Jones. He's on Instagram, meteorologist, 00:00:46.100 --> 00:00:49.500 TikTok, TV meteorologist, and on YouTube, subscribe 00:00:49.500 --> 00:00:51.920 to Rob Jones Hurricane. That's also where you'll 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:54.140 find the playlist for this podcast, Meteorology 00:00:54.140 --> 00:00:56.259 Matters. OK, let's jump right in. Let's start 00:00:56.259 --> 00:00:58.640 with what's going on in Alabama. There's a bill 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:00.920 in the Alabama House Economic Development and 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:03.240 Tourism Committee, and it's about something they 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:06.390 call chemical weather control. Okay, so the first 00:01:06.390 --> 00:01:08.349 thing that pops out is how Representative Butler 00:01:08.349 --> 00:01:10.510 is talking about this. It seems like this bill 00:01:10.510 --> 00:01:13.469 comes from a worry about too much federal power. 00:01:13.909 --> 00:01:15.909 Like it's another example of the national government 00:01:15.909 --> 00:01:18.269 forcing its will on Alabama. It kind of gets 00:01:18.269 --> 00:01:20.870 at this larger issue of state versus federal 00:01:20.870 --> 00:01:23.620 authority. Yeah, totally. And the main goal of 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:26.340 this bill is to actually ban any chemical weather 00:01:26.340 --> 00:01:28.980 control activities from happening inside Alabama's 00:01:28.980 --> 00:01:31.700 borders. It's a pretty strong statement. It's 00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:33.659 interesting. The first draft of the bill didn't 00:01:33.659 --> 00:01:36.079 have any punishments for breaking it, but they 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:38.659 recently changed it to make it a Class A misdemeanor. 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:42.459 And that comes with a big $100 ,000 fine. That's 00:01:42.459 --> 00:01:45.000 a big jump in how serious they're taking this. 00:01:45.420 --> 00:01:48.079 Definitely sends a message. that they're serious 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:50.280 about stopping this, at least from Representative 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:52.599 Butler's side. The bill also wants to set up 00:01:52.599 --> 00:01:54.480 a way for people to report if they think someone's 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:56.959 breaking the rules. And they're thinking of making 00:01:56.959 --> 00:01:59.980 an Alabama Air Pollution Control Fund run by 00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:02.239 the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. 00:02:02.519 --> 00:02:03.900 Looks like they're trying to create a whole system 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:06.459 to track and enforce this. But not everyone's 00:02:06.459 --> 00:02:08.960 on board. Representative Witt, he's the committee 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:11.099 chair, seems pretty doubtful that there's a real 00:02:11.099 --> 00:02:13.419 threat here. He's saying they'll make decisions 00:02:13.419 --> 00:02:16.800 based on evidence and facts. And personally, 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:19.300 he doesn't buy the idea that the government's 00:02:19.300 --> 00:02:22.060 in on some big conspiracy to use chemtrails to 00:02:22.060 --> 00:02:24.580 poison people. He even said he's been watching 00:02:24.580 --> 00:02:27.120 airplane contrails his whole life, and to him, 00:02:27.340 --> 00:02:29.699 that's pretty good proof that it's all just normal 00:02:29.699 --> 00:02:32.240 stuff. He makes a really important point about 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:35.460 needing facts to back up any laws. What he's 00:02:35.460 --> 00:02:38.789 seen himself... actually lines up with how scientists 00:02:38.789 --> 00:02:41.330 say contrails form. We'll get into that a bit 00:02:41.330 --> 00:02:42.830 more later. Oh, and he also brought up something 00:02:42.830 --> 00:02:45.210 very practical. How could Alabama actually make 00:02:45.210 --> 00:02:47.870 sure people follow this ban, especially when 00:02:47.870 --> 00:02:49.949 flights start outside the state? That would be 00:02:49.949 --> 00:02:52.360 a really tough thing to do. Now, there's Stephanie 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:54.120 Durnan. She's with Health Freedom Alabama, and 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:56.819 she's all for this bill. She points out that 00:02:56.819 --> 00:02:59.060 more than 20 other states, including Florida, 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:01.780 have thought about making similar laws. And we 00:03:01.780 --> 00:03:04.659 know Tennessee actually passed one. She argues 00:03:04.659 --> 00:03:07.159 that these climate intervention experiments are 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:09.759 a real danger and Alabama shouldn't be a place 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:12.939 where they test these dangerous new geoengineering 00:03:12.939 --> 00:03:15.979 schemes. What she's saying reflects a growing 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:18.419 worry among certain groups about the possible 00:03:18.419 --> 00:03:20.900 risks of messing with the climate on purpose. 00:03:21.080 --> 00:03:24.819 She uses the word geoengineering. And it might 00:03:24.819 --> 00:03:26.879 be good to explain what that means, just briefly. 00:03:27.259 --> 00:03:29.139 It's like an umbrella term for all these ideas 00:03:29.139 --> 00:03:31.219 about technologies that could be used to change 00:03:31.219 --> 00:03:34.680 Earth's client system intentionally. Stratospheric 00:03:34.680 --> 00:03:37.719 aerosol injection, or SAI, is one example that's 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:39.180 gotten a lot of attention. We'll talk more about 00:03:39.180 --> 00:03:41.360 that in a minute. And our source material actually 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:44.360 gives some background here. It mentions a report 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:47.099 from 2023 by the Congressional Research Service. 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:49.840 It's called Solar Geoengineering and Climate 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:52.090 Change. And this report talked about some of 00:03:52.090 --> 00:03:54.129 the ideas they've come up with, like stratospheric 00:03:54.129 --> 00:03:56.150 aerosol injection, which is where they basically 00:03:56.150 --> 00:03:58.229 put particles into the stratosphere to bounce 00:03:58.229 --> 00:04:00.490 sunlight back into space. The big point this 00:04:00.490 --> 00:04:04.150 report makes is that as of May 2023, these were 00:04:04.150 --> 00:04:06.210 mostly just theories. No one had actually done 00:04:06.210 --> 00:04:09.210 any large scale experiments. The report also 00:04:09.210 --> 00:04:11.830 mentions some potential benefits of SAI, like 00:04:11.830 --> 00:04:14.110 maybe it could slow down the rise in global temperatures 00:04:14.110 --> 00:04:16.290 and give countries time to switch from fossil 00:04:16.290 --> 00:04:18.449 fuels. So this is the scientific context for 00:04:18.449 --> 00:04:20.740 all this worry about geoengineering. Exactly. 00:04:21.319 --> 00:04:23.399 But Dernan's worried about the health risks from 00:04:23.399 --> 00:04:26.060 spraying unknown substances, especially because, 00:04:26.220 --> 00:04:28.920 in her words, it's the same people who lecture 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:31.019 us about climate change who are doing it. Seems 00:04:31.019 --> 00:04:33.500 like there's a lot of distrust there. And it's 00:04:33.500 --> 00:04:35.160 interesting how this ties into all these bigger 00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:37.649 conspiracy theories, like... The source material 00:04:37.649 --> 00:04:40.069 mentions how after Hurricane Helene, there were 00:04:40.069 --> 00:04:42.110 all these theories that the government was controlling 00:04:42.110 --> 00:04:44.649 the weather, that they made the storm go a certain 00:04:44.649 --> 00:04:47.129 way. And we even saw how meteorologist James 00:04:47.129 --> 00:04:49.329 Spann said he was getting threats because of 00:04:49.329 --> 00:04:51.610 misinformation about the hurricane. It really 00:04:51.610 --> 00:04:54.050 shows how emotional these conversations can get, 00:04:54.250 --> 00:04:56.029 especially when they're about extreme weather 00:04:56.029 --> 00:04:58.970 events. People naturally want to understand why 00:04:58.970 --> 00:05:01.670 these things happen, and they can create a situation 00:05:01.670 --> 00:05:03.850 where these theories that aren't based on facts 00:05:03.850 --> 00:05:06.800 spread like wildfire. Sometimes it even leads 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:09.360 to experts getting harassed, even though they're 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:11.779 just trying to share real information. Alright, 00:05:11.779 --> 00:05:14.360 so let's move on to the law in Tennessee. We 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:16.420 talked about how they actually passed a law about 00:05:16.420 --> 00:05:18.699 chemicals in the air. While they were debating 00:05:18.699 --> 00:05:21.779 this bill, chemtrails did come up. But the guy 00:05:21.779 --> 00:05:24.740 who introduced the bill, Monty Fritz, mostly 00:05:24.740 --> 00:05:27.279 talked about cloud seeding. Fritz's reasoning 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:29.779 is pretty straightforward. He believes that if 00:05:29.779 --> 00:05:32.060 you put chemicals into the atmosphere on purpose 00:05:32.060 --> 00:05:34.959 to control the weather or the climate, it will 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:37.939 hurt people's health. He's basically being cautious, 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:40.139 worried about unintended consequences. Yeah, 00:05:40.259 --> 00:05:42.519 that's how it seems. But the reaction to this 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:44.779 Tennessee bill from some people was pretty interesting. 00:05:45.420 --> 00:05:47.480 This representative, John Ray Clemens, he's a 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:50.220 Democrat, he proposed a change to the bill as 00:05:50.220 --> 00:05:52.939 a joke. Like he wanted to add in protection for 00:05:52.939 --> 00:05:55.300 fictional creatures like Bigfoot. He was making 00:05:55.300 --> 00:05:57.339 it clear that he didn't think the law was serious 00:05:57.339 --> 00:06:00.220 at all. He even said some lawmakers believe in 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:03.500 QAnon and those vaccine conspiracies. So this 00:06:03.500 --> 00:06:05.379 law kind of fits into a bigger picture of what 00:06:05.379 --> 00:06:08.149 some people believe. That reaction from Representative 00:06:08.149 --> 00:06:10.769 Clemens shows how skeptical some people are about 00:06:10.769 --> 00:06:13.490 these bills, even making fun of them. They just 00:06:13.490 --> 00:06:16.050 don't see any real danger. And what he said about 00:06:16.050 --> 00:06:18.269 people believing other theories that aren't true 00:06:18.269 --> 00:06:20.750 suggests there might be a pattern in how these 00:06:20.750 --> 00:06:23.209 folks think, maybe a shared view of the world. 00:06:23.470 --> 00:06:26.389 And get this, a spokesperson for Representative 00:06:26.389 --> 00:06:29.490 Fritz defended the bill. They said it's meant 00:06:29.490 --> 00:06:32.610 to make sure our air, water and soil are cleaner. 00:06:32.829 --> 00:06:35.069 and that they're just giving people information 00:06:35.069 --> 00:06:38.230 and letting them decide what to believe. It looks 00:06:38.230 --> 00:06:39.970 like there's a big difference in how they see 00:06:39.970 --> 00:06:42.689 the risks. Oh, it's also worth pointing out that 00:06:42.689 --> 00:06:44.629 the people who spoke in favor of this bill in 00:06:44.629 --> 00:06:47.029 Tennessee, some of them came from other states, 00:06:47.350 --> 00:06:49.470 and they've supported similar laws elsewhere. 00:06:49.990 --> 00:06:51.410 It makes you think there's a bigger movement 00:06:51.410 --> 00:06:54.149 here, maybe even organized, about these worries. 00:06:54.269 --> 00:06:56.370 That's important. It shows that this isn't just 00:06:56.370 --> 00:06:59.009 one state being worried. It's more widespread. 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:01.660 People are traveling to support these laws, so 00:07:01.660 --> 00:07:03.639 they must really believe it's a problem that 00:07:03.639 --> 00:07:05.860 needs to be fixed right away. Okay, so now let's 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:08.980 get to the big question. Why are these chemtrail 00:07:08.980 --> 00:07:12.860 conspiracy theories so popular? The source material 00:07:12.860 --> 00:07:15.040 says that people started speculating about this 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:17.740 more when there were more airplanes and contrails 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:20.000 in the sky. Yeah, if you think about it, that 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:22.879 makes sense visually. More people see those white 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:25.600 lines hanging in the sky, so naturally they start 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:27.100 wondering what they are and what they're made 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:29.339 of. And if people don't really understand how 00:07:29.339 --> 00:07:32.000 contrails form, all those lines in the sky become 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:34.550 fuel for theories. Right. And we're seeing a 00:07:34.550 --> 00:07:36.910 comeback of conspiracy theories in general, not 00:07:36.910 --> 00:07:39.329 just chemtrails, but stuff like those vaccine 00:07:39.329 --> 00:07:42.189 theories, too. One source we looked at called 00:07:42.189 --> 00:07:45.970 it being detached from facts and rational analysis. 00:07:46.290 --> 00:07:47.949 That's a pretty strong way to put it. It sounds 00:07:47.949 --> 00:07:50.069 like they think people are losing trust in the 00:07:50.069 --> 00:07:52.589 usual sources of information. Maybe they're looking 00:07:52.589 --> 00:07:55.129 for different explanations, even if those explanations 00:07:55.129 --> 00:07:58.350 are backed up by evidence. That's a perfect situation 00:07:58.350 --> 00:08:00.810 for conspiracy theories to grow. So for anyone 00:08:00.810 --> 00:08:03.069 who might not know, the scientific explanation 00:08:03.069 --> 00:08:06.060 for contrails is pretty simple. It's just water 00:08:06.060 --> 00:08:08.939 vapor from the jet engines. Up in the cold air, 00:08:09.100 --> 00:08:12.040 it condenses and freezes into ice crystals. Exactly. 00:08:12.259 --> 00:08:14.480 Jet engines make water vapor, and it's super 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:17.300 cold up in the atmosphere. So those water molecules 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:19.860 end up condensing around tiny particles in the 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:22.360 exhaust, and they form ice crystals. That's what 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:24.540 we see as contrails. And depending on things 00:08:24.540 --> 00:08:26.620 like the humidity and temperature, they either 00:08:26.620 --> 00:08:29.439 disappear fast or stick around, and can even 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:32.000 spread out to look like those thin, wispy cirrus 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:34.490 clouds. But of course, the chemtrail conspiracy 00:08:34.490 --> 00:08:36.909 theory says it's not just water vapor. They say 00:08:36.909 --> 00:08:38.909 it's chemicals sprayed by the government for 00:08:38.909 --> 00:08:42.309 some secret evil reason. The reasons change all 00:08:42.309 --> 00:08:44.370 the time, from controlling the weather to trying 00:08:44.370 --> 00:08:46.649 to control how many people there are. And if 00:08:46.649 --> 00:08:48.590 you look at the root of it, people who believe 00:08:48.590 --> 00:08:51.029 in the chemtrail theory are often worried about 00:08:51.029 --> 00:08:53.870 real issues, things happening in society and 00:08:53.870 --> 00:08:56.009 with the environment. They don't trust the government. 00:08:56.370 --> 00:08:58.370 They worry about the planet. And sometimes they've 00:08:58.370 --> 00:09:00.330 had health problems that they can't explain. 00:09:01.079 --> 00:09:03.679 All that can make this theory attractive. It 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:05.879 gives them a simple answer for things that seem 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:08.659 complicated and scary. It makes things seem less 00:09:08.659 --> 00:09:11.019 chaotic, you know? Yeah, and like we said, the 00:09:11.019 --> 00:09:13.220 fact that you can actually see contrails really 00:09:13.220 --> 00:09:15.580 makes the theory seem more believable. Someone 00:09:15.580 --> 00:09:18.080 who believes in chemtrails even told researchers, 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:20.740 chemtrails have been the most interesting conspiracy 00:09:20.740 --> 00:09:23.000 because it's right in front of our face and we 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:26.009 still choose to ignore it. really shows how convinced 00:09:26.009 --> 00:09:27.690 they are by what they're seeing. Right, it's 00:09:27.690 --> 00:09:30.090 like they think the evidence is obvious and anyone 00:09:30.090 --> 00:09:32.929 who disagrees is just choosing not to see the 00:09:32.929 --> 00:09:35.710 truth. That can lead to a really strong feeling 00:09:35.710 --> 00:09:38.470 of certainty among believers. And within these 00:09:38.470 --> 00:09:40.649 groups of believers, they all agree with each 00:09:40.649 --> 00:09:43.590 other so much that it overrides any scientific 00:09:43.590 --> 00:09:46.809 evidence that contradicts them. It's super hard 00:09:46.809 --> 00:09:49.429 to change their minds with facts once those beliefs 00:09:49.429 --> 00:09:51.710 are so ingrained. That's why these theories are 00:09:51.710 --> 00:09:54.470 so hard to debunk. When everyone around you believes 00:09:54.470 --> 00:09:57.169 the same thing, it validates your own beliefs 00:09:57.169 --> 00:10:00.250 and makes you feel like you belong. It's a powerful 00:10:00.250 --> 00:10:03.029 force that often outweighs any outside information 00:10:03.029 --> 00:10:05.929 even if it's scientifically accurate. One of 00:10:05.929 --> 00:10:07.830 the things we read said that critical thinking 00:10:07.830 --> 00:10:09.710 skills are actually more important than just 00:10:09.710 --> 00:10:11.549 being smart when it comes to figuring out if 00:10:11.549 --> 00:10:13.529 these conspiracy theories are true. That makes 00:10:13.529 --> 00:10:15.409 a lot of sense. Sure, intelligence helps you 00:10:15.409 --> 00:10:17.610 process information, but critical thinking is 00:10:17.610 --> 00:10:20.490 more about using reasoning skills, questioning 00:10:20.490 --> 00:10:22.769 what you hear, looking for proof, and having 00:10:22.769 --> 00:10:25.210 some knowledge about the topic. If you're lacking 00:10:25.210 --> 00:10:27.590 in any of those areas, you're more likely to 00:10:27.590 --> 00:10:29.909 believe things that aren't true, no matter how 00:10:29.909 --> 00:10:32.480 smart you are. Exactly. And the research shows 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:34.700 that people who don't buy into these theories 00:10:34.700 --> 00:10:37.620 are usually better at critical thinking. They 00:10:37.620 --> 00:10:40.200 understand science better, and they're more likely 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:42.600 to think critically, to be skeptical, and look 00:10:42.600 --> 00:10:44.840 at things rationally. And on the other hand, 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:47.419 the people who do believe these theories are 00:10:47.419 --> 00:10:50.200 often more cynical. They go with their gut feeling 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:53.159 more than anything. It fits with what psychologists 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:55.279 say about how we think. We've got two ways of 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:57.700 thinking. One's more analytical and careful. 00:10:58.019 --> 00:11:01.220 The other is more intuitive and emotional. conspiracy 00:11:01.220 --> 00:11:03.299 theories seem to appeal to that second way of 00:11:03.299 --> 00:11:05.480 thinking, the one that's driven by emotions. 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:07.980 And of course the Internet's a huge factor here. 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:10.600 It's this massive platform for all kinds of media 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:12.860 and it creates communities where these chemtrail 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:15.659 beliefs and worldviews are totally accepted and 00:11:15.659 --> 00:11:18.480 encouraged. The Internet's a strange place and 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:20.059 it can actually make it harder to figure out 00:11:20.059 --> 00:11:22.500 what's true. There's just so much information 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:25.779 and it's hard to know what's reliable. Plus, 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:28.179 you have these online communities that all interpret 00:11:28.179 --> 00:11:30.799 things in the same way. So it becomes tough to 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:33.679 separate real information from misinformation. 00:11:35.059 --> 00:11:37.100 People can get trapped in these belief systems 00:11:37.100 --> 00:11:39.639 without even realizing it. And the research even 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:41.960 suggests that conspiracy theories can be a way 00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:43.659 for people to show they're unhappy with those 00:11:43.659 --> 00:11:46.220 in power, find a community of people who think 00:11:46.220 --> 00:11:48.779 like they do, and even be entertained by trying 00:11:48.779 --> 00:11:51.500 to uncover what they believe is the truth. Yeah, 00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:53.840 those are real needs that conspiracy theories 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:56.090 can fulfill. It makes people feel like they have 00:11:56.090 --> 00:11:58.370 some control in a world that feels overwhelming, 00:11:58.549 --> 00:12:00.769 like they belong to a group. And it gives them 00:12:00.769 --> 00:12:03.309 a story that explains why confusing or scary 00:12:03.309 --> 00:12:05.830 things happen. But here's the problem. Just giving 00:12:05.830 --> 00:12:08.590 people the facts to debunk a theory doesn't usually 00:12:08.590 --> 00:12:11.129 work. That's mostly because the way they see 00:12:11.129 --> 00:12:12.970 the world, their online friends, and how they 00:12:12.970 --> 00:12:15.250 use the internet, it all stops them from even 00:12:15.250 --> 00:12:17.549 seeing the evidence that proves them wrong. Or 00:12:17.549 --> 00:12:19.590 they twist it to fit what they already believe. 00:12:19.870 --> 00:12:22.870 It's called confirmation bias. people naturally 00:12:22.870 --> 00:12:24.789 look for information that supports what they 00:12:24.789 --> 00:12:27.789 already believe. And in online echo chambers, 00:12:28.250 --> 00:12:29.990 that's even worse because everyone's sharing 00:12:29.990 --> 00:12:32.590 the same ideas, so it's almost impossible for 00:12:32.590 --> 00:12:34.850 real evidence to get through. And it's not uncommon 00:12:34.850 --> 00:12:37.450 for people to believe in lots of conspiracy theories, 00:12:37.809 --> 00:12:39.830 and the theories often connect with each other. 00:12:40.070 --> 00:12:42.629 A classic example is how people link chemtrails 00:12:42.629 --> 00:12:45.929 to HARP, the High Frequency Active or Rural Research 00:12:45.929 --> 00:12:49.110 Program. Some people think HARP is part of a 00:12:49.110 --> 00:12:51.190 government plot to control the weather, too. 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:54.100 And when these series all connect, it makes the 00:12:54.100 --> 00:12:57.269 whole conspiratorial worldview stronger. If someone 00:12:57.269 --> 00:12:59.929 believes one conspiracy, they're more likely 00:12:59.929 --> 00:13:02.649 to believe others that are based on similar ideas 00:13:02.649 --> 00:13:05.450 about secret agendas and powerful people you 00:13:05.450 --> 00:13:08.269 can't trust. A lot of this comes from not trusting 00:13:08.269 --> 00:13:10.230 authority figures, whether it's the government 00:13:10.230 --> 00:13:12.370 or the mainstream media. This often comes from 00:13:12.370 --> 00:13:14.690 bad experiences or a feeling that everyone's 00:13:14.690 --> 00:13:17.230 corrupt. So they go to social media to get their 00:13:17.230 --> 00:13:19.669 news because they see it as an alternative to 00:13:19.669 --> 00:13:21.789 the mainstream narrative that they think is being 00:13:21.789 --> 00:13:25.029 controlled. That lack of trust makes it really 00:13:25.029 --> 00:13:27.519 hard for them to accept official explanations 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:30.679 or what scientists agree on. Social media gives 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:32.659 them a different source of information, where 00:13:32.659 --> 00:13:34.580 they feel like they're in control of what they 00:13:34.580 --> 00:13:36.940 see and who they trust. They tend to go for sources 00:13:36.940 --> 00:13:39.309 that agree with their skepticism. And certain 00:13:39.309 --> 00:13:42.129 types of media, like documents that look official, 00:13:42.470 --> 00:13:44.750 pictures and videos, are really convincing to 00:13:44.750 --> 00:13:47.029 believers, even if they're taken out of context 00:13:47.029 --> 00:13:50.330 or just wrong. And this stuff gets shared over 00:13:50.330 --> 00:13:52.350 and over on different platforms and in online 00:13:52.350 --> 00:13:54.669 groups, creating those echo chambers we talked 00:13:54.669 --> 00:13:56.769 about. And when you see the same information 00:13:56.769 --> 00:13:59.210 repeated so many times, it starts to feel like 00:13:59.210 --> 00:14:01.710 there's a ton of evidence, even if the original 00:14:01.710 --> 00:14:04.529 source isn't reliable or is being presented in 00:14:04.529 --> 00:14:08.019 a misleading way. Images and videos are especially 00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:10.120 powerful because they have such a strong visual 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:12.919 impact. People often react to them emotionally 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:15.179 without stopping to analyze the information. 00:14:15.539 --> 00:14:18.279 Research shows that figuring out why people believe 00:14:18.279 --> 00:14:20.480 in these conspiracy theories is really about 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:22.399 understanding how they interact with each other. 00:14:23.379 --> 00:14:25.419 These online communities are super important 00:14:25.419 --> 00:14:27.500 for shaping how they make sense of the world. 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:30.200 And when someone stops believing in a theory, 00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:32.480 it's usually because their whole worldview changes, 00:14:33.019 --> 00:14:35.379 someone manages to debunk it in a way that really 00:14:35.379 --> 00:14:37.460 addresses their worries, or maybe they just stop 00:14:37.460 --> 00:14:39.759 getting as much out of those online interactions. 00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:42.210 It's not just about presenting the facts. It's 00:14:42.210 --> 00:14:44.570 about building trust, understanding why they 00:14:44.570 --> 00:14:47.649 believe what they do, and having respectful conversations 00:14:47.649 --> 00:14:50.830 outside of those echo chambers where their beliefs 00:14:50.830 --> 00:14:53.149 are constantly being reinforced. So as you can 00:14:53.149 --> 00:14:55.289 see, all this stuff about weather modification, 00:14:55.590 --> 00:14:58.269 chem trails, and laws being made in places like 00:14:58.269 --> 00:15:01.009 Alabama and Tennessee, it's all tied together 00:15:01.009 --> 00:15:04.669 with science, politics, and how we take in information 00:15:04.669 --> 00:15:06.929 and form our beliefs. It's a perfect example 00:15:06.929 --> 00:15:09.029 of how scientific knowledge, personal beliefs, 00:15:09.049 --> 00:15:11.820 and the government all interact. It's interesting 00:15:11.820 --> 00:15:13.279 how the government's trying to deal with these 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:15.480 concerns, even when they're based on theories 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:17.860 that don't have any scientific backing. So what 00:15:17.860 --> 00:15:19.500 do you think is the most important thing we've 00:15:19.500 --> 00:15:22.000 learned today? What do you make of this connection 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:25.419 between science, people's beliefs, and the laws 00:15:25.419 --> 00:15:28.980 being made? What really strikes me is how strong 00:15:28.980 --> 00:15:30.919 these beliefs are, even though scientists have 00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:33.500 proven them wrong, and how the internet, with 00:15:33.500 --> 00:15:36.080 all its social aspects and technology, makes 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:39.080 these beliefs even stronger. It shows how important 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:41.740 it is to teach people to think critically and 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:43.860 how tough it is to get them to believe things 00:15:43.860 --> 00:15:46.799 that are actually true in a world full of so 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:49.600 much information, some of it reliable and some 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:52.200 of it not. It definitely makes you wonder, how 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:54.200 can we get people to look at information more 00:15:54.200 --> 00:15:56.379 critically while still respecting their opinions 00:15:56.379 --> 00:15:58.820 and sticking to the facts? That's a tough one. 00:15:59.100 --> 00:16:00.919 Yeah, it's definitely a tough problem and there's 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:03.759 no easy solution. We probably need to try a few 00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:06.059 different things. help people understand how 00:16:06.059 --> 00:16:08.759 to evaluate what they see in the media, encourage 00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:11.019 open and respectful conversations where people 00:16:11.019 --> 00:16:12.779 with different viewpoints can listen to each 00:16:12.779 --> 00:16:15.679 other, and build trust and reliable sources of 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:18.159 information by focusing on shared values and 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:20.299 understanding. Well, thanks for joining us today 00:16:20.299 --> 00:16:22.799 on Meteorology Matters for this deep dive into 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:25.679 a pretty complex topic. If this has piqued your 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:27.600 interest and you want to learn more, we encourage 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:29.179 you to check out the sources we talked about 00:16:29.179 --> 00:16:31.220 today and keep working on those critical thinking 00:16:31.220 --> 00:16:33.700 skills. And for more thought -provoking discussions, 00:16:33.879 --> 00:16:36.039 don't forget to follow meteorologist Rob Jones. 00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:39.659 He's on Instagram, Meteorologist, TikTok, TV 00:16:39.659 --> 00:16:42.519 Meteorologist, and on YouTube, you can subscribe 00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:45.139 to Rob Jones Hurricane. That's also where you'll 00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:47.639 find the playlist for this podcast, Meteorology 00:16:47.639 --> 00:16:49.840 Matters. We'll see you next time as we continue 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:51.879 to explore the fascinating world of science.