Jaci Dawn

You know how sometimes you get into a conversation with someone and they state a “fact” that leaves you scratching your head? And, worse, when you point out their error, they cite some random television program they “learned” that “fact” from? And they’re over the age of 50?

Yeah. I had one of those conversations today.

It started with this brilliant pick sunrise this morning. The “Red sky at morning/Sailor take warning” kind of sunrise. The sun’s rays refracted over the Cascade Mountains and refracted against the low cloud front that was passing through. It was beautiful.

I mentioned it to a coworker. And her reply was nothing of the awe or beauty of the moment, but was simply, “It’s too bad we have so much pollution in our air.”

I had to think: was she talking about the same subject as I was? Pink sunrise, fluffy clouds, refracted light in the atmosphere? A sunrise similar to ones they had thousands of years before air pollution? The kind of sunrise sailors learned to forecast the weather from?

“Um, pollution doesn’t really have anything to do with the sunrise,” I said, confused.

“Oh, yes it does. It makes the sky red.”

OK: smoke from forest fires can make the sun and moon appear red. A smog inversion can create added color to an already vivid sunrise or sunset. But smog is not the cause of pink sunrises or pink sunsets.

She saw it on some television show. No doubt, they explained the whole cause and effect but the show had a slant: air pollution. Therefore, brilliant sunrises and sunsets are the direct result of air pollution.

Even when there’s a front moving through and the sunlight refracts off of the moisture barrier of the clouds. This article from NOAA explains the phenomenon the best. While pollution can play a role, it is most certainly not the cause of a colorful sunrise or sunset. The cause is the angle of the light, the reflection from the clouds, and what color in the prism becomes visible to the human eye (that is to say, what color is reflected off of the cloud and not absorbed).

I walked away from the conversation. I just couldn’t deal with it. But I got to thinking about it on my drive home and I came to the realization that my misinformed friend would love the Rainbow Conspiracy Woman. And I knew that I would have to repost this video.

I wonder if the Rainbow Conspiracy Lady ever watched a beautiful sunrise or sunset and got to thinking about the pollution conspiracy behind those events…??