Tuesday’s hearing showcased the messiness of what happens when conspiracy theories collide with a federal government that has proven especially willing to entertain them. “They kinda threw [different ideas] under this umbrella of weather modification” at the hearing, says Andrew Dessler, a professor of atmospheric science at Texas A&M University. Solar radiation modification, also referred to as solar geoengineering, has never been deployed on a large scale. Over the summer she introduced the legislation that accompanied this week’s hearing, after conspiracy theories began circulating online that the floods in Texas in July were man-made. Following the floods, the EPA released an online resource on geoengineering and weather modification, in the name, the agency said, of “total transparency.” (The resource features an explainer on different types of weather modification and US government involvement, including an FAQ.)