News Journal Wingnut Letter Of The Year Nominee
This letter (which takes Mike Castle to task) is a clarion call for a return to science education in public schools:
Congressman Michael Castle suggested ways Congress can address high gas prices. Nowhere in his op-ed article Monday was there any mention of drilling for our own oil.
He referred to the “finite supply of oil in the world.” There is no scientific basis for alleging that Earth has a finite supply of oil. There was a recent discovery in Brazil, described as perhaps bigger than what has become available through OPEC. There has been some evidence that wells that were considered depleted are now filling again.
As for Castle’s reference to renewable energy production and alternative energy research and development, we already have an established alternative – nuclear power. Countries all over the world are building or planning to build nuclear power plants. This is also being held up by the U.S. Congress.
Louis H. Rombach, Wilmington
I’m speechless.
OMG…do these vast resevoirs of crude just magically fill up when the invisible meter gets close to ‘E’? I think ol’ Louis has eaten too many Lucky Charms and Lucky Leprochan (sp?) will make oil magically appear in exchange for his lucky charms.
I’m still wanting to see hydrogen for cars.
There is no scientific basis for alleging that Earth has a finite supply of oil.
…I’m trying to comment, but I’m still speechless.
I’m telling you, the dude thinks he has Lucky Leprochan by the balls with his lucky charms. The ransom is the magical filling of the draining caverns of crude. Lucky will make sure it’s infinite!
Actually, I can see his point. If there’s enough oil to keep my monster SUV in $2/gallon gas for the rest of my life, I consider that an ‘infinite’ supply.
Actually, guys, what the letter writer seems to have heard–if only perhaps at second hand–is a theory advanced by Thomas Gold, a well-respected scientist in his 1999 book The Deep Hot Biosphere.
Gold is not a member of the aluminum hat brigade, and his book has gotten strong reviews in refereed scientific journals; for one example, see
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/print/2487
I am not necessarily signing on to Gold’s thesis about the continued upward movement of new oil as a result of organic decay deep within the crust of the Earth, but several major geological institutes here and in Europe have taken him seriously enough to design research plans around it.
Of course, it still ain’t going to fill up anybody’s SUV anytime soon.
RSmitty: We have hydrogen for cars now. Go to any gas station and you’ll find it. It’s just stabilized with carbon (C8H18)
Sure there’s an infinite supply of oil, just as long as those dinosaurs keep dying. Whats that? Jurassic Park was fiction? Oh crap.
Still, that doesn’t mean Castle is any dumber than Chuck Shumer, who refuses to see that the solution to a shortage is more production.
What do you think about his comment concerning nuclear power?
C8H18, nice 🙂
Nukes are the long term option for serious power production. In the mean time we should pursue whatever green tech that looks feasible. Tidal power from the Rehoboth Bay? Sure. (Does anyone know if DNREC is already doing this?)Wind farms offshore? Sure.
“Nukes are the long term option for serious power production.”
No they’re not. Uranium is just as finite as oil, and even more sensitive to market fluctuations. The two “softest” technologies, in terms of lacking byproducts we don’t want, are wind and solar. They’re not the “cheapest,” but then fossil and nuclear sources don’t count the expense of getting rid of byproducts in their costs. In the case of fossil, they don’t even bother — they just pump it into the atmosphere, which they don’t own.
I think Mr. Rombach is now getting his science knowledge from Fox News.
Leave it to Castle bound at the hip to George War Bush (who is also pushing nuclear power), nothing about wind or solar or bio fuels, nothing about ending ethanol.
While the oilmen sitting in the white house whose buddies have made billions off oil…the major uses/abuser of depleting the oil supply is the war in Iraq/Afganistan…the real conspiracy is to convince all those who want a clean environment and no drilling in Anwar or on federal lands, to submit to these oilmen who will not lower the price of oil…but keep our country dependent on it. The right wing hate environmentalists and some right wingers go so far as to call them “environmental terrorists”, now I ask you who are the real terrorists….those who gave us “shock and awe” on a soverign nation based on lies and deceit. Get ready folks they are preparing another pre emptive strike on Iran…any day now…and another aircraft carrier just arrived in the Gulf….we wont be thinking about gas/oil prices when they bomb Iran…we will be thinking how we are going to keep our kids safe from being drafted. Remember it was a democrat Charlie Rangel who is pushing for a draft….war without end. Amen.
“Actually, guys, what the letter writer seems to have heard–if only perhaps at second hand–is a theory advanced by Thomas Gold, a well-respected scientist in his 1999 book The Deep Hot Biosphere.”
Does Mr. Gold have a complimentary theory about a ventilator shaft floating in the atmosphere that will send the excess Co2 into outer space from this infinite supply of crude we can burn?
I doubt that this letter writer has any knowledge of Gold’s work, but if Gold is right (and that is quite the stretch right now) whoever can get to the earth’s mantle to extract these hydrocarbons may have him or herself a twofer to include very deep carbon sequestration too.
Dana,
Nice snark.
But it would help if people actually read the book, scanned the references, and read the generally positive reviews that Dr. Gold has gotten in the scientific community. Discover Magazine two years ago listed his as one of the ten most significant scientific ideas of the decade.
Gold’s thesis has so far resisted every attempt to falsify it.
Nor, Cassandra, does Gold claim these newly generated hydrocarbon deposits remain in the Earth’s mantle. He documents evidence for a fairly constant upflow into the outer crust.
You’re probably right that the letter writer doesn’t have any real knowledge of Dr. Gold’s work, but I find it truly interesting that you can decide “that is quite a stretch right now” without having examined any of the evidence.
Steve, I think you misread Cassandra. Her point was that not only could these deposits be exploited to take carbon out of the mantle, but the resulting void in the Earth could be used for long-term storage of the resulting CO2.
You two really should get on the same wavelength. I think you would get along famously.
If we can get to the mantle or even near it, better to extract heat (geothermal) rather than hydrocarbons.
Excellent point anon.
Geek
You’re right; I read Cassandra after Dana and conflated.
Sorry Cassandra.
Thanks to Steve for his graciousness and
Thanks to LG for peacemaking.
(And anon really has the best point in this tread.)
Other than, say, the laws of thermodynamics and basic math.