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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (270061)	7/4/2002 3:39:09 PM
From: JEB	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Yes, ..and God may still be producing: ___________________________________________________________ What if fossil fuels aren't fossils and are actually renewable? 24-05-01 It's the basic terminology people use to discuss energy: On one hand are "fossil fuels," left over from the decayed remains of millions of years worth of vegetation and ultimately destined to run out; on the other hand are "renewable" resources that could sustain human activities indefinitely. But what if fossil fuels aren't fossils, and are actually renewable? To most people, that question sounds as reasonable as asking what if down were up, or the XFL were a big, classy hit. But a handful of scientists, led by the unconventional astronomer Thomas Gold of Cornell University, say petroleum has as much to do with fossils as the moon has to do with green cheese. Gold's claim, spelled out in a book just out in paperback as well as a talk at the Harvard Coop, challenges basic premises of the energy debate, from environmentalists' warning of oil's eventual decline to George W. Bush's current talk about an energy shortage. Dig deep enough, Gold says, and almost anyone can strike oil. Expectedly, most mainstream petroleum geologists view this contrarian point of view with scorn, derision or indifference. "We're very familiar with Tommy Gold," said Larry Nation, a spokesman for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Geologists in that field "are more open-minded than you might think. They're a pretty independent bunch, or there wouldn't be so many dry holes." But most of them draw the line at Gold's theory. At least one successful natural gas geologist, though, has sided with Gold's unorthodox concept, which, in essence, goes like this: Far from being the product of decayed vegetation, petroleum is manufactured constantly in the Earth's crust. It is made from methane, or natural gas, the simplest of all the hydrocarbon fuels, as it bubbles up from the depths of the Earth where it has existed since the planet's formation more than 4 bn years ago. As it rises, the methane is consumed by billions of microbes that exist in a dark netherworld where sunlight never penetrates. While all surface life depends on sunlight, this deep, hidden realm of life -- dubbed by Gold "The Deep Hot Biosphere," (also the title of his book) -- lives on the chemical energy of the methane itself. The biological traces found in all petroleum, he argues, are derived from this hidden form of life, not from decayed plants. If Gold's theory is right, then the Earth's reserves of petroleum and natural gas may be hundreds of times greater than most geologists now believe. Oil wells that are pumped dry will simply refill themselves as more methane and petroleum work their way upward to fill the emptied spaces in the rock. This has already happened in a few places, geologists agree -- something that is hard to explain by the conventional theory. Gold's theory "explains best what we actually encountered in deep drilling operations," said Robert Hefner III, a natural gas geologist who has discovered vast gas deposits in Oklahoma over the past three decades, tapped by some of the deepest wells yet drilled. Accordingto conventional theory, it should be impossible for petroleum or natural gas even to exist at such depths, Hefner said. Echoing Gold's view, Hefner said astronomers have found hydrocarbons such as methane on virtually every planet and moon ever studied, as well as the far corners of the universe -- places where the conventional view of hydrocarbons forming from decaying remains of living organisms couldn't possibly apply. But nobody's betting on Gold's ideas at this point. "Most petroleum geologists don't agree with his theory," Nation said. "But it's fun to talk about." Source: The Boston Globe gasandoil.com ___________________________________________________________ We won't know until further research is performed. Right now it is just a theory but I wouldn't be surprised to find God's hand controlling the production of this commodity.

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (270061)	7/4/2002 6:27:36 PM
From: Thomas A Watson	Respond to of 769667

hey j-f snitchy-kins. union folks may not be can do folks. But Americans are can do folks and ingenious at creating solutions. The world economy works at some level of steady state. A severe disruption of any resource would cause some pain for a time and all would adapt. And Americans are world champion adapters. But this is America an you are free to remain the only Union nose picker. I and all the can do Americans are free to insist you keep you finger to yourself. In time of need you will find all Americans will ignore your Union nose picker's picket line with a smile or a giggle or a belly laugh. Productivity, Americans can do more with less. That concept as all simple concepts confuse vacant liberal minded lefty loons.