George Rebane
That the major sources of natural gas and oil are from earth’s chemical processes and not fossilized sources has been the subject of a quiet debate over the last decades. If chemistry wins, then earth will supply humans with literally endless amounts of energy that will benefit everyone living on the planet. And that debate is close to being resolved by research and testing that will soon be concluded.
The so-called abiotic theory of fuels production is one of the many reasons I have remained a skeptic on the wisdom of governments force feeding hundreds of billions of dollars into alternative energy sources like wind, waves, and solar. Another of those reasons is that with all the hullabaloo about carbon footprints and CO2, we still don’t know the earth’s ‘carbon cycle’. A major part that is now becoming clear is that oceans absorb tremendous amounts of atmospheric CO2 which is then used by marine critters and plants in their skeletons and structures. And which is then subducted by tectonics into the earth’s upper mantle where temperature and pressure give rise to chemical transformation of water and CO2 into oils and natural gas (90% methane). From there it bubbles and rises into huge reservoirs that literally cover ‘cover’ the earth’s subsurface.
The work at resolving this debate has been intensifying in recent years. Already in 2009 Science Daily reported, “Researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm have managed to prove that fossils from animals and plants are not necessary for crude oil and natural gas to be generated. The findings are revolutionary since this means, on the one hand, that it will be much easier to find these sources of energy and, on the other hand, that they can be found all over the globe.”
At more recent conferences (see WSJ) actual field test and laboratory results have been presented which point to endless supplies of abiotic natural gas and crude oil. Supposedly 60% of pumped crude is shown to be abiotic. Only coal remains as the unchallenged ‘pure’ fossil fuel.
What all this demonstrates is that the policies in place (with more to come) to combat the man-made global warming (AGW) hypothesis are economically and socially misguided at worst, and premature at best. All we know for sure is that support for the belief in correctible AGW comes from politically funded ‘mob science’ that cares only for maintaining the flow of its generous grants and subsidies guaranteed by the steady output of ‘correct results’. But then, all this has been argued here and elsewhere over the last many years.
Now what’s different is that we may soon resolve the infinite energy supply question. And if it’s there as all evidence portends, then there will be plenty of time to develop marketable alternative sources ranging from the renewables to nuclear fusion. In the meantime we wouldn’t have to promote corrupt public policies like California’s AB32 to create commercial catastrophes across the landscape. Cooking, heating, generating electricity, driving, … with abundant and clean burning gas sounds like a great future to me.
