North Carolina Secretary of the Environment actually believes that oil is continually produced in the center of the Earth

[one...two...tree 2,762]

John Skvarla, the newly anointed Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, has publicly stated that under his watch, regulations—and the relaxation thereof—will be grounded in science and fact.

In an illuminating interview with WRAL’s Laura Leslie, Skvarla failed the scientific sniff test. (The portions referenced below begin around 11:21.)

First, Skvarla insinuated that oil and gas are infinite, renewable resources. When Leslie noted that these fossil fuels are not renewable, he replied, “Some people would disagree with you. The Russians, for example, have always drilled oil as if it’s a renewable resource … There is a lot of different scientific opinion on that.”

Not really.

The abiotic theory of oil, as it’s known, holds that oil is naturally produced deep underground rather than is converted from decomposed and organic material, such as plants and prehistoric forests. Abioticians (We made up that word—why not, if you can make up science?) use this theory to support the idea that we need not wean ourselves off fossil fuels because they’ll never run out.

Creationists have latched on to the theory as way to prove the Earth is only 6,000 years old.

Now Skvarla is right in that the Russians proposed this theory in the 19th century, but it has gained no legitimate, scientific consensus. That didn’t stop astronomer Thomas Gold, who revived the theory in a 1998 book.

In 2005, abiotics was explored again in Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oilby Jerome Corsi and Craig R. Smith, neither of whom is a scientist.
(Corsi has a doctorate in political science from Harvard. Smith is chairman of Swiss America Trading Corporation, an investment firm specializing in U.S. gold and silver coins.)

INDY Week called Dr. John Rogers, UNC professor emeritus of geology, about abiotics. He says the idea that oil and gas are renewable resources is incorrect. “Abiotic oil is another idea that conservatives have latched onto as a way of denying that there is any limitation that the Earth places on the way we live,” Rogers says.

“The idea that there is carbon deep in the Earth is true,” he adds. “The problem is that there is very little in the deep crust in comparison to the oil that has been found and produced by decomposition.”

Rogers, who is writing a book, Rational Environmentalism, taught at UNC from 1975—1997. He says the anti-science movement has strengthened in recent years because of greed.

“If you accept the idea that the Earth puts limits on itself, you have to understand science. We can’t simply manipulate our way to wealth,” he says. “And the modern feeling is that all we have to do is adjust taxes and laws and we will be become rich.”

While we’re comparing credentials—Rogers being a geologist and Corsi being a political scientist—it should be noted that Corsi also pens columns for the conservative website WorldNetDaily, which often trafficks in conspiracy theories and misinformation. WND published the Black Gold book.

http://www.indyweek.com/triangulator/archives/2013/01/07/john-skvarla-new-secy-of-denr-snake-oil-salesman

Edited February 24, 2014 by Porterhouse

[Peikko 1,575]

Brilliant. How does any one elect ;people who are so uneducated? Is it the 'guy next door' syndrome? He's just like me, I like him, therefore I'll vote for him? Incredible.

[Pooky 3,809]

Brilliant. How does any one elect ;people who are so uneducated? Is it the 'guy next door' syndrome? He's just like me, I like him, therefore I'll vote for him? Incredible.

He's an appointee, not an elected position.

[Peikko 1,575]

He's an appointee, not an elected position.

Even worse, who appoints someone so ignorant?

[spookyturtle 9,466]

I believe that the moon is made from green cheese.

[Pooky 3,809]

I believe that the moon is made from green cheese.

Actually, it's made from Wensleydale.

http://youtu.be/05vYIFZEhzA