Is Rep. Barton (R-TX) Confused by Plate Tectonics?
The nonsense coming out of Congress lately on climate and energy policy continued on Wednesday when Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), the ranking member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, apparently failed to grasp the concept of plate tectonics in a hearing with Energy Secretary (and Nobel Prize in Physics recipient) Steven Chu.
Congressman Barton, after an exchange (copied below) with Secretary Chu, sent out a twitter message stating:
Tweet 1: Participating n climate change hearing. I asked energy secretary where oil in alaska came from. answer puzzles-from continental plate shift
Tweet 2: I seemed to have baffled the Energy Sec with basic question – Where does oil come from? Check out the video: http://bit.ly/O4m0p #tcot
Here is a video of the testimony. While Barton is right that Chu was baffled, it seems to have more to do with the inanity of his question rather than its complexity.
And a transcript:
Barton: Dr. Chu, I don’t wanna leave you out, you’re our… you’re our scientist. I have one simple question for you in the last six seconds. How did all the oil and gas get to Alaska and under the Arctic Ocean?
Chu: [Nervous-sounding laughter] This is… this is a complicated story, but, but oil and gas is the result of hundreds of millions of years of geology, and in that time also the plates have moved around, and so it’s the combination of where the sources of the oil and gas are…
Barton (interrupting): Well, I mean, isn’t it obvious that at one time it was a lot warmer in Alaska and on the north pole? It wasn’t a big pipeline that we created in Texas and shipped it up there and put it underground so we could now pump it out and ship it back.
Chu: No. There are… there’s continental plates that have been drifting around throughout the geological ages…
Barton (interrupting): So it just drifted up there?
Chu: That’s certainly what happened. And so it’s the result of things like that.
Transcripts via ScienceBlogs
- Similar Posts:
- Senate to Examine Smart Grid Technology
- House Subcommittee to Look at Offshore Drilling
- U.S. Offers $535 Million Loan Guarantee to Solar Panel Manufacturer
Comments
Please contribute to the discussion by leaving a comment below. No need to agree with the post or other commenters, but please be constructive and respectful.
