TIDAL WAVE CAUSED BY OIL VOLCANO TO SLAM INTO FLORIDA -more critical thinking in action

July 14, 2010

Someone sent me this video recently, and it wasn’t even my birthday. Thank you very much. I live to address claims like these.

So if we are going to evaluate a video like this, why don’t we start with the two guys talking? A quick Google search for Bill Ryan and Dr Bill Deagle (the guy without the accent) brings up their web sites. Deagle’s site talks about how the Federal Reserve, 911 and the Avian Flu are all tied together to bring about a “New World Order.” Bill Ryan’s web site talks about Freemasons, World War III (which is apparently going to happen in the next 18 to 24 months) an “Anglo-Saxon Mission” to Christianize the world and of course the “New World Order.” Well, I guess my work here is done. Good night everybody. Drive carefully, and don’t forget to tip your waitresses.

Actually that’s not quite fair. What I did there was called an “ad hominem argument.” I attacked the messengers, rather than the message, and it is a logical fallacy. So, let’s actually look at the claims.

At the beginning of the video, Dr. Deagle uses the term “abiotic oil.” Abiotic oil (as we have all learned in school) is an unlimited energy resource produced from magna seeping up from the earth’s core which is then transformed into rich and infinite reservoirs of oil. What? You don’t remember that from school. That’s because most scientists think abiotic oil is bunk. In the western world, most geologists believe oil is a limited resource, the product of the fossilization of organic substances deposited over millions of years, and not created from magma.

So according to Deagle, the reservoir of oil, involved with the spill, indicates heavy volcanic activity in the area. So let’s take a look at all that volcanic activity in the Gulf of Mexico. This map is from the Smithsonian Institute. The big red triangles indicate all volcanic activity in the area.

You don’t see any big red triangles? That’s because there is no volcanic activity in the Gulf of Mexico. None! To be fair, there is some tectonic plate activity running through Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula, but nothing even remotely near the oil spill.

And that’s Deagle entire pitch. All the terrible things that are going to happen - poison gas, superheated water, tidal waves washing over all of Florida - all of it, has to be initiated by volcanic activity. Even abiotic oil has to be a product of volcanic activity, volcanic activity that just isn’t in that area. So that’s it. Good night everyone. Try the veal.

Ok, I’ll continue. Deagle says there is a lot of FEMA activity occurring in the states bordering the Gulf. I have no doubt that there is, at present, increased government activity in that area. I would attribute this activity to that oil spilly thingy. Did you hear about it? It’s been in all the papers. But is FEMA engaged in evacuation exercises? Deagle offers websites, as proof, that he says, did at one time talk about these exercises but which are now unfortunately no longer up. How convenient. This is a classic red flag for skeptics. Does Deagle offer us any saved text from these sites, domain names or even screen captures maybe? Nothing. Did you know there is this thing called the “Wayback Machine” which can show you archives of websites as they appeared at any time in the past. So you can see that racist comment posted by that popular celebrity before his publicists had a chance to scrub the site clean. I guess Deagle wouldn’t be able to use that resource. Heck, they’re probably in on the conspiracy too.

While we are on the subject, if a tidal wave is inevitable, what’s the government’s motivation for keeping it a secret, anyway? Wouldn’t they want the story to leak out slowly so people don’t panic? They have time to absorb the idea, prepare for the disaster and maybe even evacuate? When there is even the hint of a raincloud off the coast of Africa, every news outlet in the nation begins its 24 hour coverage of the hurricane that they say will inevitable slam into Florida. As a result of this coverage, the responsible people in Florida evacuate early, leaving us more brave hearted souls to begin our search for the best hurricane party. It’s foolish, I admit it. The second the wind starts blowing past 15 MPH, I start mixing banana daiquiris. But, during a hurricane, at least the smart people get out and are safe. So how is this any different? Again, why would the government keep this a secret?

When the news media call the event in the Gulf an “oil volcano,” they are using a figure of speech. They don’t literally mean there is a geological volcano that happens to be spewing oil instead of lava. It is a colorful metaphor. Just like when I say that this Dr Bill Deagle character is a certifiable “NUT,” I don’t literally mean he is a seed borne within a fruit having a hard shell, as in the peanut, almond, or walnut. I am using a colorful metaphor. I mean he is just talking nonsense. He is not a geologist. He is not talking science. He is just spewing crap, just like BP’s pipe. And, I guess that’s it for me. I want to thank you folks for coming. If you liked the show, you can catch me at the Ramada Inn off of exit 59, where I do one show a night, Wednesdays through Thursdays – two on Saturdays.