Mon 24 May 99 8:26
By: MARTY LEIPZIG
Pet. Geo. & Sci. Cre.

Some might ask why I, as a Petroleum Geologist, get somewhat, well, "upset" with our fundy brethren when they start spouting off about such inanities as a "global flood", "young dinosaur fossils", "polystrate trees", "eoliths" [see: 'Mantracks'] and other forms of nescient idiocy.

I received a copy of this book from the National Academy of Sciences in the mail the other day. A brief passage from the text succiently states what I've always maintained:

"Nor is there any evidence that the entire geological record, with its orderly succession of fossils, is the product of a single universal flood that occurred a few thousand years ago, lasted a little longer than a year, and covered the highest mountains to a depth of several meters. On the contrary, intertidal and terrestrial deposits demonstrate that at no recorded time in the past has the entire planet been under water. Moreover, a universal flood of sufficient magnitude to form the sedimentary rocks seen today, which together are many kilometers thick, would require a volume of water far greater than has ever existed on and in Earth, at least since the formation of the first known solid crust about 4 billion years ago. The belief that Earth's sediments, with their fossils, were deposited in an orderly sequence in a year's time defies all geological observations and physical principles concerning sedimentation rates and possible quantities of suspended solid matter.

Geologists have constructed a detailed history of sediment deposition that links particular bodies of rock in the crust of Earth to particular environments and processes. If petroleum geologists could find more oil and gas by interpreting the record of sedimentary rocks as having resulted from a single flood, they would certainly favor the idea of such a flood, but they do not. Instead, these practical workers agree with academic geologists about the nature of depositional environments and geological time. Petroleum geologists have been pioneers in the recognition of fossil deposits that were formed over millions of years in such environments as meandering rivers, deltas, sandy barrier beaches, and coral reefs. The example of petroleum geology demonstrates one of the great strengths of science. By using knowledge of the natural world to predict the consequences of our actions, science makes it possible to solve problems and create opportunities using technology. The detailed knowledge required to sustain our civilization could only have been derived through scientific investigation."

- Reprinted with permission from Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences, Second Edition. Copyright 1999 by the National Academy of Sciences. Courtesy of the National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

Yeah. It's nice to be recognized in one's own lifetime.

... If you don't like Geology...Upper Jurassic!