tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post1244998264651661200..comments2024-02-23T11:23:45.971-05:00Comments on Lost Motorcyclist: Trash Journalism, Mixing Gossip and PropagandaLost Motorcyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873504561959138792noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-50482960090060443622010-06-27T11:00:10.190-04:002010-06-27T11:00:10.190-04:00People have always been interested in (or even obs...People have always been interested in (or even obsessed by) 'scuttlebutt' ... being 'in the know,' hearing the 'inside story' especially with respect to conspiracies.<br /><br />Although logic would dictate that something which has been revealed in (e.g.) the pages of the <i>National Enquirer</i> scarcely qualifies as 'inside knowledge' the attraction is largely emotional and logic seems to have little to do with it.<br /><br />Other emotions, such as <i>schadenfreude</i> certainly enter into the equation. But the 'bottom line' is that there is little enough time to read the 'reliable' sources, let alone to allow oneself to be distracted by fiction posing as fact (notwithstanding that the <i>Inquirer</i> does occasionally contain a modicum of 'truth').<br /><br />But, as far as that oceanic methane gas, you speculate that quantities may be present, '<i>presumably due to the oil spill</i>.<br /><br />There are actually massive deposits of methane clathrates (essentially hydrates of methane) in the ocean floors. These have at times been used to 'explain' the 'Bermuda Triangle' (i.e. methane bubbling to the surface reducing the density of the water, causing vessels to sink) as well the subject of a number of research projects with a view to 'liberating' these massive quantities of methane (about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane_hydrates#Commercial_use" rel="nofollow">2-10 times the size</a> of known natural gas reserves) for commercial exploitation.<br /><br />Methane hydrates are a consideration in ocean oil drilling, and a constituent in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane_hydrates#Effect_of_hydrate_phase_transition_during_deep_water_drilling" rel="nofollow">Deepwater Horizon</a> mess.Madeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593933575568389288noreply@blogger.com