Fossil Fuel - 27 East

Letters

East Hampton Press / Opinion / Letters / 2053270

Fossil Fuel

A fun conspiracy circulates around oil and the term “fossil fuel.” On one side, it’s been said that Rockefeller didn’t coin the term with Standard Oil. Though Sinclair Oil used a dinosaur exhibit for the World’s Fair in Chicago. They loved it so much that the brontosaurus became the Sinclair mascot.

It’s actually been said to be a term used by German chemist Caspar Neumann in 1759.

With depths of about only 16,000 feet for fossils being discovered, and about 35,000 feet for oil, is it a “fossil” fuel if you haven’t found any at that depth? Then again, you can get oil from shale. Don’t even turn to coal. That can be dated to 300 million years ago — or about 75 million years before dinosaurs.

Makes for fun debate. Still here.

Joe Karpinski

Amagansett