• DOI:10.1177/030631296026004002
Corpus ID: 145388316

Which Came First, the Fossil or the Fuel?

@article{Cole1996WhichCF,
  title={Which Came First, the Fossil or the Fuel?},
  author={S. Cole},
  journal={Social Studies of Science},
  year={1996},
  volume={26},
  pages={733 - 766}
}

S. Cole

Published 1996

Philosophy

Social Studies of Science

This paper chronicles a challenge to the conventional theory of petroleum generation mounted by astro- and geophysicist Thomas Gold. Beginning in the late 1970s, Gold revived the `abiogenic' theory, which holds that hydrocarbons are primordial, not remnants of decayed biology. By contesting the central tenet of petroleum geology, Gold precipitated a bitter scientific controversy. Both sides employed novel rhetorical strategies in order to impute interests, to contest expertise, to recruit… CONTINUE READING

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