Well, that's certainly how it should work, but alas often times people will believe what they want to in the absence of good evidence why they should not (and sometimes, distressingly, even when they have such evidence). Peak Oil seems a bit different to my mind than most of these science spats because it has the potential for profound consequences in all of our lives, raising the stakes a bit. These guys are obviously battling for the "hearts and minds" of the crowd, so why should we just "flip the bozo bit" and walk away, grousing all the while about the share of airtime they are getting? We know better. Not everyone does.

By the way, I wasn't really suggesting the piece on the history and science of oil exploration as a direct response to these guys, but as an educational piece like the kind we get each week on the technology of drilling. It would have, however, the beneficial side effect of giving us ammunition to counter our own close friends and relatives if they try to pull this abiotic oil garbage on us over Thanksgiving or elsewhere.