Is Secretary Zinke a geologist? Scientists weigh in

Volcano scientist Jess Phoenix has challenged Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to a battle of geologic knowledge after CNN reported yesterday that Zinke has repeatedly claimed to be a geologist, despite apparently never having worked as one. “Winner gets the DOI job, loser never claims to be a geologist again,” she tweeted. It’s a claim Zinke has made “at least 40 times in public settings,” Sara Ganim reports for CNN. That includes his efforts to justify excluding Florida from plans to expand offshore drilling. (Florida’s “geology is different,” he said in an interview with CNN.) The thing is, while Zinke did major in geology as an undergraduate, he never actually worked as a geologist after college, according to Ganim. Interior Department... Continue reading…