Comments on: Open Letter To David de Rothschild: Stop Your Family’s Oil Shale Exploration

By: George LoBuono

George LoBuono — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:04:38 +0000

Jacob’s interest in oil shale requires background. A Rothschild family branch, that of the Earl of Rosebery who married Nathan Mayer Rotschild’s granddaughter Hannah (now called the “Primrose” family) has huge land holdings in that Falkirk Triangle area of Scotland, which, in the past, mined oil shale (before liquid petroleum eclipsed such methods).

By: Darrell Saffell

Darrell Saffell — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 19:54:19 +0000

suggest contacting Chevron Oil Corporation for possible partnership.
In 1983 conducted a pilot project in Utah for processing OIL SHALE. it worked. Oil at the time would have had to be $40.00 to be feasible.

The proposed oil recovery process will be very damaging and dangerous.

By: Erik van Lennep

Erik van Lennep — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 17:02:44 +0000

Unfortunately, in cases like this, the most persuasive arguments are economic. Has anyone run an independent set of calculations on the costs of development vs the expected returns? And have these been compared to a similar amount invested in intensive solar and the profits from electricity?

Europe is all abuzz over creating energy grids which would link massive solar arrays in northern Africa to the European energy grid. Why not start with an undersea cable from Israeli solar installations?

I know it’s expecting a lot to get such historically calculating and greedy parties (David and Plastiki notwithstanding)to take a longer view, but if anyone can afford to take the time certainly they could.

By: Tafline Laylin

Tafline Laylin — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 04:12:42 +0000

In reply to Jeremy Boak. Thank you Jeremy. Please note that the goal is to produce 300,000 barrels of oil per day. This was erroneously omitted from my original post.

By: David de Rothschild

David de Rothschild — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:42:53 +0000

Dear Green Prophet team

Thank you for bringing issues such as these to my own and the public’s attention and for working tirelessly towards a better future.

As you can appreciate, I am part of a large family with many diverse opinions but I, as an individual actively discourage environmentally harmful activities. However I have previously, and as is in this case, will continue to write to not only family members but also other individuals and business about how their actions influence the world environmentally in the hope that they will place a greater significance on this area and seek clean alternatives that can help us tread more lightly. I do consider the ‘Oil Shale Exploration’ to be a very serious and pressing matter and something that I will look into further as a priority , however, as mentioned while I implore everyone, to make sustainable choices for the planet, I cannot be held responsible for other people’s actions despite my best efforts, even family members.

Once again I am grateful for you bringing this matter to my attention and promise to explore this matter further.

Sincerely,
David

By: Jeremy Boak

Jeremy Boak — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:45:58 +0000

As Director of a leading research center on oil shale and co-chair of the premier technical conference on oil shale, I cannot read this editorial without shock and dismay at its startling misrepresentation of in situ extraction of oil from shale. I am aware of no oil shale extraction method that proposes three hundred five kilometer trenches to extract a mere 300,000 barrels of oil. The very term in situ method refers to a system that does not require exposing the oil shale. I do not see any indication that the method proposed by Genie Energy will fail to comply with environmental regulations in Israel. There is plenty of doubt about the assertion that it “will unleash a miserable chain of ecological and social reactions.” There are important environmental concerns that must be addressed, water being one of them. But until Genie puts forward its technology description, there is no information available about its actual water use, and the three barrels per barrel of oil is the high end of a range that extends downward to near zero. The CO2 released will come almost entirely from the power source used to heat the rock, not from the rock itself. The author offers no explanation for the assertion that the safety of heating up the rock has not been established. Shell has already conducted several experiments of this kind, and it is fairly clear that the first test in Israel will be small enough to have very limited impact even underground. Shale oil production will likely proceed very slowly until economic and technical feasibility (including environmental feasibility) have been demonstrated. The Gree. Prophet is unfortunately engaging in scare tactics of the most arbitrary and capricious sort.

By: Stephanie Loudon

Stephanie Loudon — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:06:40 +0000

There’s that, and there’s also empowering yourself:

In The Emergence of Norms Ullmann- Margalit states that norms are the logical result of a certain situational structure. In this theory, norms that emerge from the following three situations have the best chance of survival and a long term of use;

1. the prisoners dilemma, which translates itself to civil law; there is a need for security that it pays to hold ones own end of a bargain (individual short term gains v. collective long term gains).

2. co- ordination situations: it doesn’t matter which option is chosen, what matters is that one is chosen; translates to traffic law.

3. inequality situations; a strong party against a weaker party, the norm is the outcome of a power struggle, but not all law is the codification of the interest of the party in power: the weaker party can make use of the exit- option or the Samson- strategy. In most cases the law will be the outcome of a subtle game of negotiation with no clear or decided winner.

I hope that there will be laws already in place that will protect and aid your cause.

By: Karin Kloosterman

Karin Kloosterman — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 05:05:35 +0000

The Elah Valley is one of the most beautiful places in Israel. It is also “home” to the story of David and Goliath.