Shale gas takes us down a dangerous path – Tunisians are battling shale gas proponents who say it is less carbon-intensive and ‘green’ With Tunisians protesting Shell’s shale gas plans and Jordanians set to finalise a deal to build the region’s first oil shale plant by the end of the year, it seems that the […]
Jordan has recently signed on with a Canadian company to plunge the Kingdom into a giant pit of oil shale hell. The Memorandum of Understanding signed with Global Oil Shale Holdings (GOSH) is the fourth mega oil shale deal the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has penned in order to free itself from fossil fuel imports […]
It has been three decades since Jordan’s national grid has seen substantial infrastructural changes, but the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has recently donated $1.15 million to the kingdom so that it can explore the option of implementing a “smart” upgrade. As new renewable, nuclear and oil-shale power plants are slated to come online […]
“We are not rabbits,” was among the slogans against the “oil shale experiment” march today in Israel. A story of Davids versus the Goliaths? Valley of Elah residents, Greenpeace members and local NGOS in Israel organized a march today against the development of oil shale in Israel. Oil shale and its extraction remains a very […]
While Israeli activists fight oil shale exploration, Jordan announces plans to explore oil shale next door. While activists continue to fight against oil shale testing in Israel because of its potentially harmful environmental and social impacts, on the other side of the Dead Sea, Jordan has just announced its intention to explore oil-shale without […]
A Jordanian oil shale company owned by Shell is funding university courses on the environment As a global oil and gas company, Shell has a murky history not just environmentally but politically. Yesterday we commemorated the death of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa who was murdered for his campaigns against oil companies – and particularly Shell […]
Scientist Harold Vinegar says there is a huge quantity of oil shale in Israel and, despite protests and risks, he still wants to extract it A project to explore the Elah Valley of Israel (pictured above) for oil shale has been underway since 2008 and despite protests from locals and environmental campaigners, those behind the […]
We have 50 years to get unhooked. Is it too late? A senior economist at HSBC claimed in a recent report that the world’s oil resources are only expected to last five more decades, according to the New York Times. An earlier report from Wikileaks that Saudi Arabia’s peak oil is expected to happen much […]
Rachel Jacobson shares the story behind protecting this beautiful view from “Big Oil.” Last year a small group of people accidentally discovered that Israel Energy Initiatives (IEI), backed by Rupert Murdoch, Dick Cheney and a powerful American oil conglomerate, intended to explore their land for oil shale – potentially a very destructive project. David de […]
The Elah Valley, which IEI hopes to use as testing grounds for oil shale extraction. The annual Israeli “Green Globe” award ceremony, hosted by the environmental umbrella organization Life and Environment, took place last Thursday where recipients included Minister of the Environment Gilad Arden. That award ceremony is not all pats-on-the-back and positive recognition, however. […]
Israel Chemicals Ltd. has plans to replace its Mishor Rotem oil shale plant with more viable natural gas. Initially installed in 1978 as a pilot project, the Mishor Rotem oil shale plant will soon be shut down. Globes reports that Israel Chemicals Ltd. – which purchases the energy generated by approximately half a million tons […]
Israel Energy Initiatives has received serious opposition to its plan to extract oil from shale rock in the Adullam region. While the riots in Egypt escalate, potentially compromising Israel’s natural gas supply and casting significant doubt on the region’s energy future, a quieter battle continues to take place in Israel. On January 31, 2011 the […]
Responding to David de Rothschild’s concerns, IEI attempts to convince Lord Jacob Rothschild that oil shale is good for Israel. Read all about in a letter Green Prophet obtained. Following our much publicized open letter to David de Rothschild, who is in the running to become National Geographic Adventurer of 2010, Green Prophet was interviewed […]
Dick Cheney is on the board of Genie Energy which owns 89% of Israel Energy Initiatives, the company accused of operating a less-than-transparent oil shale campaign in Israel. The 46th Vice President of the United States and former CEO of Halliburton Company has been charged with resorting to bribery in order to secure a natural […]
Bikers in central Israel. The sign on the front right draws attention to potential impact of oil shale exploration on local industry: A barrel of oil costs $80. A barrel of wine costs $6,000. Over 1,000 concerned citizens attended last Friday’s protest gathering in Tel Azeka to oppose powerful oil interests using their land as […]