Oil

In the Adullam National Park near Jerusalem, a tower marks a drill. They've found signs of oil shale. Good for Israel? Nope.

What the company hopes to find is oil shale rich enough for exploitation. What they plan to do is a pilot project using steam preasure for months or years to cook the oil out.

But steam is water, and water is more essential than oil. Besides using Israel's scarce water for the process, the pilot runs the risk of polluting the ground water.

And what else will that steam be cooking? Any underground antiquities.

The exploratory drill is in the valley where Judah is said to have gone to the sheep sheering, in Adullam, near the cave where David hid, at the edge of the Ela Valley where we hear of David fighting Goliath. They hope to heat all that area, underground, for years. Meanwhile truck traffic is already injuring the park.

See http://saveadullam.org/english/index.html for more information.

And remember that people who live in oil-rich countries generally, except for a few at the top, have a lower standard of living than Israelis do today.

Copyright 2010 Jane S. Fox