On the courage of scientists

Dienstag, den 28. April 2020

Starting time: 18:15 Uhr

Location: SCHW-SR06

Talk and discussion “On the courage of scientists”

Scientists may come under pressure, if they dare to publish data interfering with commercial, political or other interests. One well-known example is smoking. It took decades before corruption, lobbyism and marketing came to an end. Another real example concerns the energy sector.

Einat Aharonov

Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

will give the talk

The Levaiathan gas-rig struggle: environmental, political, regulatory, technological and scientific aspects

The Leviathan gas rig, erected 9kms offshore Dor beach, Israel, started in Dec 2019to treat and refine gas from the largest Israeli gas field, Levaiathan. Initially (2014), gas treatment was planned to occur on an FPSO, which is a deep-sea floating platform. But then in 2015 the gas treatment was moved, following an undocumented decision, to a static platform opposite the coastal settlements of Hof HaCarmel. This sparked the largest environmental struggle that Israel ever knew. Einat Aharonov will present the whole story: How and why was the rig moved from sea to shore. Why regulators were sure there will be no environmental problem. Why citizens are concerned. What is happening now that the gas-rig has started operating. And finally, how are scientists and academics involved, playing a role of scientific experts in the service of society, partly filling a regulatory and enforcement vacuum.

We will also discuss more general questions: To what extent are scientists free to publish sound scientific data? What can we expect from the institutions? How can academics defend themselves against self-proclaimed experts?

Moderation: Markus Fiebig, deputy of the Ethics Platform at BOKU