Douglas A. Grandt P. O. Box 1582 El Dorado, CA 95623 January 21, 2013 Mr. Rex W.

Tillerson CEO & Board Chairman Exxon Mobil Corporation 5959 Las Colinas Boulevard Irving, Texas 75039 Re: Precautions for your childrens childrens children Dear Mr. Tillerson, I happened upon an enlightening article that was written in response to Brian OKeefes Exxons big bet on shale gas that appeared in the April 30, 2012 issue of Fortune. Here is the link to that Fortune article: http://bit.ly/exxon-shale-fortune It is very disturbing as you are not behaving in a way that exemplifies moral Eagle Scout values. I challenge you to ponder Who am I? and consider the legacy you are creating. Over the past several months, I have told you about Charles Grant* and attempted to give you a compelling reason to be the 21st Century Charles Grant equivalent by thinking outside the box, breaking from expectations, taking bold courageous moral action to call upon your colleagues in the energy sector to begin scheduling the retirement and dismantling of the fossil fuel infrastructure ... for the sake of your children, their children, and all the billions of children yet unborn. The effects of climate change are upon us. From the information presented in the the Fortune article and the assessment below, I have to conclude that you and ExxonMobil are not behaving in the best interest of society, let alone in a manner befitting Boy Scouts in general or Eagle Scouts in particular, to wit:

By Debora Rogers - http://bit.ly/exxon-energy-policy-forum Published: January 17, 2013 A recent poll conducted by the Civil Society Institute (CSI) and the Environmental Working Group found that the vast majority of Americans favor more political leadership when balancing domestic energy production with protecting people and the environment. This poll is interesting on many levels, primarily because of the overwhelming percentages of constituents who want more protections. But one aspect stood out because it is an argument heard over and over again from the oil and gas industry. It revolves around the precautionary principle.

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The precautionary principle in essence states that if there is a chance of harm being done either to people or the environment from an activity and there is not enough scientific consensus or research, then policy makers should err on the side of caution and preclude the activity or heavily regulate it. It is a sensible approach but one which is all too often disregarded in the U.S. for the simple reason that lobbyists in Washington and state capitals have exceedingly deep pockets. Nevertheless in some places like the European Union, the precautionary principle is now a statutory part of law. And well it should be. In the CSI press release, it was stated: 80 percent of Americans think we should get the facts first about health and environmental risks before the potential damage is done by energy production. This precautionary principle approach is supported by 67 percent of Republicans, 82 percent of Independents, and 89 percent of Democrats. In April 2012, Fortune Magazine ran an article on ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson in which Mr. Tillerson discussed the precautionary principle. According to Fortune: Tillerson believes the discourse about shale has been hijacked and distortedHe argues that shale drillers are being held to an unrealistic safety standard. Whats happened is the tables have been turned around now to where we have to prove its not going to happen Well, that is a very dangerous exchange to get into because where it leads you from a regulatory and policy standpoint is to govern by the precautionary principle. And the precautionary principle will absolutely undermine the economyIf you want to live by the precautionary principle, then crawl up in a ball and live in a cave. Mr. Tillerson states that drillers are being held to an unrealistic safety standard. And yet, how can that be? The oil and gas industry is exempt from every major environmental statute in this country. They have not had to continuously improve technology to correct for pollution or environmental degradation in spite of the fact that other industries which have never been exempt from all major environmental protection laws have been forced to comply. Further the industry does have some pollution control devices which are estimated to pay for themselves in less than a year in most cases and yet they repeatedly refuse to implement them even on a local scale. XTO, a division of ExxonMobil, refused to use them near schools in Ft. Worth, Tx. to protect the children from toxic air emissions from drilling activities. And surely we arent going to still beat the dead horse about air emissions at drill sites being non-existent and/or completely benign when independent corroboration has confirmed the problem beyond a shadow of a doubt. Mr. Tillerson next states that governing by the precautionary principle is dangerous. Dangerous to whom? Should people who live near drill sites not have a say in how their environment is impacted? Do they not have a right to clean air and clean drinking water and if there is any chance that such might be negatively impacted do they not have a right or indeed even a moral obligation to speak up? Is that not a basic tenet of democracy? Or is that precisely where we are headed with this discussion? Further it would seem that many of the concerns voiced by those who live in near proximity are well founded.

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Fortune stated: a search of Pennsylvanias Department of Environmental Protection database shows that last year XTO was cited for 81 violations for its drilling activity in the Marcellus. And on Dec. 10, 2010, the company was fined $150,000 for improper casing to protect fresh water. And what kind of absolutist statement is the precautionary principle will absolutely undermine the economy? Can it not be equally argued that ruination of aquifers will most decidedly undermine local economies of any region in which it might occur? Cities cannot survive without potable water. And oil and gas companies have not been overly generous in supplying people with water in places like Dimmock, PA., Pavilion, WY. or Weatheford Tx. regardless of an admission of fault. Can a significant increase in VOCs from shale gas drilling activities not also detrimentally impact a regions economy due to missed days of work from respiratory illness and perhaps even cancer? We know that the children of Tarrant County, in the heart of the Barnett shale, now suffer from asthma rates which are the highest in the nation at 25%. And the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality has confirmed that drilling is contributing 42% more VOCs, including carcinogens, than all on-road mobile sources in the Dallas Ft worth region. That is significant pollution. So whose economy are we talking about here? Mr. Tillerson concludes his statement with the astonishing and somewhat inelegant opinion: If you want to live by the precautionary principle, then crawl up in a ball and live in a cave. To crawl up in a ball and live in a cave implies a certain withdrawal from reality. And yet, the precautionary principle approach is supported by 67 percent of Republicans, 82 percent of Independents, and 89 percent of Democrats. So just who is living in a cave? Moreover, Mr. Tillerson feels that his industry is being treated disrespectfully. He opined: What I find interesting about the U.S. relative to other countries is in most every other country where we operate, people really like us. And theyre really glad were there. And governments really like us. And its not just Exxon Mobil. They admire our industry because of what we can do. They almost are in awe of what were able to do. And in this country, you can flip it around 180 degrees. Unfortunately, it is equally awesome to have the ability to destroy entire aquifers with one mistake or to decimate cities or regions or even humble homes when left without potable water. It is also awesome to create air full of carcinogenic material. It would be the height of ignorance to disregard such awe inspiring potentialities and push ahead with no consideration of possible consequences. In fact, to my mind, that is much more emblematic of crawling up in a ball and living in a cave.

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The precautionary principle, however, does inconveniently disregard any substantial energy executive bonus and, of course, earnings per share. So perhaps now we are hitting closer to the nerve. At any rate, it is much more probable that a capricious disregard for our environment will come to haunt us as our finest example of a Stone Age mentality. And it wont matter one iota how much we like Rex Tillerson and ExxonMobil. Everything you and ExxonMobil are doing to continue expanding carbon-based fuel infrastructure is immoral in the face of the urgent requirement to begin reducing CO2 emissions right away. Please take the first steps in planning fossil fuel abandonment. Waiting any longer to change course is irresponsible. We cannot wait any longer.

Call upon your colleagues in the energy sector to join you with bold courage Begin scheduling the retirement and dismantling of the fossil fuel infrastructure Shift investments from carbon energy infrastructure to carbon-free technology Compel Congress to enact a revenue-neutral carbon fee with rebates to all of US

Please learn about Charles Grant*. Consider what you can do to follow his historic lead, and then call upon your contemporaries to face the facts that burning oil, coal and gas is tantamount to committing global suicide knowingly, now that our short 200-year affair with hydrocarbons has brought humanity to the brink ... a climate cliff ... and we are rushing headlong to feed the addiction with more and more combustion and deadly emissions. This is a challenge, an economic and engineering challenge, not to mention a social and psychological challenge for all humankind. It is a challenge that you can take on. Are you up to the challenge? I certainly hope you are. A fellow Eagle Scout

Doug Grandt

* http://WhoIsCharlesGrant.com