From Deseret News archives:
Shale oil a slippery slope
Although the event signaled that Colorado's energy economy was in trouble, Lamm said he was relieved that the scenic West Slope vistas remained undisturbed. At the time, the technology required strip mining the shale and extracting oil through a costly refining process. The environmental destruction was said to be the equivalent of excavating a Panama Canal every month.
More than 20 years have passed since the shale oil debacle on Colorado's West Slope, but the experience provides many lessons that are worth revisiting, given record oil prices and America's dependence on foreign oil. Some experts say the technology to extract oil has vastly improved. Others say the shale oil deposits in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado contain more recoverable oil than in the Middle East.
As some members of Congress and private industry eye the Green River Formation as a solution to foreign oil dependence, they should revisit the history books. Shale oil is an option, but most agree it remains a very expensive option. The risks to the environment deserve careful consideration.
Although economic pressures suggest urgency to explore energy alternatives, the possibility of shale oil development demands slow and deliberate investigation of the opportunities, impacts and risks.
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