5. Oil shale failed in 1982 due to the price dropping to $10 a barrel, not because of technology or scarcity of water. A lot has changed since then. Time Magazine's Man of the Year in 1982 was the Computer. Today, we have better technology, better environmental regulations, and OPEC can no longer flood the oil market.

6. Current law gives each governor, before any commercial leases are granted, the right to set the pace of oil-shale development. But Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., has put a moratorium on commercial leasing regulations, effectively taking away that right for Utah's governor. The action produces no additional rights for Colorado but destroys Utah's right to move forward.

Some have expressed concerns that the horse should not be put in front of the cart with regard to oil-shale production. But the moratorium slaughters the horse and barricades the road. You protect against a bust by supporting an activity, not artificially starving it.

I've supported Colorado's right to choose its own pace. Utah deserves the same courtesy.

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Orrin Hatch is Utah's senior U.S. senator.