Reader comments
Getting oil from sands and shale too destructive for some

Before anyone makes accusations, I'm a conservative Republican. I also work in the oil business. I was pushing for them to do this years ago.

But now it's too late. By the time this venture produces any oil, it will be 2015, gas will be $9 a gallon (don't believe me? Many insiders are predicting it), and everybody will either be driving an electric car or riding a bike. Then oil will plummet and you'll be stuck with this huge project with tons of capital already invested, which does nothing but pump worthless oil out of the ground.

The runup in oil didn't surprise anyone on the inside - we've known about it for 5 years. That's when they should have started this project - the oil would be coming online today and they'd be making a fortune. But unfortunately, the time has passed.

The oil business is drawing its last breath. Everyone will be driving alternative vehicles within the next 5 years. Get in line for yours NOW - they'll be hard to find pretty soon.

I worked in the oil patch, too, and I think "Too Late"s predictions about alternative vehicles are overly optimistic. Changes in manufacturing at such a massive scale simply cannot take place that fast. Gasoline and diesel will be our main transportation fuels for decades to come. Changes are coming, yes, but not that fast. His price predictions may be right. The current high prices and short supply have not been a surprise to experts.

Someone will always complain about digging in the ground, but the need for that oil is so great and so important to the well-being of America that I think the environmental/aesthetic concerns are trumped. The land can be reclaimed when mining is done with pretty surprising results. Your grandchildren would have a hard time recognizing that a mine had ever been there (except the changed contours of the land).

The real, big worry about oil shale is the use of water. That's a problem everyone can agree is a problem.

Most of the Tar Sand, Oil Shale,& Crude Oil is on Trust Land in the Uinta Basin. All so known as the U&O Reservation.

This is not the magic bullet. No water - no tar sand/shale oil. Have you ever seen Eastern Utah?

Get the oil, don't listen to the hippies. Liberal hippies only worry about their drugs and they like to complain about anything they can. Get the oil now.

The need for affordable energy will be the ultimate deciding factor - not environmentalism. The economic survival of the country will easily trump environmental concerns. $9 gas? yep.

I just returned from a Canada Tar Sands conference. Canada's rise in North American economic power is connected to their oil sands industry. They have an estimated 100 billion invested and they are enjoying our money from Utah. 35% of Utah's oil comes from them. So, as we think we are protecting the environment here, the Canadians laugh at us taking our money and doing what we could otherwise do here. The real comedy is that they are now mitigating all of the "enviornmental concerns" like not using water, eliminating tailings ponds, etc. They are making so much money that the enviros in Canada have now joined the industry to work to solve the problems. Our obstructionist friends here would do well to understand that it is delusion to think electric vehicles are going to save us. Its literally 40 trillion dollars away from ever making an impact. Low Emission Diesel is the new Green Diesel that will help Global Warming. This diesel comes from Kerogen oil in Utah's oil shale. Its a premium, wonderful oil that can be responsibly extracted. Lets find BALANCE in this subject in our reporting, research and concern. Our children deserve truth, not spin.

We lived in Nevada for 16 years in an area with several gold mines. It is very possible to dig a huge hole, mine the gold, rearrange the "overburden" (dirt removed) into an attractive mountain-like hill complete with planted native trees and grasses, and leave the area as nice as it was before the mining. I believe with some careful planning, it will be possible to "remove the mountain top" as was mentioned in the article, reach the tar sands in question, and replace or rebuilt an equally attractive landscape. It happens all the time in Nevada by companies such as Homestake Mining, and others. We live in eastern Utah, and our livelihood depends on the oil industry. Most of the companies involved in extraction of oil/gas/other products are responsible and take care of the environment. There are plans in place to mitigate the use of water, and prevent it from polluting anything downstream. We can be careful while still being practical.

Best Electrical Energy Sources = Wind and Nuclear. They will save the huge oil resources we are currently using to generate electricity. In the EU where gas is already $6.00 per gallon this is the way they are getting most of their Electricity.

We need to save our plant resources to feed ourselves and the others and not Automobiles and equipment.

I too live in the Uintah Basin. Our economy is booming here (Just try to find an apartment!!) because of the oil and mining in the area, while other parts of the state/country suffer through a down-turn in their economies.

Every time someone or some business wants to do anything related to energy, there will be some group/organization/individual that will throw a fit about whatever is proposed. Then some weak-spined politician will cave and the project will never go forth. It is time that our country became energy independent and do what is needed to be done to provide us with the power we need; be it nuclear, hydro, natural gas or coal so we are not beholden to some crazy foreign dictator.

We have the resources and the know-how in this country to do what needs doing.

Great comment about rearranging the overburden to recreate a mountain like hill. Its called a mountain of mine tailings and it is generally left for those that come after to clean up. Acid mine drainage and metals leaching are the consequences of these mountain like hills. To some a destroyed ecosystem is a small price to pay for the Hummer in the driveway.

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The spent shale from oil shale does not constitute haz waste. Because of this it is exempt from haz waste under the Bevill Amendment. In other words, its not a "toxic" waste we are talking about. As others have pointed out, the area can be mined and beautifully reclaimed. America already does this every day of the week in the coal fields of Wyoming. Most of the reclamation up there is BETTER THAN IT WAS WHEN THEY STARTED. Mining is not the problem folks, the lies of the professional lawyer obstructionists are the problem. They are cloggin our newspapers and profiteering off from fear mongering about the environment. All the while, our fuel costs are soaring and other countries who damage the environment are importing their oil. We are fools if we do not get these enviros out of our government and back yard. The U.S. economy is collapsing and it is highly connected to oil prices and lack of industry in the USA. We are trading a "green movement" that is a lie, for American economic destruction. I've had enough of this delusion. Its time to start fighting back and hold OBSTRUCTIONISTS accountable. OIL SHALE WILL HAPPEN.