>>>> Given our energy situation, no one will block shale oil production when someone shows they know how to extract it in an environmentally acceptable way.... If shale was economically practical and clean, we'd be mining it now....no one would stop it.
According to Shell, they can extract more than a billion bbls of oil per square mile. The Green River Basin, alone, covers more than 1,000 square miles. You might be able to do the arithmetic.
They say their process is feasible with oil at $30/bbl and yields 3.5 units of energy for every 1 unit of energy used in production.
Now, it may not be the most environmentally friendly process at this point, but given time, this problem can likely be solved. But you can't start solving that problem until you make the shale available in commercially feasible quantities, and the Democrats have refused to do so.
You want to see an "environmentally friendly" production method, but that cannot happen until such time as the shale is made available to those who will develop the techniques.
Sure, if everyone cut 15-20 miles/day off their driving we'd save lots of oil. But for most people, that means driving to work and back or giving up fundamental freedoms, which most of us are simply not willing to do when we can buy gas for cheap ($4-8/gal). At $4/gal I'm unwilling to stay at home on weekends. Most people feel the same way, I believe. If it gets to $8, some others will choose to stay at home. That's the way supply and demand works. |
