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Latest Library Content tagged with "oil shale"

Oil Shale Fact Sheet: Background PDF

At the tail end of the Bush presidency, the Bureau of Land Management worked overtime to grease the skids for turning over large tracks of western public lands to international oil companies that want to commercially develop the West’s oil shale resources, no matter the environmental, economic, and social costs to our wild lands and local communities.

Letter to Interior Department about violation of public comment laws on oil shale regulations PDF

This letter was sent to Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of Interior, on November 17, 2008 by The Wilderness Society and five other organizations. The letter notifies the Secretary that the Department of Interior refused to provide the public with an opportunity to protest or comment on resource management plan amendments for oil shale and tar sands leasing and production.

Oil Shale Fact Sheet: Water Consumption and Pollution PDF

Commercial oil shale development relies on unproven, environmentally destructive, and economically dubious technologies that are decades away from commercial readiness. In addition, extracting, producing, and refining oil shale also requires more water than the region has available. Tremendous amounts of water are needed for every step of oil shale production, including mining and handling, electricity generation, retorting, and refining. This fact sheet explores the many water issues surrounding oil shale development.

Oil Shale Protest Letter PDF

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) undermined the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act when it decided to amend 12 land management plans for Colorado, Utah and Wyoming without providing an opportunity for the public to protest, The Wilderness Society charged in a letter sent to the U.S. Department of the Interior. The plans were amended in particular to expedite the commercial development of oil shale in the Green River Basin of the three states.

Oil Shale Fact Sheet: Oil Shale Production & Global Warming PDF

Commercial oil shale development relies on unproven, environmentally destructive, and economically dubious technologies that are decades away from commercial readiness. This fact sheet explores how oil shale production contributes to global warming. Click on the link below for the full document.

Oil Shale Fact Sheet: Status of Research & Development PDF

Current federal policy supports a robust oil shale research and development program on federal lands managed by the BLM. The purpose for the Research & Development program is to overcome significant technological obstacles and provide adequate information to evaluate the impacts of potential development prior to a commercial-scale leasing program.

Oil Shale Fact Sheet: Private Shale Resources Are Undeveloped PDF

Though proponents of oil shale development claim the need for an expedited federal oil shale leasing program, the Department of Energy’s Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves has estimated that more than three million acres of oil shale lands in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are already in private hands and have been for decades. While several large companies alone control over 200,000 acres of oil shale lands, none to date has engaged in commercial-scale development because they lack the technology. This fact sheet explores undeveloped private shale resources.