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Oil Shale

Oil shale is a sedimentary rock found in vast quantities in the Green River Formation, which lies beneath portions of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming -- some of the most important wildlife habitat in the country. When heated to extreme temperatures, oil shale can be converted into liquid petroleum, which can be further refined into transportation fuel.

Oil shale development would further deplete already scarce water resources in the West, threaten wildlife habitat and increase air pollution, and the conversion process could also generate toxic waste. Western communities, already feeling the impacts of polluting oil and gas production, would face even more risks.

Despite the fact that commercial oil shale technology is largely untested, the amount of potential oil in the Green River Formation makes it an attractive proposition for many oil companies, who are pushing federal agencies to open publicly-owned wildlands to industrial energy development.

MORE DIRTY FUELS:
Tar Sands | Liquid Coal | Oil Shale | Dirty Fuels Home

More About Oil Shale
» NRDC Fact Sheet: Don't Support Dirty Fuels [pdf]
» Oil Shale by the Numbers: Dirty Fuels Won’t Solve America's Energy Crisis [pdf]
» NRDC Fact Sheet: The Key to Lower Gas Prices [pdf]
» NRDC Fact Sheet: Protect Our Friendly Skies [pdf]
» NRDC Report: Driving It Home

Photo: NRDC

last revised 12/2/2008

All Tags [ View Popular Tags ]:
AB 1493
agriculture
air pollution
airlines
appliances
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
asthma
auto industry
automakers
biodiesel
biofuels
birds
BLM
boreal forest
buses
bush administration
buying clean energy
California
Canada
cancer
carbon offsets
caribou
case studies
causes
Cheney energy task force
China
clean energy
cleantech
coal
coal-fired power plants
compact fluorescent lighting
conservation and restoration
consumer products
diesel
diesel buses
diesel exhaust
dirty fuels
drilling
efficient vehicles
electric utilities
electricity industry
emissions
emphysema
energy efficiency
energy policy
energy security
environmental history
EPA
ethanol
exhaust
fuel economy
fuel savings
gas drilling
gas mileage
gas prices
gasoline
global warming
global warming emissions
global warming legislation
green buildings
green diesel
health
health effects
household energy use
human health
hybrid bus
hybrid electric vehicles
hybrid vehicles
hybrids
hydrogen
hydropower
indoor air quality
jobs
Kids' Health
landfill gas
lead
liquid coal
location efficient mortgages
Los Angeles
mass transit
mercury
national security
natural gas
NEPA
new energy economy
New York
New York City
nitrogen oxides
nrdc offices
nuclear energy
offshore drilling
oil
oil price spikes
oil shale
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particulate pollution
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policy
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soot
sprawl
sulfur dioxide
tar sands
tourism
transportation
trucks
vehicle
vehicles
water management
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what you can do
wind power
Yellowstone

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