Stop Dirty Fuels:
Oil Shale
Stop Dirty Fuels : Tar Sands : Liquid Coal : Oil Shale
photo: Dan Lashof, NRDC Shell Mahogany site in Western Colorado, where Shell conducts oil shale research projects. This picture is representative of an insitu condensation experiment.
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 about Dirty Fuels from
NRDC's staff blog
- Goldman Sachs report finds that Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is linchpin for tar sands production
- posted by Anthony Swift, 6/10/13
- In a report released last week, Goldman Sachs painted a clear picture outlining why Keystone XL is a ...
- B.C. Government Rejects Tar Sands Pipeline - Raising Safety Questions
- posted by Danielle Droitsch, 6/3/13
- One of the most significant arguments in favor of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline was shattered by ...
- House bill would give TransCanada's Keystone XL tar sands pipeline special exemption from US environmental law
- posted by Anthony Swift, 5/21/13
- Proponents of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline in the House are pushing forward a measure that would ...
- With Fisker Hearing, House Majority Continues Their War on Clean Energy
- posted by Roland Hwang, 4/25/13
- While the Wednesday House oversight hearing on Fisker’s failure is ostensibly about whether DOE ...
- Keystone XL Spill Risk: A Reanalysis of the Environmental Impact Statement - Guest Blog by David Malitz
- posted by Elizabeth Shope, 4/24/13
- This is a guest blog post by David Malitz, Ph.D. David is a consultant living in Austin, Texas with ...

