Oil shale development greenlighted for public land

Faced with a growing energy crisis, the Bureau of Land Management finalized a plan on Thursday to open nearly 2 million acres of public land in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado to commercial oil-shale development. The shale could yield around 800 billion barrels of oil.

Though actual development of the vast resources is likely a decade away, officials in Wyoming and Colorado are questioning the decision by BLM to proceed. An Associated Press article cites a written statement by Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo.: "The administration is putting the cart in front of the horse by trying to sell these leases prematurely."

Many locals are skeptical about the potential of oil shale development. The article says, "Coloradans who lived through the oil shale bust of the 1980s are leery of the kind of economic devastation that occurred when the fledgling industry failed despite huge government subsidies. They refer to "Black Sunday," when Exxon closed its $5 billion oil shale project near Parachute on May 2, 1982, putting 2,200 people out of work." (Read more)