Myth No. 8
U.S. Shale can Provide Energy Independence
Shale oil hasn't gotten too much attention since the oil crisis of the 1970s. But today, proponents are once again pointing out that there are more than a trillion barrels of oil locked in the shale deposits of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, more than all the proven crude-oil reserves on the planet. That would be enough to meet current U.S. oil demand for an entire century.
The problem, then and now, lies in the financial and ecological costs of extracting the oil. Shale oil naturally occurs in the form of kerogens, solid, waxy substances with a texture similar to that of ChapStick. Once the kerogens are heated to over 500 F, they exude hydrocarbons, which must be treated with hydrogen in order to be processed into usable fuela highly energy-intensive process that releases large amounts of CO2.
And just to get at these kerogens, energy companies would have to mine and process millions of tons of shale from the earthleaving behind toxic heavy metals and sulfates that could seep into groundwater. "There's a water
So while extracting the oil from U.S. shale may be technically possible, the scale of such an enterprise, as measured in acres and natural resources, may never make it worthwhile.