oil shale

Environmentalism Versus Science

  The French National Assembly yesterday voted to ban “fracking,” which extracts shale gas and oil by injecting water, chemicals, and sand into rock formations, and has received strong criticism from the environmental community.  So you would think that the action, taken by a conservative government, would have pleased environmentalists. Apparently not: Far from claiming …

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Natural Gas from Shale: The Next Energy Boom? The New Climate Solution?

Steve Levine has an interesting article in TNR touting shale gas as the Next Big Thing in the energy world. He predicts falling oil prices (as low as $30/barrel) and geopolitical dislocations.  He does observe, however, that there are some unresolved environmental issues.  Some of those issues are addressed in a programmatic EIS that’s available …

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Oil Shale, Greenhouse Gas, and Federal Lands

Back in 2005, a Rand report assessed the merits of pursuing oil shale (a rock formation particularly prevalent in the U.S.) as an option for extracting liquid transportation fuel. The authors said: “Heating oil shale for retorting, whether above ground or in situ, requires significant energy inputs. Over at least the next few decades, this …

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