SCI: Ever heard of oil shale?

[Brillig]

Just read an article http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...NGIEKV0D41.DTL detailing some of the current projects for extraction of oil from oil shale in Colorado. Some of my favorite quotes:

At each production site, the powerful heaters extend down hundreds of feet, stretching vertically through a cylindrical area of shale about 100 feet in diameter. They then heat the area to about 700 degrees Fahrenheit -- for two to three years.

Shell plans to surround each heated area with a frozen barrier about 10 feet thick, chilled by pipes of pressurized aqueous ammonia.

Sounds pretty ambitious and maybe a little bit crazy. But that's oil companies for you.

[MacroGuru]

Yeah, the amount of toxic waste it produces has generally made it not worth it for a lot of places.

I do have to say though, if they can do it my understanding is Utah, Colorado and I think Arizona or New Mexico (I don't remember which) have some of the largest shale oil deposits in the world.