Oil Shale, a century-old science fiction story
Washington – The Checks and Balances Project today released an analysis of the rhetoric that politicians and oil industry executives have used over the last century to portray oil shale as a viable energy solution. This, in spite of the fact that the oil and gas industry has failed to produce oil shale commercially in the United States under either Republican or Democratic administrations.
“For the last century, politicians and oil industry executives have been telling the greatest science fiction story in America, that oil shale will soon save America from our energy woes,” said Matt Garrington, Deputy Director of the Checks and Balances Project. “Oil shale amounts to one hundred years of empty promises and failures. We need an honest debate on energy policy that looks at the reality and shortcomings of oil shale.”
In their memo entitled “Oil Shale: a century-old science fiction story,” the Checks and Balances Project used Google News Archives and LexisNexis to examine samples from a search turning up more than 84,000 news articles mentioning oil shale, beginning around 1910 and continuing to 1980. The data demonstrates that for the last century politicians and industry have described oil shale production as being “right around the corner” or even just a few years away from production.
In 1917, the Christian Science Monitor reported on the promise of oil shale and that “preparations are underway for the development of the fields this spring.”
In the 1920’s, when new oil shale deposits were being discovered in western states, a December 30, 1922 Berkeley Daily Gazette headline read, “Shale will supply oil to nation soon.”
The Kentucky New Era, in 1946 reported, “Scientists forecast that within three years they can demonstrate a practical method of [oil shale] operation.”
A century of research and billions of investment dollars later, oil shale remains elusive. But as oil prices spike, some politicians are still claiming the “rock that burns” is the answer.
At a March 17, 2011 hearing, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings said, “The U.S. Geological Survey estimates [oil shale reserves] to be greater than one and a half trillion barrels of oil. The best way for the United States to insulate themselves long-term from unpredictable world events and rising gasoline prices is to produce more energy here at home.”
The Checks and Balance Project is calling on Hastings and other leaders to have an honest conversation about the viability of oil shale and acknowledge that it cannot address our current struggle with high gas prices.
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