The World According to Nick
My take on Software, Technology, Politics, and anything else I feel like talking about.
Friday, September 02, 2005

This Could Be Huge 

Here is some fantastic news out of the Rocky Mountains which has the potential to change our foreign policy significantly in the future (H/T to Instapundit):

The United States has an oil reserve at least three times that of Saudi Arabia locked in oil-shale deposits beneath federal land in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, according to a study released yesterday.
...
"We've got more oil in this very compact area than the entire Middle East," said James Bartis, RAND senior policy researcher and the report's lead author.
...
For years, the industry and the government considered oil shale - a rock that produces petroleum when heated - too expensive to be a feasible source of oil.

However, oil prices, which spiked above $70 a barrel this week, combined with advances in technology could soon make it possible to tap the estimated 500 billion to 1.1 trillion recoverable barrels, the report found.
...
Shell Oil is working on a process that would heat the oil shale in place, which could have less effect on the environment.

If this pans out, this could be have the biggest impact on United States foreign policy since the USSR tested it's first atomic bomb. I'm serious. Imagine how our stance with the Middle East would change if we didn't have to care about OPEC? Sure this type of oil is more expensive... now. But if we commit to mining it, then companies will do everything they can to make it cheaper to produce if for no other reason than to increase their profits.

Imagine how things would change if we had 3 times more oil than the entire Middle East. I'm not saying that the tables would exactly flip and we'd have a ton of power over them... but they would no longer have any power over us... which would leave us in the enviable position of dealing with terrorist supporting nations (*cough* Saudi Arabia) like we haven't been able to in the past.

Just imagine.

Comments:

Post a Comment

About Me



Name: Nick
Home: Wauwatosa, WI, United States

I'm a Software Consultant in the Milwaukee area. Among various geeky pursuits, I'm also an amateur triathlete, and enjoy rock climbing. I also like to think I'm a political pundit.


 View My Profile

Archives
 Home Page

Subscribe to this Feed

Search Archives
Previous Posts
This Weeks Carnival of the Badger is Up
Just Give Damnit
_____ is to Blame for Hurricane Katrina
Why I Don't Trust Keith Olbermann
Skinniness Epidemic
Carnival of the Badger Reminder
A Cry Too Far
Wanna Go on a Trip?
Devil's Lake
Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Time

Personal Links
Carnival of the Badger
The Coding Monkey
del.icio.us Links
Flickr Photos
Blog Critics Reviews





Blogroll Me!

music
books
video
culture
politics
sports
gaming

www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing public photos from Nick_Schweitzer. Make your own badge here.

Credits

Blogcritics: news and reviews







This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

Weblog Commenting and Trackback by HaloScan.com

RSS-to-JavaScript.com

Listed on BlogShares

Design By maystar