With the 110th Congress’s final legislative hours ticking down, Utah’s congressional delegation is pulling every string it can to stimulate destructive oil shale development on Utah’s federal public lands.

For years, oil shale, which consists of an oil-like substance (kerogen) trapped in rock, has been touted as a panacea for the nation’s energy woes.  But, due to the difficulty of extracting it and the environmental damage caused by current methods of extraction, it has never been an economically viable or profitable energy source. 

Last year, Rep. Mark Udall (CO) and Sen. Ken Salazar (CO) worked to establish a moratorium on commercial oil shale leasing until an economically viable and environmentally sound process could be developed; this hasn't happened yet.  Leasing now, before this technology is available, will result in leases being sold to industry at prices that don’t reflect the full value or environmental consequences of the leases—a boon to industry at the expense of taxpayers. 

Now Utah's congressional delegation is attempting to overturn the existing moratorium on oil shale leasing.

You can help prevent this ill-conceived action by contacting your Members of Congress with a message that oil shale is just not ready.  Industry currently has federal research and development leases and should be required to prove the technology is viable before commercial leasing begins.

Click here to send a message to your Members of Congress