Center News

Original article can be found at The Durango Telegraph
Originally published on June 3, 2010
By Allen Best

For just a brief period of civilization, humans have tapped the dense energy of fossil fuels. “Sweet perfume,” Carbondale’s Randy Udall, a consulting energy analyst and one of the nation’s leading activists in promoting energy sustainability, called them at a recent panel discussion in Denver. “These fossil fuels are magical.” (Read on …)

Original article can be found at http://www.headwatersnews.org/p.OilShale080609.html

“The Center of the American West probes the West’s oil shale resources and the past and future efforts to pull the oil out of its rocky bed”By Patty Limerick and Jason L. Hanson Center of the American West at the University of Colorado at Boulder

for Headwaters News
Aug. 6, 2009

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

George Santayana’s famous aphorism

Contrary to the assumption made by that very quotable George Santayana, history has never been a particularly good performer when it comes to delivering clear lessons and warnings. On the contrary, when it comes to offering us down-to-earth guidance, history has a vexing way of turning cryptic and coy.

(Read on …)

Original article can be found at http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/report_oil_shale_offers_promise_pitfalls/C35/L35/

By David Frey
Originally published 6/15/09

Oil shale has a rocky past in the West and an uncertain future, but the sheer amount of resources available, and dwindling supplies of world oil, could make it a crucial resource.

That’s the conclusion of a report by the University of Colorado’s Center for the American West, which found “serious and significant” environmental challenges related to extracting the fuel, balanced against the “world class proportions” of oil shale believed to be in the ground.

(Read on …)

Original article can be found at http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jun/14/study-harnessing-of-oil-shale-could-aid-energy/

By Brandon Schatsiek, Camera Staff Writer
Originally published 6/14/2009

BOULDER, Colo. — The University of Colorado’s Center of the American West released an online report Friday that examines the extensive history of oil shale and aims to “bring an impartial perspective to the debate” over its future.

Oil shale is a rock saturated with deposits of oil, so much so that the rocks are often flammable. The world’s largest deposit of the substance is located on the Western Slope.

(Read on …)

Original article can be found at http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2009/06/10/061109_2a_CU_oil_shale_report.html

By DENNIS WEBB/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
Originally published 6/10/2009

When it comes to attempts to squeeze oil out of rock in places like northwestern Colorado, past results aren’t necessarily indicative of future performance, a new report says.

“What Every Westerner Should Know About Oil Shale,” released Wednesday by the Center for the American West at the University of Colorado at Boulder, says the failures of previous attempts at oil shale development don’t necessarily suggest the same fate for new ones.

(Read on …)