Doug Ross @ Journal

Keep drivin' that Hummer

Interesting article from the Rocky Mountain News (hat tip: PoliPundit):

Eight U.S. companies have filed applications with the federal government to lease land in Colorado for oil-shale development, a sign that oil producers again are ready to gamble some 23 years after the last boom went bust. The government said it will tread carefully, since it doesn’t want to repeat the oil shale boom-and-bust cycles of the 1970s and 1980s that almost devastated the Western Slope’s economy. But with crude oil above $66 a barrel at the close of trading Tuesday, oil shale is a promising alternative to crude. The Green River shale deposits in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming are estimated to contain 1.5 trillion to 1.8 trillion barrels of oil, and while not all of it can be recovered, half that amount is nearly triple the proven oil reserves of Saudi Arabia.

Before we start breakdancing, though, it's worth noting that several companies (like EnergyTec [EYTC]*) have been working diligently on freeing oil from the Wyoming area for quite some time. It ain't as easy as it might appear at first blush.

With industrialized and emerging countries all pursuing limited supplies of oil (and none of them quite as concerned with ecological damage as most in the U.S.), it's high time government eased exploration, refining, and alternative energy restrictions. It's not just good policy - it's a matter of national security.

*Full disclosure: yes, I am an investor in EYTC.