May 2, 1982:  The day the oil shale boom died.  Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the day, as Grand Junction City Councilor Jim Spehar wrote in a Writers on the Range column, "Exxon announced that it was pulling the plug on the largest boom in modern western Colorado history."  More than 2,000 people lost their job on that day, with devastating and long-lasting effects in many western Colorado communities, including Rifle, Parachute, Grand Junction, and others.

We are fortunate, I think, that so many people around today were around back then.  Still, it doesn't seem that we are being nearly as cautious as we should be.  President Bush's Energy Policy Act (signed in 2005 with the support of both of Colorado's Senators) calls for the completion of an Environmental Impact Study on commercial oil shale leasing next year, perhaps ten years before Shell even figures out if it thinks commercial development is plausible, much less what the impacts are likely to be.

The very premise of oil shale exploitation is mind-bending.  The rock in these oil shale areas contains a material called kerogen.  Heat the kerogen to a high enough temperature and it releases petroleum products.  How do you accomplish this?  Drill a bunch of wells, insert giant heaters, superheat the rock across a large area, and drill a bunch of wells around the perimeter of the hot wells and insert giant cooling devices to freeze the surrounding rock (the theory being that the frozen rock will prevent contamination of water supplies).  The engineering is challenging, to say the least, the predicted water use staggering, and we've seen estimates that another 1-4 new coal fired power plants would need to be constructed to provide the necessary electricity.

Even aside from the considerable environmental impacts, and the daunting challenge of producing oil shale in a manner that uses less energy than you get at the other end, many of the local communities are struggling.  Yes, it's true that the boom has meant increased revenues in the affected towns.  But the costs of the boom to these communities are outpacing the resources available to deal with them.  Overflowing schools, crumbling roads, dramatically increased demand for police and other emergency services, the lack of affordable housing for those not working directly for the energy industry (many of whom are imported from other states), and overwhelmed wastewater systems are among the escalating impacts.  Even the most significant tool in Colorado for supporting these local communities - the state's severance tax - are hampered by severe underpayments on the part of the oil and gas industry (in fact, 30% of the companies audited last year hadn't even filed tax returns).

The memory of Black Sunday offers a powerful cautionary tale about boom and bust, long-term community health, and the health of western Colorado's magnificent landscape.  We are hopeful that the research happens slowly and carefully, that local communities get the support they need, and that we are very cautious in deciding on an appropriate balance between oil shale exploitation and protecting Colorado's wildlife and spectacular natural landscapes.