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Agenda: The Promise And Peril Of Oil Shale Development, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

The Promise and Peril of Oil Shale Development (February 5)

The largest known oil shale deposits in the world are in the Green River Formation, which covers portions of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Fully one-half of the world’s oil shale lies within 150 miles of Grand Junction, Colorado, and about 80% of these reserves are on federal land. Estimates of recoverable reserves in the Green River Formation range from 500 billion to 1.53 trillion barrels. At present consumption rates, this is enough oil to satisfy 100% of U.S. demand for well over 100 years.

Development of oil shale could cause significant impacts on the Colorado Plateau. It would provide for …

Slides: Impacts Of Oil Shale On Carbon Emissions, Jeremy Boak

The Promise and Peril of Oil Shale Development (February 5)

Presenter: Dr. Jeremy Boak, Center for Oil Shale Technology & Research, Colorado School of Mines

43 slides

Slides: The Logistics And Energy Needs Of Oil Shale Extraction, Alan K. Burnham

The Promise and Peril of Oil Shale Development (February 5)

Presenter: Dr. Alan K. Burnham, Chief Technology Officer, American Shale Oil, LLC

10 slides

The Challenges Of Climate Change Regulation For Governments On The Political Left: A Comparison Of Brazilian And United States Promises And Actions, Colin Crawford, Solange Teles Da Silva, Kevin Morris

Publications

At the December 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, as is now well known, the parties failed to agree on any detailed course of action, much less enter into a binding agreement to control carbon emissions. However, four developing countries, Brazil, China, India and South Africa, formed a working group now known as "BASIC," and promised to try and resolve at least one key sticking point. Specifically, the BASIC countries brokered an accord with the United States under which both developing and more developed nations would later submit carbon emissions target cuts.