Will Steger: It's a poor time to exploit oil shale

Sam Soja, Associated Press - Ap

A photo taken last summer shows large pieces of ice separating from the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf of the coast of Ellesmere Island in Canada's northern Arctic.

By Will Steger

Last update: October 10, 2008 - 6:14 PM

We are at a critical moment. As we burn fossil fuels, we are causing a buildup of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, and our climate is very close to spinning out of control. Demand has outstripped supply of petroleum, causing inflation and putting America in the precarious position of relying on foreign governments for our energy needs.

I’m alarmed by the warming of the Arctic regions. This summer two major ice shelves of Ellesmere Island on the northern part of our continent broke up. Fifty percent of the summer sea ice on the Arctic Ocean was lost.

Confronted by a dwindling supply of cheap oil and greater understanding of how burning fossil fuels causes global warming, America finds itself at an energy crossroads. One path, advocated by Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., is to exploit dirty, inefficient fuels derived from oil shale and tar sands. We can follow this path and extend our oil addiction, or we can choose a path that could create new jobs, energy security and prosperity by pursuing clean energy technologies.

Coleman’s path calls for harvesting oil shale found in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. The term "oil shale" refers to a class of sedimentary rocks containing high concentrations of kerogen, a geological ancestor of oil, which can be transformed into petroleum by heating it to extremely high temperatures before processing. Large-scale oil-shale development could cause significant environmental damage. In addition, the extraction of oil from shale requires a tremendous amount of energy, energy that would be produced from fossil-fuel-burning power plants that contribute to global warming. Every gallon of product derived from oil shale releases four times more carbon dioxide than conventional oil to obtain the same amount of usable energy. This path is not the direction that we want for our children and future generations.

In stark contradiction, common-sense clean energy solutions could be the foundation for new national energy security and economic prosperity. We need an all-out American commitment to solve the energy crisis. We need to immediately invest in building 21st century technologies like turbines to harness wind power here at home. We can and should promote massive American innovation around clean power technologies and energy efficiency.

This will make the information technology revolution seem like a tremor compared to the earthquake of prosperity and growth that would come from being truly self-reliant. In the process we will ensure our economic power and competitive edge.

America has a small window of time to lead the world toward a clean energy economy. As Minnesotans consider the upcoming U.S. Senate race, we need to think about the path our candidates are championing — either a dirty and backward path or a secure, clean energy future. We owe it to present and future generations.

Will Steger, the polar explorer and educator, lives in Minnesota.

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