Angry at the price of gas?

Upset that so much of that money you are throwing down the road is being picked up by Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and other like nations? Understand the impact oil importation has on our balance of trade deficit?

Wonder why no one is doing anything about this?

One massive potential American energy resources is known as oil shale. In fact, no other nation in the world is as rich in oil shale as the U.S. The largest deposits of American oil shale are located in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming. And though extraction poses some technical challenges, US oil shale reserves contain the energy equivalent of 2 trillion barrels of oil.

To put this figure in perspective, the world has used 1 trillion barrels of oil since the first oil well was successfully drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859. As such, the United States’ 2 trillion barrels of oil shale is a potentially huge new source of oil, and must be central to any discussion of our continental energy security. Shale and other new sources of oil, like oil sands currently being developed in Canada, offer important new North American energy supply options.

Shale oil is generally considered economically viable at $40 a bbl oil. We are, ahem, at over $140.

You ask, "What, pray tell, is stopping us?"

Repeal the Congressional prohibition precluding the production of oil shale leases on taxpayer-owned federal lands.As part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Congress directed the U.S. Secretary of Interior to develop a program to enable the production of America’s oil shale resources - the largest oil supply in the world – for American consumers.The United States has 2 trillion barrels of oil shale. This is more than 7 the amount of crude oil reserves found in Saudi Arabia, and is enough to meet current U.S. demand for over 250 years. According to the U.S Department of Energy (DOE):

“Once developed, U.S. oil shale resources will be similar in extent and energy potential to Alberta’s tar sand reserves. When oil shale and tar sands are considered together, the United States and Canada will be able to claim the largest oil reserves in the world.”However, in 2007, Congress adopted a rider that prohibited the Department of Interior from completing the task it was assigned in 2005. Consequently, the United States is still without a program to bring this massive resource to market for American consumers.

Who ran Congress in 2005 and who ran it is 2007? Corrupt and rudderless Republican leadership gave Congress to a band of irresponsible Leftists. Well done.

What can be done? Here are some good starting points.

Hat tip PowerLine.