Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
whose pursuit it would obviously be worth opening up massive tracts of
wilderness to drilling or put ing another thousand miles of coastline at
risk of spills. Whether risks to the local environment are tolerable will
depend on whether oil is developed safely, and on where development
is pursued. And even though the benei ts of U.S. oil development may
appear inevitable, the reality is that, as with natural gas, development
without proper safeguards could lead to a backlash, undermining the
potential of abundant crude. How these environmental unknowns are
resolved depends in part on whether governments make wise decisions
regarding protection against local risks.
Yet there is still one big question surrounding an American oil
renaissance that all the economic benei ts in the world cannot straight-
forwardly answer. Scientists and advocates increasingly warn that aggres-
sively exploiting America's oil will be catastrophic for climate change.
Some voice similar skepticism about natural gas. As far as they are con-
cerned, Howard Jonas's dreams for Colorado oil shale, and everyone
else's big plans for U.S. oil and gas, are incompatible with a safe future
for the planet.
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