[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Not trying to be critical - just trying to learn. Isn’t oil shale very expensive in terms of water resources needed to complete the process, and land needed to store the part of the shale that’s not used? Thanks.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Water resources, yes it takes a good amount. For land, not really; you capture in situ, which means without actually digging the shale up. You can inject superheated water into the shale and that will liquefy the oil in the shale so you can pump it as normal.

Note that water is, again, a problem because we make it a problem (politics trumping reason and science). Consider that the Columbia River alone has twice the water needed for the daily needs of every single person on the planet! We have an abundance of water, it is just not managed properly; we have more than enough water to recover all this oil without concern if we just had the political willpower to do so.