Well, since they're already extracting hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil daily from Canada's tar sands I would hardly call it junk science. In fact I wouldn't call it science at all. More like a huge engineering project.
Thousands is not trillions, though, or even billions. The question is whether this is going to solve our energy problems. Obviously, it has not so far, and the price is approaching $70 a barrel. Could reach over $100 if the Iran thing heats up, and might reach $100 anyway by the end of the year. If we can't economically tap those resources at that price, then you really have to question the accuracy of these glowing articles.