by Sandy Shore
16-09-05
John Loschke climbs out of his truck in the cramped parking lot outside the
Outlaws restaurant and surveys the collection of cars, trucks and RVs.
It's lunch hour on a hot summer day and he figures about 70 % of the vehicles
bear the unmistakable signs of oil and gas country. It reminds Loschke, the
town's mayor, of the chaotic scene when Parachute's fortunes were changed during
an oil shale boom some 30 years ago.
Today's energy boom, he says, is "managed chaos."
"We're better prepared. It's 25 years later and we've got infrastructure," he
said.
Some two decades after the West's last oil bust, production of coal, natural
gas, oil and uranium is on the upswing as the world's energy supplies dwindle
and demand rises unabated. Even oil shale is getting a fresh look.
Operations are scattered across the sparsely populated land, prompting
concern about potential impacts on land, water, air and even the communities,
says Pete Kolbenschlag of the Colorado Environmental Coalition.
"Communities in the West are not being given the opportunity to really see what
this package of possibilities means," he said.
Audra Moore, who owns a video game rental shop in Battlement Mesa, is worried
about the landscape, noting the oil wells seem to be sunk every few acres in the
Grand Valley area.
"I'm concerned about the looks and how it will affect the wildlife," she said.
Natural resources have helped sustain the West's economy since it was settled
-- gold, silver, copper, coal, natural gas, oil. It's proved to be a
roller-coaster ride, with thousands of jobs created during prosperous times and
then lost as demand ebbed. A recent example occurred when Middle East oil
producers shut off oil supplies to the United States in 1973 over US support of
Israel. The move sent companies scrambling to develop domestic supplies as gas
was rationed and prices skyrocketed.
Thousands of workers filled housing complexes; city and state coffers were
bolstered with revenue and government began bolstering infrastructure. Then the
price free fall began, sending the West spiralling into economic doldrums as
tens of thousands of jobs were lost, bankruptcies jumped and businesses were
shuttered.
Difficult years followed as the region eased its reliance on natural
resources by diversifying the economic base to include tourism, manufacturing,
technology, construction and services.
"All of Colorado has grown in the meantime to a much more sophisticated place,"
said Russell George, a native of nearby Rifle who heads the state Department of
Natural Resources. "We have a much broader mix of people than we had then."
As the United States and other countries search for reliable energy sources,
the West's industry has turned around yet again with a new demand for oil,
natural gas, coal and uranium.
Luke Popovich of the National Mining Association said the resurgence in mining
is "almost unprecedented in modern times."
The bulk of the nation's electricity is produced in coal-generated plants,
with nuclear power plants generating about 20 % and natural gas, 17 % to 18 %,
Arch Coal Co. spokesman Deck Slone said. St Louis-based Arch, which operates the
world's largest coal mine near Gillette in Wyoming's Powder River Basin and
three other mines in Colorado and Utah, is gearing up to open other facilities.
In Colorado, coal production hit a record in 2004 for the fifth consecutive year
with 40 mm tons produced. Wyoming, the nation's No. 1 coal producer, had a
record 396 mm tons, up 5.4 %, according to the Wyoming Mining Association.
Standing in Parachute about 160 miles west of Denver, oil rigs are on buttes;
crude oil is produced in Rangely, and uranium and coal reserves aren't far away.
"This is a natural area for energy development. And it's not going to be
stifled. People are going to complain and all that stuff but they're not going
to stop it," said Robert Loucks of Grand Junction, a former manager of oil shale
operations here for Shell and Occidental Oil Shale.
With most industry watchers predicting production will continue for years,
government leaders and residents are hoping they can strike a balance between
the need for energy and the desire to protect the environment. Each energy
process has the potential to affect the environment.
George says governments need to coordinate development.
"You can't have oil shale on the same place as a gas field," he said. "I think
there are ways of sorting all that out."
Source: AP