Letter to the Editor: Thanks for speeding up oil production

Dear Editor:
I would thank Representative Doug Lamborn for his work to speed up oil shale production in Western Colorado. The overwhelming majority of our transportation fuels — 94 percent — come from petroleum. Oil shale can be utilized as a high-quality synthetic fuel refined into jet fuel, diesel and gasoline. When you look at the fact that most of the food that is on our table travels more than 1,500 miles before it reaches our plate, the need for quality, home-grown energy becomes paramount.
It is unfathomable that the administration wants to delay oil shale development and wrap it up in yet more red tape. As Lamborn said in a press release, the Obama Administration is trying to keep “jobs and American energy security under lock and key.”
America uses more oil than any other country in the world and renewable energy alone will not quell our insatiable need. The U.S. has six percent of the world’s population yet consumes a quarter of the world’s oil. More than 75 percent of our oil imports come from foreign regimes and we send three-quarters of a trillion dollars overseas per year buying oil.
Sound investments in oil shale means the money spent overseas for energy could be utilized at home producing oil, creating thousands of well-paying jobs, generating huge revenue distribution while significantly strengthening our national energy security.
Sam Tolley
Alliance Energy Company
Rangely