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Show Wednesday, January 30 2008 Vernal Express or for dust control in the mine area. "The retort process is energy positive as the f esidual carbon from the oil shale keeps the retort process working. Additionally, we can use the spent shale for road base or other construction applications," appli-cations," she said. "That would be an additional revenue stream from the extraction process." Hansen noted that the country's coun-try's energy independence is of critical importance to the economy. The DOE estimates that of the 2.5 trillion barrels in shale oil in the world, 72 percent occur in the US. Of that amount, 60 percent is retained in the intermountain region, representing represent-ing more than 40 percent of the worldwide reserves of oil shale. "Eastern European countries like Russia and Estonia have been extracting shale oil since the 1940s and '50s," she said. "Joint ventures with China, India and Russia is estimated to result production of roughly 12 million barrels of shale oil per year by 2015." "The US is the largest importer im-porter of oil in the world. We need to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil," Hansen explained. "Within the next few years, fast-growing fast-growing countries like Mexico will no longer be exporting oil. But, in eight years, we could be extracting 50,000 barrels of oil per day from this very area," explained ex-plained Hansen. "That's energy independence." White River Continued from Al technology that cooks the shale to separate the oil from the rock in an enclosed furnace. No external water is used in the retort process. Hansen explained the water needs for phase two have already been met. With the retort using no water, the only water needed in OSEC's activities will be used either to cool the spent shale A2 Traffic deaths Continued from Al "One big thing is that cars now are a lot safer than they used to be," he said. "We've also been focusing on education and getting people to wear their seatbelts more, because that's the No. 1 thing that reduces fatal crashes." Despite a statewide decrease in fatalities, the report still revealed re-vealed some troubling trends. The number of fatal crashes caused by fatigued drivers nearly quadrupled between 2006 and last year. Crashes involving speeding drivers also increased from 49 to 72. And drunken drivers driv-ers killed 14 more people in 2007 than in 2006. Locally, concerns with data focus on an increase in fatal crashes on state Road 191 -which includes Indian Canyon and the descent into Vernal from Flaming Gorge - and U.S. 40. In 2007, there were 13 fatal crashes on SR-191, as compared with four fatal crashes in 2006. I i fill DIABETES CLASSES M For People With Diabetes For Families of People With Diabetes If You Are At Risk For Diabetes Anyone Who Is Interested First Wednesday Of Every Month 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. UBMC Board Room EVERYONE WELCOME!!! Wednesday, February 6, 2008 Speaker: Weston Weaver, Pharmacist Topic: Medication for Diabetes, Hypertension & Lipids - BasinJ I C- Medical V" J Center Uintah Basin Medical Center 250 W. 200 N. Roosevelt, 722-4691 Data detailing which portions of the highway saw the biggest increase in fatalities was not immediately available. Chugg and Olsen said their biggest concern when it comes to fatalities is U.S. 40. "The problem is that the volume vol-ume of traffic on that highway is going up, but the road improvements improve-ments haven't caught up yet," Chugg said. "It's like trying to push even more water through a pipe that's already too small." Fatal crashes on U.S. 40 have been increasing steadily since 200 1 , when there were five fatalities. fatali-ties. Last year saw eight fatalities on the same stretch of road. The crash rate for U.S. 40 is above the state average for crashes on other rural sections of highway. The segments of roads that have seen the biggest increase in traffic over the past five years are those heavily-used by commercial com-mercial vehicles that cater to the oil and gas industry, and U.S. 40 is no exception. To address this growth along the highway, UDOT officials have commissioned an intensive corridor study that details all the improvements needed to facilitate increased traffic on the road. "The mix of vehicles on U.S. 40 can contribute to the number num-ber and severity of crashes," the corridor study found. "After 200 1, the number of commercial vehicles jumped from 4 percent to 5 percent and has been holding steady." UDOT officials have detailed a total of 53 projects they think are necessary to increase safety along the corridor. Improve ments have been prioritized and will be completed money becomes available. Some of the biggest concerns cited in the study are insufficient lane capacity, passing lanes of insufficient length, and increasing increas-ing accidents along highway truck access points. The corridor corri-dor report showed that crashes involving large trucks occurred more frequently than average to the west of Roosevelt and to the east of Duchesne - an area where, until recently, there was no passing pass-ing lane to overtake slower truck traffic. UDOT spokesman Geoff Du-paix Du-paix said the corridor study is meant to provide officials with a . detailed blueprint that they can use for future improvements. "The thing that we heard over and over from the general public and cities and counties is that we're seeing a significant increase in truck traffic with oil and gas exploration and there's a resulting need for additional passing lanes," he said. Dupaix said UDOT collects col-lects accident fatality data and composes a report every year to encourage drivers to aim for zero fatalities on Utah roads. The top five behaviors that lead to fatalities include distracted driving, driv-ing, impaired driving, improper restraint, drowsy driving, and aggressive driving, he said. "We will make all the improvements im-provements that we can to the highways to make them safe, but the responsibility still goes back to the motorist and how they are driving on that roadway," he said. Clarification The profile on Daggett County's Local Emergency Planning Committee will appear in next week's Cernal Express. g fi . ......... o cvc our 41m OcUs. t-f. i r- H 1 l r; h . 1: t I - There are some things you just don't have to worry about when you live outside the city. And then, there are some things you do. Did you finow our tobacco use in Uintah Basin is nearly double the state's average? We love our way of life here, so let's not cut it short. 1 " 11 1 11 "" i I f V t (mm J ! ' i A ' ...... . ... ' I I Irs t j Dinah, the pink dinosaur welcoming motorists at the east end of Vernal appears to have vicious teeth, thanks to icicles formed from snow that melted from her head, this photo was submitted by Carole Jackson. 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