Should we squeeze oil from shale?

I’d like to know how you feel about the renewed push to develop oil shale in Utah and Colorado, an idea spurred on by President Bush this week. Some of you were around in the 1980s when a lot of money and effort was put into shale development, resulting in a bust that hurt a lot of small towns in Utah and Colorado as the price of oil fell.
This story caught my eye. Apparently, an overwhelming majority of Americans support the idea of opening the coastline to off-shore drilling, but in the states most affected, California and Florida, people overwhelmingly oppose it.
I’m wondering if the same holds true for Utah voters when it comes to oil shale development. Did we learn our lesson in the ’80s, or is this a different situation?
A developer says he has the technology to make shale pay. As long as the risk belongs to the private sector, I don’t have any problem leasing public land for this purpose, provided the environmental impacts are few.
What do you think? Is this the key to making Utah the Middle East of the West? Or is it just another ride on the cold-fusion highway?