It never fails: every time a government is in a fiscal crisis, some rocket scientist suggests that the government sell some of its excess properties.
Representative Dennis Ross (FL-12), a tea partier, suggests selling off the 70 percent of Utah that is federally owned: "If you need cash, let's start liquidating." And, doubling down on Teh Crazee, Utah's Governor Gary Herbert says it's worth exploring:
If we want to reduce the deficit and balance the budget on a federal level, why don’t we sell some of the federal assets? And of course we have a lot of the private land, excuse me, a lot of federal land that they could liquidate and help balance the budget. I think it’s certainly worth exploring.
It's not a coincidence that Utah is the state targeted for liquidation.
When Ross floats the idea of selling Utah, he's not really talking about selling federal buildings - most of the 70% of Utah that is federally owned is open space. Sadly for progressive snark, he's also not talking about selling its Senators and Representatives - most of them have already been bought by Koch, Exxon, Peabody, and their ilk. And, although a few choice properties may set off a bidding war (would you like some fries with your Golden Arches National Park?), that's not the main focus of the GOP's privatization push.
Conservatives envision selling the 70% of Utah managed by the Departments of Interior (Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service) and Agriculture (Forest Service). But who would buy it? Not people who need scarce, expensive water. However, much of Utah is of interest to oil shale speculators.
Utah oil shale is poised to deliver, oil shale executives reported at a convention on unconventional fuels yesterday. They estimate that Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah have 800 billion barrels of oil in oil shale-bearing rocks. Until recently, it hasn't been economically feasible to extract shale oil and other unconventional oil equivalents.
For comparison's sake, the Arctic Circle countries are estimated to have 90 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, Saudia Arabia has 267 billion barrels, and proven oil reserves in the United States are 21 billion barrels. If anything, the shale oil hucksters may be underestimating reserves. A 2005 USGS report (pdf) claims that the world has 2.82 trillion barrels of shale oil, of which 1.46 trillion barrels - over half - is in Utah's Green River formation.
Selling off huge chunks of Utah isn't going to happen overnight; the first time it's even mentioned, DailyKos diarists (moi!) will snark away. But this is the opening of the Overton Window, the leading edge of a push to privatize public lands as state and federal officials contemplate deficits of oil and money. Utah has an abundance of telegenic, straight-talkin' farmin' and ranchin' useful idiots demanding a Sagebrush Rebellion 2.0 to provide cover for the shale oil hucksters.
Utah will be a battleground for a post-peak oil energy policy. The state can open itself up to tar sands mining, grant more and more shale oil permits, and demand that its federal land be sold. Or it can take advantage of its desert sunshine and wind power.