Shale Oil Issues

I just posted a comment to this post on the hazards of using shale oil as a replacement for "real" oil.

In short, I do not disagree with any of the issues brought up. I do, however, disagree with the conclusion that the difficulties will be a problem when we need shale oil. Basically, if we get to the point where we must use shale oil to keep our economy going, someone will figure out a very clever way of extracting it and many of the seemingly insurmountable technical issues will be solved.

Like many developing technologies, when the need is weak, the development is slow and seemingly unfocused. When the need becomes strong, the technology typically develops rapidly and in a more focused manner.