Energy independence

I find it rather peculiar how these findings (via Instapundit), which by any measure seem to be momentous, are presented so matter-of-factly:

The United States has an oil reserve at least three times that of Saudi Arabia locked in oil-shale deposits beneath federal land in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, according to a study released yesterday.

If extracting that is any success we should have plenty of time for a smooth transition to nuclear energy. This month's Commentary also has an interesting article on the subject: "Getting Over Oil" by Peter Huber and Mark Mills (the authors of this book).