If it wasn't for the climate change thing

Tar sands will supply oil, it's inevitable, and we're (the U.S.) going to use some of it. And we'll need it, we have to reduce our dependence on oil imports. If, even despite the Japan nuke crisis, the country depends a lot more on nuclear power for domestic and business energy (i.e., households and businesses fixed locations), we need oil for the transportation sector. By increasing mileage through all methods we can use less, but we still need oil.

Tar sand oil extraction uses a LOT of water. Bad for the environment where it's happening, which happens to be mostly in Alberta, Canada. So a process which uses less water would be welcome.

And now there is one, using ionic liquids instead of water. The liquids can be recycled and reused. And as a bonus, it's good for cleaning up oil spill messes on the coastline!

As the article sayeth: "However, the production of petroleum from tar sands causes environmental damage. Part of the damage comes from the storage of contaminated wastewater from the separation process in large open air ponds. Wastewater from the ponds can seep into groundwater and pollute lakes and rivers. In addition, the requirement for large amounts of water can deplete the supply of local fresh water resources. The Penn State separation method uses very little energy and water, and all solvents are recycled and reused."

I'm no fan of oil -- there are a lot of reasons not to like it and to wish for a cleaner energy future SOON -- but we're going to be using oil for awhile yet, and so this helps the environment a bit.