January 17, 2013

A New Light in the Sky - "Kuwait on the Prairie"

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

There's a new light in the night sky - and it's North Dakota.

Over the past 2 years, North Dakota has doubled its oil production to become the #2 producing state in the nation. And with this oil has come a glut of natural gas - so much gas that the more than 150 oil and gas companies operating in the state don't have anywhere to put it. In order to keep oil production levels high, these companies are flaring (burning) almost a third of the natural gas that they produce.

Locals call these fiery fields "Kuwait on the Prairie." And, this frack-and-burn has left its impression on the night sky. In NASA's most recent set of photographs of the earth at night from space, you can distinctly see the impact of this oil boom. Six years ago, this midwestern state on the Canadian border was pretty much dark in NASA's photographs. Today, thanks to flaring and the oil derricks themselves, the region is literally glowing.

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Zooming in...

And here's the North Dakota oil boom:

H/T Robert Kurlwich at NPR

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