Family Life

01.28.13 | Sarah Harnisch

Oil companies at the heart of the U.S. Shale oil boom are burning off enough gas to power all the homes in Chicago and Washington combined. There is actually so much gas being drilled that some of it is being flared off. In North Dakota, flare permits spiked by 50 percent last year. In Texas, it's up sixfold. The volume of natural gas drilling in the U.S. has tripled in just five years, and is now fifth highest in the world, behind Russia, Nigeria, Iran and Iraq. There are so many flares now, from the extra gas, that the gas boom can be seen from outer space, with entire regions lit up. This is satellite map of what the gas flares look like from space: