|
|
Fear of the light: why we need darkness
Petrusich, Amanda
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/23/why-we-need-darkness-light-pollution-starsDate Written: 2016-08-23 Publisher: The Guardian Year Published: 2016 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX20603 Light pollution conceals true darkness from 80% of Europe and North America. What do we lose when we can no longer see the stars? Abstract: - Excerpt: Which isn't to say the sanctity of the sky here is not being encroached upon. In the last decade, a handful of energy companies have begun extracting natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shales underneath Pennsylvania via hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a much-reviled practice that involves the release of gas or petroleum via a high-pressure injection of fluid through a narrow shaft bored into the ground. In Potter County, where Cherry Springs is located, there are 40 active fracking sites. The work cycle in a gas field is nonstop: energy companies not only rig up colossal, stadium-style spotlights, they also burn off excess gas in open pits or through steel pipes, in a process known as flaring. From afar, a flare resembles a giant blowtorch; clusters of flares are visible on satellite images from space. Subject Headings |