You Can Now See America's Shale Revolution From Space

The gas flaring byproduct of shale oil and gas drilling can now be seen from space, the FT's Ed Crooks and Ajay Makan observe.

Here's what Bakken, North Dakota — home of the country's most intense shale oil drilling — looked like in 2003:

NASA

NASA

And today — way more lit up.

The situation is actually not ideal, the pair say — flaring in North Dakota has increased the state's greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent. Bismarck legislators are considering laws to help curb the practice, they write.

SEE MORE: Why Shale's Potential Cannot Be Overhyped >