Good-Bye Dark Skies in Eastern and Southern Utah
There is a good discussion over on Cloudy Nights on light pollution from fracking. Here on this map on this link: http://www.eia.gov/oil_gas/rpd/shale_gas.pdf The map prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Agency, delineates the extent of recoverable shale plays in the continental United States; anywhere in a shaded area will more than likely experience increase light pollution in the near future. In this link if you look at pictures 10 and 14 you can see what a well is like at night: http://www.uppergreen.org/interactive-map-pinedale-anticline.html As stated by a friend from the forum: "Elsewhere notice the fleet of Halliburton trucks serving one fracking rig. Note other structures, such as the stations to reinsert toxic water; it cannot be used for cattle. The groundwater is contaminated and some companies now provide citizens with bottled drinking water. The ozone concentrations are higher than those in L.A. There are about 7,000 wells (gas) with 3,500 more on the way. This is only the tip of one iceberg. The Upper Green is at the top of what some call the Unita Basin, an area said (again, by some) to contain four time as much oil as Saudi Arabia--not what they have left, but what they had. As I've noted here before, all of eastern Utah is heading into The Great White Light, and that includes all our beloved red rock country with its many national parks. Anyone still want to retire to the Four Corners with their 36' dob? In your mind's eye, extrapolate what you see in the photos to an area all the way down to northern New Mexico and you can see why some of us are so concerned. Bloomberg reports that in five to seven years we will surpass Saudi Arabia in oil production. It's called the New American Gas and Oil Revolution. It will go on for a long time, folks, and will...well, you know what it will do to visual astronomy." Look at the images for the Jonah Field . . . image those stretching from the Uinta Basin to southern Utah . . . http://www.uppergreen.org/interactive-map-jonah-fields.html Here is a link to the interactive map to the Upper Green (river) in Wyoming. http://www.uppergreen.org/interactive-map.html In Utah this will kill visual and imaging in the areas it is going to happen.
If you want to see what the oil industry has done for the night sky around the Bakken oil field in North Dakota, take a look at the linked image found on this site. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/712129main_8247975848_88635d3... About a third of the way between Minneapolis and Seattle is an extremely large, well-lit area that delineates the oil field operations at night. ________________________________ From: Jay Eads <jayleads@gmail.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 6:37 PM Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Good-Bye Dark Skies in Eastern and Southern Utah There is a good discussion over on Cloudy Nights on light pollution from fracking. Here on this map on this link: http://www.eia.gov/oil_gas/rpd/shale_gas.pdf The map prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Agency, delineates the extent of recoverable shale plays in the continental United States; anywhere in a shaded area will more than likely experience increase light pollution in the near future. In this link if you look at pictures 10 and 14 you can see what a well is like at night: http://www.uppergreen.org/interactive-map-pinedale-anticline.html As stated by a friend from the forum: "Elsewhere notice the fleet of Halliburton trucks serving one fracking rig. Note other structures, such as the stations to reinsert toxic water; it cannot be used for cattle. The groundwater is contaminated and some companies now provide citizens with bottled drinking water. The ozone concentrations are higher than those in L.A. There are about 7,000 wells (gas) with 3,500 more on the way. This is only the tip of one iceberg. The Upper Green is at the top of what some call the Unita Basin, an area said (again, by some) to contain four time as much oil as Saudi Arabia--not what they have left, but what they had. As I've noted here before, all of eastern Utah is heading into The Great White Light, and that includes all our beloved red rock country with its many national parks. Anyone still want to retire to the Four Corners with their 36' dob? In your mind's eye, extrapolate what you see in the photos to an area all the way down to northern New Mexico and you can see why some of us are so concerned. Bloomberg reports that in five to seven years we will surpass Saudi Arabia in oil production. It's called the New American Gas and Oil Revolution. It will go on for a long time, folks, and will...well, you know what it will do to visual astronomy." Look at the images for the Jonah Field . . . image those stretching from the Uinta Basin to southern Utah . . . http://www.uppergreen.org/interactive-map-jonah-fields.html Here is a link to the interactive map to the Upper Green (river) in Wyoming. http://www.uppergreen.org/interactive-map.html In Utah this will kill visual and imaging in the areas it is going to happen. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".
As someone who enjoys dark skies and time at the eyepiece, this is bad news. However, this country desperately needs some fossil-fuel energy independence for the next generation or two, until alternative energy sources are fully developed and integrated into society and the economy. Not only does it create badly needed jobs, but it can help keep us out of wars over other people's oil fields. Personally, retirement to a dark-sky site while still healthy and independent isn't very likely. Too many obligations and not enough time left. Too, the price of gasoline has become so high that my driving has become very limited. Even if the job allowed me to drive to a site within a hundred miles of home a few times a month, I couldn't really afford the gas. Dark-site star parties are once every few years events for me, pretty much like my sports-car hobby gatherings. It must also be remembered that light pollution from fracking fields isn't permanent. It may take years to a couple of generations, but sooner or later it will go dark again. I know that the people sounding a warning on this want their dark skies now, for themselves. They have a problem. I'm not taking sides, but there are many things to consider and be weighed against each other. Both pros and cons.
participants (3)
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Chuck Hards -
Jay Eads -
M Wilson