Below was the wilderness, then the perfectly square clearings in the trees, and, finally, as we headed into Fort McMurray, the vast pits and the black ponds, with the bitumen bobbing on top.

NEWYORKER: Unconventional Crude

The entire city of Fort Worth sits over a gas dense layer of black rock called the Barnett Shale that only recently became possible to access.

NPR: Drilling for Gas in Dallas-Fort Worth

As the plane gained altitude, I could see the vast black pits of the tar-sands mines that surround Fort McMurray.

NEWYORKER: Unconventional Crude