Here in America, anti-fracking activists wouldn’t dream of going home and finding their lights didn’t work, their cars didn’t run, their refrigerators didn’t cool. But in many parts of the world energy shortages are a routine part of life—and they can be impoverishing and even deadly. Kenneth P. Green quotes one observer: “Lack of power means so many things. It means women giving birth in the dark, children who either cannot study at night or don’t go to school, and business that cannot function.”