"Gasland" A Must See!

The film "Gasland" includes a multitude of interviews with people whose property and water have been affected by fracking, the process of extracting natural gas from the earth below their property by pumping chemicals and water into holes drilled 8,000 to 11,000 feet deep. (A mile is 5,280 feet.) Most told us that their problems started with headaches, and then developed into much more serious ailments, including coughing, vomiting, exhaustion, and fainting. Many said that neighbors who were either afraid to speak publicly or had signed confidentiality agreements to get payment for their treatment from the industry were suffering similar problems. Some who had signed a confidentiality agreement said on camera that the truth needed to be spoken anyway.
Two professional investigators were interviewed. They spoke about a formidable number of chemicals they detected in the affected families' water in jargon that was far beyond my chemical knowledge. What came through strongly were their warnings that these chemicals were dangerous to humans and other living things.
Visuals were compelling. One man early in the film handed producer and narrator Josh Fox a jar of yellow liquid that he said had come out of his spigot. "What's in this?" Another handed him a jar from his sink that was brown with apparent dirt. It looked clear as he picked it up, and he said, "It has settled, but watch this!" He shook it and we saw a dark brown liquid.
Others showed how filthy, even black, their clothes became if they washed them in well water after the fracking occurred nearby.
Many people showed how they could set fire to the water coming out of their kitchen spigot. Late in the film someone set a torch to a stream and it burst into flames! A woman showed a pathetically dead dove and rabbit that she had frozen as evidence.
At the end of the film we go to a congressional hearing and watch leaders of the industry say under oath that these "bad reports" have never been verified and claim that someone is spreading false rumors. The audience gasps, both in the Montclair Public Library, where the film was shown free on Thursday, Jan. 28, and in the congressional hearing room. Could industry leaders possibly be that ignorant?
The film is punctuated with Josh Fox' efforts to get an interview with someone in the industry. "Call back later." "Try emailing him." "I will ask him to get back to you." "Who do you represent?" "The public." Slam. It may be that the decision-makers have insulated themselves from the truth by never listening to affected people and are woefully (and culpably) ignorant.
Josh Fox decided to do this film after he was offered $100,000 for the right to drill on his land in northeastern PA where he lived in the woodland house his "hippie parents" had built the year he was born. He asked others within an easy day trip about their experiences with fracking with alarming results. After he decided to make a film, he traveled to many states.
Hundreds of thousands of these wells are already functioning in this country. One person in Colorado had 24 wells on his property, all visible from his front porch. A member of the audience said that Colorado allows individuals to buy only the land, but what is underneath is not theirs and rights can be sold to a company. People told of going to great lengths to acquire water. One told of going to town every week and filling two 500-gallon tanks for his family's weekly needs.
In PA the companies have to get permission from the owner of the land to drill into it. However, they go sideways after they drill down, so a resident's well may be affected if a neighbor gives permission. "You might as well give permission and collect the money," one audience member said was the pressure used to get PA residents to sign.
There is a proposal now to start fracking in New York state near the largest natural water source in the world. It supplies water to New York City and parts of NJ, PA, and DE , to a total of over 15 million people. Where would those people get water from if this source is ruined? Legislation is pending in NY to prevent this.
The United States has been called, "The Saudi Arabia of natural gas." We have lots. "Gasland" was one of the most frightening films I have ever seen, but Gray told us it has been nominated for an Oscar, so professionals think it is well done. As much as I wanted it to end, I never felt tempted to walk out.
I will send this to my congressmen. Clearly we must have a national law prohibiting this practice, which jeopardizes our ability to drink and wash. One audience member said, "We conquered nicotine. Now, on to others!"

The following are three websites where further information is available. Damascuscitizens.org., Catskillmountainkeeper.org., Delewareriverkeeper.org.

Check for a viewing in your community or rent from Netflix.