Public Employee Press


Film/DVD review
Tapwater burns in "Gasland" movie about the hazardous hydrofracking process

The movie "Gasland" unfolds like a mystery, as filmmaker Josh Fox explores the consequences of hydrofracking, a dangerous technique for getting natural gas out of underground rock formations.

Crossing the country, he finds "fracked" sites and interviews victims whose water, land and way of life have been ruined. In one dramatic scene, a man sets his running tap water ablaze, showing the high content of natural gas that has seeped into the water supply.

In hydraulic fracturing, gas drillers inject a high-pressure mix of water, sand and a witches' brew of chemicals deep underground to split open the rock and release the gas. The gas and oil companies are reluctant to reveal what chemicals they use, but some, such as benzene, are known to cause cancer and can seep from the wells into the water supply.

One of the mysteries Fox explores is what happened to the Environmental Protection Agency, which is supposed to protect us, as the companies pumped hundreds of millions of gallons of poisons into the earth from 2005-2009. Former Vice President Dick Cheney helped exempt the process from the federal Clean Water Act while creating a smooth path for Halliburton-his former employer and a big hydrofracker.

Now targeting the East, the natural gas industry hopes to drill in the Marcellus Shale deposit, which extends into New York City's water supply area. A state commission is studying the process, but environmental activists want stricter regulations before any permits are issued.

As the debate begins, we should all inform ourselves about what's at stake. "Gasland" won an Oscar nomination this year because it is entertaining, clever and ultimately chilling. The film is available on DVD at the DC 37 library in Room 211 or at many neighborhood public libraries.

— Jane LaTour