| For those that haven't heard about Gasland, well, its got a bit of relevance for those of us from Nothern and Western Colorado. The movie begins with Josh Fox (the filmmaker) being asked by a gas company to lease his land which sits on top of a large oil shale deposit. He embarks on a quest across the country examining the effects of hydraulic fracturing (fracing) in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wyoming, Lousiana, and many other states that are part of a 34 state drilling push to access natural gas.
(More after the fold, including some spoilers) |
| Josh's almost passionless narration seems to fit the almost lackadaisical way that he approaches the offer from a gas company to lease his parent's land of 19 acres for a fee of almost $100,000. Its almost as though this is a hobby occupies a weekend or two, maybe a few phone calls. However, his content belies his passion at the destruction that is left in the wake of the fracing, both environmentally and to the communities unfortunate to be on top of the large oil shale deposits currently being fought over by gas companies.
His documentary attempts to be fair, showing him in his fruitless attempts to get a comment, any comment, from various gas companies. The people that live around and in the oil fields are more than willing to give Fox a view of how they live, or attempt to, in the midst of the invisible toxic fumes and contaminated water tables affected by the gas and the fraccing fluids that have destroyed their way of life.
Many of the conditions are remarkably similar, whether it is in rural Pennsylvania, Wyoming, or Colorado. The effects of the fumes are headaches, disorientation, dizziness, and even brain lesions. People in the areas surrounded by the natural gas wells see their water turn flammable, toxic, and a multitude of colors that would seem pretty if you weren't supposed to put it in your body.
This movie appears at a time when the search for new energy is paramount for national security, national economy, and our way of life. What is the cost? I recommend watching this movie (its a bit geeky at times) for a view of what our "clean" natural gas economy is actually costing us as a society. |
