NEWS JUNKIE POST
Jun 22, 2010 at 7:06 amDirty Water: “Gasland” Scares Up Crude Consequences
Maybe karma is finally catching up with the corporate greed machine. As oil continues to spew at an alarming and seemingly endless rate in the Gulf of Mexico, another environmental catastrophe is exposed in Josh Fox’s controversial documentary, “Gasland.” The film which explores the frightening effects of the process of “fracking”–in which oil and gas companies blithely mix an assortment of dubious chemicals into the water supply to aid in natural gas exploration–won a special Jury Prize at Sundance and is now running on HBO as part of the cable network’s Summer Documentary Series.
While “Gasland” is clearly a doc on a mission, it’s also an entertaining film. The idea literally landed on Fox’s doorstep when an oil company offered the novice filmmaker $100,000 to explore drilling on the land of his family’s home in the Delaware Valley in Pennsylvania. Rather than take the money, he decides to find out the crude truth and consequences behind this process. So he sets out on a journey that takes him across the country, posing questions to homeowners, oil company honchos and environmental officials. He doesn’t always find satisfying answers. And as Fox’s frustration and fear mounts so does the viewer’s.
The film plays out like a cross between a no-frills “Erin Brockovich” and Michael Moore’s “Roger & Me.” Fox is on a crusade here, and it’s a personal one. For me it conjured memories of watching “Lois Gibbs and the Love Canal,” an ’80′s TV movie that chronicled the brave and tireless activist who fought the callous corporate behemoth that dumped toxic waste into an upstate New York community’s water supply.
Oh and it doesn’t hurt that Dick Cheney is portrayed as one of the villains. Yeah, the puppet master features into the lax regulations oil companies–including BP and Cheney’s Alma mater Halliburton–enjoy thanks to the amendment to the Clean Water Act, implemented in 2005 at Cheney’s urging and orchestration. Sound familiar?
Think Fox is just another loco liberal looking to make a name for himself? Listen to the folks he interviews, people who are suffering mysterious ailments, whose children, pets and farm animals have developed ominous symptoms. Watch this:
“Gasland” has the zeal of “Silent Spring,” Rachel Carson’s ground-breaking 1962 book that exposed the dangers of DDT, put the chemical companies on notice for their campaigns of disinformation and is considered by many the launching of environmental activism. Fox has taken his film on the road, engaging in Q&As with nervous and angry audiences.
A trip through “Gasland” underscores an ugly truth most of us have come to accept in the last two months: if it comes down to a choice between profit and public safety, the corporate greed machine will, invariably, choose the cash. And the government watchdogs, so mired in a nexus of bureaucratic incompetence and corruption can only wink at the beast crossing their fingers, praying the unthinkable never happens. Again.
“Gasland” by Josh Fox, airs on HBO. Or check Fox’s website for screenings in your area, as well as more info and ways to get involved.
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Dirty Water: ?Gasland? Scares Up Crude Consequences | NEWS JUNKIE POST…
I found your entry interesting do I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog
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This was very interesting and I am looking forward to seeing it on HBO in its entirety. Thanks for the “heads-up’ on a timely subect.
Awesome that you brought this to our attention, Amy! Thank you.
Those of us who don’t have television miss out on the occasional enrichment that TV and Cable (all-too infrequently) offers the public discourse…. I’ll look for this doc when it’s up for rental and purchase.
For those of you interested in the real facts, read this article as well- http://www.jlcny.org/site/index.php/news/latest-news-articles/192-debunking-gasland-the-movie
There are a lot of inaccuracies in this movie that people seem to be overlooking!