GasLand

Greetings again from the darkness. This is Josh Fox's Oscar nominated documentary on the effects of natural gas drilling known as fracking. The film deserves your attention because it is a frightening look at how huge companies and the government can work in conjunction on projects that clearly put citizens at risk. I realize that last sentence sounds like Chicken Little yelling "conspiracy", but the details of the film will give you pause.

Can you light your tap water on fire? If so, chances are good that you are within range of natural gas drilling. Our government somehow agreed to allow this practice to remain exempt from the clean air and clean water laws. If brown water comes out of your faucet, then you already know what I am talking about.

Mr. Fox is from Pennsylvannia and that's where the story begins. He is concerned about his neighbors, the environment and our drinking supply. Clearly an enormous amount of chemicals are used in this drilling process. Clearly these chemicals seep into the wetlands and water supply of neighboring areas. Clearly too many people are looking the other way. The only thing not clear? The water near these drilling sites.

No mystery why this is allowed. The almighty dollar. It is cheaper for these companies to "pay off" the backwoods citizens than it is to not drill. Not sure how you decide the payoff when your kids are being poisoned and the damage to the water sources continues.

The film itself is a bit amateurish and sometimes the camera work is downright awful. But the point here is not to make a beautiful film. It is to educate ... to awaken people on just what is at stake with these dangerous procedures and lack of regulation and safety requirements.

The most painful piece was when the EPA executive was interviewed and he said that his agency must be directed by the government to check into allegations made by citizens. They have no authority to move on their own. If this is true, it's just one more instance of a bass-ackwards policy that needs to be reviewed. I encourage everyone to see this. If they aren't drilling in your area currently, it won't be long now.

This film is a much needed warning about the unsafe conditions around hydraulic fracturing. Anyone who doesn't see that clearly is obviously making money on hydraulic fracturing! Can we learn nothing from the current poisoning of the ocean due to unsafe practices in oil drilling? These companies only concern is profit- at all cost. As this film demonstrates and the current events show- poisoning the world around them is an acceptable risk for maximum profit. If not, why would they continue to campaign for the hydraulic fracturing (or Fracking) of the Marcellus Shale? (and the rest of the United States...)

Fracking is especially dangerous for New York City because the city gets its water from the Adirondacks. Currently, fracking is not allowed in the NYC watershed part of the Marcellus Shale which stretches from upstate NY to Tennessee. In addition to the problems with toxic chemicals injected into the ground with fracking, the Marcellus Shale is radioactive so that waste from fracking contains low levels of radioactivity.

I would love to see those reviewers trying to debunk this film drink the water coming from the faucets of so many homes shown in the film. Water that is flammable straight from the sink! Authorities defending fracking as harmless refuse to drink the water offered them in the film and so would those narrow minded negative reviewers. (Or should I say profiteering propagandists... what's your day rate for writing these reviews?)

Wind and sunlight is free and can be harnessed to produce the energy we need to keep the world moving without poisoning our water and air. Let's suck it up and make a change! It will take money and time and mean less profit for some but there is a bigger picture to consider.

Call Albany and ask them to not poison New York's drinking water by supporting the Englebright/Adabo bill. The number is 518-455-2800.

Give the operator your zip code and she'll transfer you to your senator's office

Tell them you'd like him or her to advocate for the Englebright/Adabo bill. The deadline is June 25th or close to it!

Politicians constantly use the word terrorism as a license to do whatever they want. I believe those politicians who support this behavior are actually accomplices to some of the most outrageous terrorist activity against the American people! If the Taliban were poisoning our water would we not do something about it? But when a corporation poisons the water government heads look the other way? for the almighty dollar? WAKE UP! STAND UP! DO SOMETHING!

Provided with much details on the fracking of the oil industry and much opinions on the subject, GasLand succeeded of trying to inform the audience yet entertain them at the same time.

Although laws have been passed to get rid of this issue, hydraulic drilling is still a concern for people in the certain states. This documentary sets in Pennsylvania, a state in which a lot of people are drinking dirty water because of this crisis. Josh Fox directs and narrates the film with a devastating voice and real emotions. The audience were shocked by the reality and entertained by the burning water. GasLand is the better documentaries of the year.

OscarBuzz: Best Documentary (good chance of making it to the top 5)

I learned a lot watching this movie. I guess I thought gas just came out of the ground without much effort -- kind of like farts! But no. Lots of chemicals involved, lots of semi trucks and a true raping of the land with horrific byproducts for the nearby residents to breathe, drink and live (and die) with. Makes me want to get off natural gas altogether. Or at least drastically limit my use.

This was a informative, well done documentary. Not nearly as much overt sarcasm as Michael Moore, lots of information (on the screen, in print people!) and a bit of irony and humor to sweeten the swallowing of such disturbing information. This was an important piece of film. Everyone in America who uses natural gas to heat their home, hot water heater, range or grill should see this.

This movie was very informative. I live above the Marcellus Shale in NYS and drilling hasn't started yet but there's a lot of support for it, primarily because our rural areas are financially strapped and lots of cash is being promised by the drilling companies. I think this movie should be required viewing before anyone signs a gas lease. If our groundwater and the environment becomes contaminated, it has the potential to not only harm those living in the region but the entire watershed, which involves millions of people in NYC, Philadelphia, NJ and DC. New York and Pennsylvania better get it right or there will be massive amounts of people facing potentially life threatening illnesses.

I liked the way Mr. Fox laid out the film. He used interviews, visits to drilling sites and he didn't grandstand to get the viewer's attention. I get the impression that this is his first film and he's to be commended for such a comprehensive and informative documentary. He's performed a great service to the region; I just hope it's viewed by many. Those who see it need to become proactive and write their elected representatives to assure that safeguards are required and that they are enforced - or the drilling should not be done.

Thank you Mr. Fox.