During one of our classes we watched the documentary Gasland, which displayed another concerning matter occurring in our environment. This documentary showed the untold stories of many people around the United States affected by the natural gas drilling.
Filmaker Josh Fox, takes us around the United States in order to discover the truth and the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the controversial method of extracting natural gas and oil, now occurring in many countries worldwide. Throughout the documentary, Fox traveled to many states to meet people affected by this industry. During his adventure, Fox met with many families, farmers, professors, and scientists and experience first hand the risks and dangers of the so called "safe water". On many occasions during the documentary we saw both Fox and members of the families he visited, set the water running from the tap on fire.
Many individuals interviewed for the documentary had also been lied to by the gas companies, suffered serious health problems, were now forced to buy water at the grocery store, and were now unable to sell their property due to these issues. On the other hand, the few individuals who were able to reach the gas companies were offered money to keep quiet of the issue or simply turned away.
Although fracking has caused a lot of damage in the environment, it has also brought in a lot of jobs for people. I am not saying that the practice of hydrolic fracking is good, but I am not also for the closing of all the fracking businesses.
Nothing is perfect in life and there are consequences for everything. Although what natural gas drilling has done is terrible, it never stopped people from using oil, or driving cars and using machines that depend on oil. It is easy to say that we need to change and use different sources of power but those will also have consequences. Instead of completely changing the way we do things, we simply have to look at improvements that can be made in the future.
For more information in regards to fracking, visit Sandra Steingraber's website. Ms. Steingraber is a female activist who explores the links between human rights and the environment and who is also anti-fracking. She is co-founder of both New Yorkers Against Fracking and Concerned Health Professionals of New York, and serves as Science Advisor to Americans Against Fracking.
For more information in regards to fracking, visit Sandra Steingraber's website. Ms. Steingraber is a female activist who explores the links between human rights and the environment and who is also anti-fracking. She is co-founder of both New Yorkers Against Fracking and Concerned Health Professionals of New York, and serves as Science Advisor to Americans Against Fracking.
