More than 400 people gathered in Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial auditorium last night for a screening of award-winning and controversial documentary Gasland.
Whispers of fervent support filled the theater by the film’s end. Director Josh Fox, who was present at the event, fielded questions after the movie.
Natural gas extractions, more specifically the practice of hydraulic fracturing commonly referred to as “fracking,” were the focus of the movie.
Fracking is a fairly recent adaptation of a common practice, said Douglas Green, an associate professor of geological sciences.
Green said that the process was first used to go into sandstone and other less impervious materials, and was used as the final effort to eke remaining gas from a particular drill site.
Hydraulic fracturing in shale beds, however, is a new development. So is the depth and direction of the drilling.
Before, drilling and extraction would take place much further below the water table than current methods. The drills would also go straight down. Today, the practice of drilling into shale is significantly closer to the surface and, consequently, water supplies. With shale, the process also includes drilling straight down then horizontally.
Concerns have been raised about what the process does to the drinking water.
When the shale is broken, it releases pockets of natural gas that are harvested from the drilled tunnels. Some of this gas, however, does not make it to the tunnel and can be released into the water tables, along with the harsh chemicals used to concoct the “fracking water.”
In the film, Fox presents several cases where people suffered serious and irreversible health conditions, as well as showing several shocking images of dead animals or water that can be lit on fire.
After the film, Fox talked about efforts from the gas companies to discredit his work.
“Gasland has been attacked over and over again,” said Fox, “but there are people out there —there are people out there who are outraged, frantic and scared and they’re not being listened to.”
He also talked about Ohio and efforts to initiate more fracking here.
Southeast Ohio sits on top of the Marcellus shale deposit, which is thought to hold trillions of tons of natural gas. Gov. John Kasich is trying to open state parks, including Strounds Run, as possible sites for fracking.
Green said that the awareness drawn to the issue is good, but that other factors like the impacts of coal mining should not be forgotten.
“If we can’t use gas, we’ll just mine more coal,” Green said. “Nothing is fixed; any method can have a fiasco. But can they make it better? Yeah.”
Both the documentary and Green made a cautionary statement about the “gold rush” mentality that in many cases has led to the carelessness and disastrous stories.
“Producers are trying to do as much as they can before regulation catches up,” Green said.
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