Review of Gasland (2010) by Jj M — 27 Jun 2011

Fair play to Josh Fox! He took it upon himself to tackle the very serious and rising issue of hydraulic fracturing in gas-drilling by big American fuel companies and the enormous environmental impact it can have, and he does so with soul, vigour and creativity which makes this documentary utterly compelling, uneasy and interesting.

As one man, he goes a long way across America to get views and opinions of those effected by this new, resourceful but largely untested and reckless method. There are 2 companies who have been given a license to explore for gas in a picturesque lake in NW Ireland, which could probably lead to the use of the same method.

Hence, this is a pretty important doc for me to watch, and for alot of people in the wider area. I understand that many people will see the whole water-going-on-fire thing as sensationalist, but if that was to happen to your own water-supply, it would be slightly more than a minor worry! And when this is viewed in conjunction with the Irish doc The Pipe (about the impact Shell's offshore gas-pipeline had on a local community), there's a whole bagful of worries to contemplate, including serious health ones, if this project goes ahead.