Not having any idea what the premise of the documentary “Gasland” was all about, I hit the play button with complete ignorance to the story’s subject matter.
103 minutes later, my ignorance could no longer be kept in the dark.
In 2005, America changes legislation so that Oil and Gas companies can get around the Clean Air and Water Act that President Nixon put into place in the 1970’s to protect the American public. This was done so that corporate America can run Big Business and exploit our BLM lands to do Hydraulic Fracking for Natural Gas.
The problem with this is in the sneaky way the government changes legislation to turn a profit, while not properly informing us. With the new legislation, there seems to be no oversight or regulatory control of private enterprise. When that happens, the American people suffer. In this case, corporations are freely drilling in the proverbial backyards of citizens, and the effects of their drilling are having devastating effects of water wells, humans and animals health, and the environment.
I live in the State of Utah, a State that according to the movie, has almost two thirds of it’s BLM land covered with these type of natural gas drills. I understand about the economic impact, but my question is, at what cost?
Last year, I became extremely ill. Specialist after specialist, test after test, procedure after procedure, no one could pinpoint the exact problem.
I wonder, considering where I live, if the drilling for natural gas has leaked into our Utah’s watersheds? If so, it is in the crops we grow, the animals we consume, and the air we breathe.
Should we not be concerned, or is our society only concerned with capital gains? Is one’s goal to obtain the American dream killing the very fabric of our society?
