FEBRUARY 26, 2011
Oscar's Attention Irks Gas Industry
By BEN CASSELMAN
"Gasland," a low-budget documentary about alleged perils of natural-gas drilling, is up for an Oscar on Sunday, much to the chagrin of energy executives.In fact, the natural-gas industry is so infuriated by the film that officials mounted an unsuccessful effort earlier this month to have it barred from the Academy Awards.
Watch a clip from the documentary, 'Gasland,' about the effect of natural gas drilling on rural landowners. The Oscar nominated HBO film can currently be seen on HBO.
Much of the controversy has centered on a process called hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking," in which water and chemicals are injected into the ground to break open gas-bearing rocks. Environmental groups say the process can contaminate drinking-water supplies, a charge the industry denies.
The industry says it has drilled tens of thousands of wells with only a handful of minor incidents of contamination, none of which were conclusively tied to the fracturing process.
The industry also says the film is unfair and inaccurate. It points out that state regulators have found that some examples of contamination cited by the film weren't caused by drilling.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the state's regulatory agency, said in a recent statement that tests provided "evidence that oil and gas activity did not contaminate" two of the water wells discussed in the film, but the regulator found drilling-related contamination in a third well featured in "Gasland."
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... gas company CEO's sell out american workers and land owners, they even sell out their own mother (and ours too) for dirty money in their filthy hands
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