'Gasland' at St. Bonaventure

St. Bonaventure University’s Sustainability Committee and Clare College will host a free screening of “Gasland,” an award-winning documentary about the impact of natural gas drilling. The film will be shown at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, in Dresser Auditorium of the John J. Murphy Professional Building. The public is invited.

When former New York Gov. David Paterson issued an executive order banning horizontal hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) until July 2011, human health and environmental safety were key concerns. These concerns are the focus of Josh Fox’s groundbreaking film “Gasland.” The film takes viewers on a 24-state journey to investigate the safety and risks of fracking and the natural gas drilling boom sweeping across America.

On the way, the film highlights moving and powerful stories of farmers, ranchers and other residents whose water, health, and livelihoods have been affected by fracking and other forms of natural gas drilling.

The journey begins near Fox’s family home in the Delaware River Basin after Fox receives an unexpected offer of $100,000 for the natural gas drilling rights to his property. In his quest to investigate the risks of agreeing to the deal, Fox travels the country, interviewing landowners, lawmakers, industry insiders, and evironmental experts.

Winner of the 2010 Sundance Special Jury Prize and nominated for an Academy Award, “Gasland” is part travelogue, part exposé, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, and part showdown. Although the film is limited in terms of the perspectives it offers, Fox’s humor and unpretentious storytelling aims to engage viewers and spark interest in broader debates about fracking.

According to Variety magazine film critic Robert Koehler, “‘Gasland’ may become to the dangers of natural gas drilling what ‘Silent Spring’ was to DDT.

“Gasland” may be of particular interest to Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania residents. The Marcellus Shale lies under portions of Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. The boundaries of the Marcellus Shale formation in New York are available on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s webpage, http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/46288.html.