GasLand (2010)

When documentary filmmaker Josh Fox received a letter from a gas company which stated they wanted to lease his property for 100.000 dollar, he decided to find out more about the industry. How is gas “harvested” and what is its impact on the environment?

He decides to leave his house to learn everything there is to know about “fracking”, the method which is used to get the gas out of the ground. It turns out that a lot of chemicals are used in the process and that these chemicals are not removed, resulting in contaminated water. Of course this has impact on the people living near these installations. Fox shows a lot of examples of families that are suffering the consequences. They are no longer able to drink tap water and it’s even so bad that they are able to ignite the water.

Fox manages to tell his story in a very interesting way without repeating himself too much. The result is a powerful documentary with a very important message, which is not only valid for America, but also for other parts of the world.

Score: 9