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Differences And Similarities Between Gasland 2 And Truthland

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Prior to watching Gasland 2 and Truthland, I am familiar with the term “fracking” but never took the time to look into it. After watching these two films, I realized how fracking is a controversial topic in the world of environmentalists. These two very different films explain how fracking is effecting the environment around us. Before explaining further into these films, we need to know what fracking really means. Fracking is “a process by which the rock is split so that natural gas can flow to the surface,” defined by Terry Engelder, a professor of geosciences at Penn State University. Basically when enough pressure is applied to any internal cavity, the cavity will split. That’s how the rocks split. Josh Fox, an environmental activist, …show more content…

Shelly’s farm sit over the Marcellus Shale, one of the largest natural gas field in the world, and after watching Gasland produced by Josh Fox, she knew she had to clear up some answers for her and her family’s sake. In that documentary, it mentioned how the water was contaminated by methane it is undrinkable. Moreover, the film show the faucet water can be lit on. So, Shelly went on a mission. Similar to Gasland 2, Shelly went on a cross-country road trip to speak with environmentalist, regulators and industry experts, and professors to get her answers. She went to multiple professionals ranging from the Department of Environmental Protection of Pennsylvania to professors from different university. For instance, John Hanger, former secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, stated how Gasland was a misleading film with no proven facts. In Gasland, Fox said that frack fluids that go down the cavity and coming back up can contaminate people’s well. Hanger said that was not the case. “We’ve never had one case of frack fluids going down and coming back up and contaminate somebody’s water well.” Another professional Shelly interviewed was Dr. Joseph Martin, a professor in Department of Civil, Architecture, and environmental engineer at Drexel University. Her question to the professor was “How is gas drilling compared to coal mining? What is the effect on the environment?” Dr. Martin stated, “The surface impact of this hydro fracking is phenomenally lower than anything you could do. As far as safety issues of natural gas drilling, they’re minimal. They’re at a very small risk for a very short window when they’re drilling and it’s under incredible intense scrutiny into tight regulations.” Furthermore, Shelly even went to Dimock, Pennsylvania, and interviewed Loren Salsman, a resident. He said that when he moved in, he noticed some gas in the water, which

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