“Gasland II,” a documentary by Josh Fox, will be released in Colorado this month. The first “Gasland” film raised public awareness of hydraulic fracturing in the United States. It began a national dialogue about hydraulic fracturing and helped foster a mainstream movement to oppose drilling in and near populated and environmentally sensitive areas due to its negative impact on our air, water and public health. Most of us had no idea that runaway oil and gas drilling is taking place anywhere from 150 feet to a half-mile from homes, schools, playgrounds and hospitals. Weld County was featured in “Gasland”; it has more wells and fracking activity than any county in the United States.
The premise of “Gasland” is that there is no safe way to frack gas wells due to the risks and accidents associated with the process. This is easily verified at the COGCC website, where data regarding spills and ground/surface water contamination are recorded.
Fracking is not a perfect science and should not be executed near residential areas. According to COGCC data, over 40 percent of leaks of fracking fluid contaminated the water supply. This should alarm all of us since the oil and gas companies are suing Longmont in order to be able to drill for gas within city limits. More drilling will increase the accidents and leaks of toxic and carcinogenic fracking fluid. At what point will a significant percentage of our water resources be contaminated? What will this mean for our future?
“Gasland II” may provide some answers.