Gasland

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Gasland is a 2010 American documentary by Josh Fox about the rise of natural gas drilling in the United States, especially the process called hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Fox receives a letter offering a large signing bonus to lease his family’s land in Pennsylvania for drilling, which leads him to travel across the country to see how communities are affected. He talks with people in places like Dimock and the Marcellus Shale region, hearing stories of water contamination, health problems, and other environmental harms linked to fracking. Some water supplies have methane in them or other chemicals, and in some cases water can be set on fire.

The film explains how fracking works and why it has become so widespread, including the use of horizontal drilling. It also highlights concerns about the practice near the New York City watershed and the Delaware River Basin, which serve millions of people. Gasland notes that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act, leaving it with relatively little federal regulation, and it follows efforts in Congress to change that. Fox’s journey brings him to conversations with scientists, officials, and residents who worry about long-term health and environmental costs.

Produced largely by Fox as a one-man crew over about eighteen months, Gasland runs 104 minutes. It premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, winning a Special Jury Prize for Documentary, and aired on HBO later that year, reaching a wide audience. The film received strong critical praise, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming. It helped spark a national anti-fracking movement and inspired responses from the industry, including a counter-documentary and a sequel, Gasland Part II, released in 2013. A third film in the series, How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change, followed in 2016, continuing the exploration of environmental issues tied to energy extraction.