Thursday, June 17, 2010
Gasland - Disturbing Documentary on U.S. Gas Industry
Learn how the gas industry is polluting drinking water (and lying about it) and how the the U.S. Government, via the EPA, has dropped the ball. (Hear an interview with filmmaker Josh Fox.) This industry could be coming to a city near you...and there wouldn't be much of anything that you could do to stop them. It's amazing how this kind of corporatocracy has been allowed to take over the Country. Certain things just shouldn't happen in America considering the individual rights we supposedly have...rights that are supposed to be sacrosanct. But I have come to learn over the years that individual rights are only truly granted to those who can afford the money to take advantage of them. Rights concerning safety, health, and freedom don't apply equally to all in the real world. Much is determined by socio-economic status. The poor don't have the same rights as the well-to-do.... not in real terms. In other words, if you can't afford an expensive attorney to advocate for you, then you're screwed. If you can't acquire a legal dream team to challenge corporate lawyers, then you are at the mercy of big business. Government agencies aren't going to help you... they are either too bureaucratic and ineffective, or they are in the pockets of the corporations.
Corporatocracy rules America... It is why the British and the Canadians laugh at us when you explain our for-profit Health Care system to them. The U.S. sees the health and well being of people in a fundamentally different way than many other modern free Countries do. Here, the profits of corporations always seem to be placed above the well being of people. We see that story told time and time again. And in this anti-government, anti-regulation climate we live in - a climate that Republicans/Conservatives are shoving down our throats - this problem is only going to get worse. They swear by the idea that the private sector should somehow police itself and will fix everything (complete nonsense).
Trailer
Film will premiere nationwide on HBO on June 21st.
See interview from PBS.
See review from Indiewire
Websites for film
Gaslandmovie.com and the Gasland movie blog.
at
6:41 AM
Labels:
Documentary,
Gasland,
Josh Fox,
Pollution