Back to Basics

I finally broke down and watched it.

I'd heard about the documentary "GasLand" when it was released, but I had never rented it for few reasons. Pennsylvania's large-scale, industrial, natural gas development has been a topic I've been watching before it reached mainstream conversation. Primarily, as a writer I didn't want to be tempted to cite the movie, or quote it, or use its contents as an example of the looming abuse our environment was about to take at the hands of the energy industry. I already knew the horrors, and I wanted to remain an independent voice. Plus, I just didn't want to know any more.

Today, the terms hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a., fracking) and Marcellus Shale are no longer foreign ones to the general public, especially to those who live in Northeast PA. This is, in part, due to the wide circulation of this movie by concerned citizen groups as a means to wake people up to the seriousness of the issue. Another reason is the media attention given to our Governor Tom Corbett's refusal to properly charge the industry for the assets it is stealing from our natural resources bank.

GasLand is far from the only resource for information on how Shale drilling can destroy the ecological health of our most valuable, pristine areas. Well-told stories of ruined drinking water supplies have hit the New York Times (see "The Fracturing of Pennsylvania" by Eliza Griswold; November 17, 2011) while citizen action groups have popped up everywhere. Watchdogs, environmental regulators, scientists, and others -- armed with environmental studies -- have been battling for transparency since the first rig came to town.

Like mist cloaking a waterway, sometimes we can't see what is right in front of us.

A Battle for Fairness

Besides the environmental aspect, the corporate unfairness is overwhelming. America is subject to an ever-growing list of strict regulations in the name of clean air and water. Take for example how the entire automatic dish detergent industry must find an alternative to a key ingredient called phosphorus in their products because it pollutes our water. Yet, the natural gas industry seems to have free reign over what it takes and what it leaves behind, setting the scene for every advancement to be washed away in just a few years.

All this is happening at a time when our rivers and streams are finally healing from the coal-mining mistakes of our past. The movement that brought about the Clean Water Act occurred 40 years ago. Since many who witnessed the once-common environmental atrocities have now died, we've come to take the improvements for granted. It is assumed that you simply cannot pollute the air or water without accountability today.

New technology, in the hands of aggressive wealth seekers, has made that a very dangerous assumption.

Look closely to see; there's an eagle in that tree -- another reminder of how far we've come.

The Courage to Watch

As much as I wanted to shout from the mountaintops, I never had the courage fight the atrocities with any real fervor. Josh Fox, GasLand's creator, has become a hero of sorts to environmental advocates like me because he not only had the courage to shout, he had the courage to investigate in the first place. He now appears at key press conferences, public meetings, and movie screenings because he is a human being who -- if the development comes to his neighborhood -- will suffer emotional pain that is possibly greater than my own.

So my essays were written; a few articles were submitted for publication; and the population learned from numerous sources what Marcellus Shale meant. It was time to watch the movie.

I rented it from Netflix and watched it from my comfortable couch in my warm, heated home. I had to turn it off halfway through, to take a little break. An overwhelming sadness hit me when it was over just as I had expected.

Now it's a few days later. I've had a chance to recover ... a little. I find myself wondering how Josh goes on. Knowing first-hand the people whose lives have been destroyed by this quest has got to take a toll on a person, especially a hippie like Josh. Meanwhile, that old panic I felt when the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society first told me about the Marcellus Shale has returned once again.

Remembering What I Can Do

Personally, I haven't vacationed in any of my favorite beautiful places such as the mountains of northern and north central Pennsylvania since I first learned of the issue. Sullivan, Bradford, or Luzerne counties are now places I avoid for fear that my mental state will take a dive at first witness of thousands of tanker trucks rolling through the woods or at the sight of a freshly cut gas well access road.

Then I thought about the one place I can still go: the Delaware river. The Delaware is a unique river for many ecological reasons, but all you need to do is visit it one time to understand its value. The headwaters to the Delaware are in the Catskill Mountains of New York. I've long heard about New York's award-winning attention to its natural drinking water supply -- an effort made famous by good old Pete Seeger.

My husband and I and our rented canoe near Lackawaxen, PA.

New York's government had already had banned new Marcellus Shale drilling when I first learned of the issue. Before any new wells were permited, they wanted to get a better handle on the environmental impacts of the violent process (and all its byproducts) required to reach the natural gas far beneath our feet. Fortunately for us who live near Philadelphia, New York's action was helping to protect the supply for all 15 million water drinkers who rely on the Delaware.

Anyone who has learned about stream ecology knows just how important protection of the headwaters -- the place where a river starts -- is to a river. It's like the care and feeding of an infant; what you do at the beginning will impact it for the rest of its life.

However, New York's ban won't last forever. And when the Delaware flows into Pennsylvania, it isn't guarded by that award-winning foresight. The geological formation that holds the gas reaches under the northern section of the Delaware in Pennsylvania -- under the most beautiful sections of its 330-mile expanse; under the place where Josh Fox lives.

Simply put, toxic chemicals or high volumes of salt must NEVER enter the Delaware River. As expected, I started grappling with how to turn despair into action. I can't fight big business. I can't get the world to stop consuming energy. I can't argue against job creation. I can't break open a cover up.

Then it came to me: there are others -- like Fox -- doing what I cannot. I don't have to learn how to defeat a giant; I can support those who already have the weapons, armor, and know-how. One of those armies is called the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN).

For now, there are no wells in the Delaware River watershed, thanks in part to the DRN-lead public pressure placed on the Delaware River Basin Commission. Since the push to drill and pipe the Delaware Watershed will not be going away, we need a Riverkeeper to stay on guard.

Along the river at the Roebling Inn in Lackawaxen, PA.

DRN stands up to the bullies, even fighting them in court when necessary. But they can't do that without money. If you love the Delaware River like I do, I encourage you to support this organization. You can learn more about them at www.delawareriverkeeper.org.

For Readers Near and Far

The Marcellus and Utica Shale formations have spawned natural gas development in nearly half the states in the country. The Delaware is only one of thousands of waterways that need protection from poisoning. Please don't hide behind the hopes that someone else will stop the absurdity of going backwards to an era of environmental pollution -- send a gift or volunteer to help out a trustworthy, local organization that is fighting for you.

Then, pray if you pray. Scream if you scream. Cry if you cry. Do what ever you have to to work through the emotions that are stirred up when you watch a film like GasLand. Just don't pretend it isn't happening. The Earth needs you to care -- no matter how painful that caring can be.