Washington Times: ‘Frack Nation’ digs up the not-so-scary truth

When it comes to 21st-century environmental and energy debates, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Especially when what little knowledge you may have is incorrect. And most especially when could be a lie.

That’s the conclusion of documentary filmmakers Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer, who are on a quest to shed some light - and truth - on the subject of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. They are producing a feature-length film called “Frack Nation” that looks at the process of fracking in an effort to combat the “scaremongering” surrounding this safe and useful method of energy production.

If all you have is a little knowledge about fracking, you may believe this method of extracting natural gas from the ground causes environmental and health risks, and therefore should be banned. In fact, you would be unlikely to come to any other conclusion since 2010 when the movie “Gasland” was released, in which producer Josh Fox portrayed fracking as an evil and dangerous practice. 

But like much of the environmentalist propaganda that passes for hard science, it turns out Fox’s conclusions about the dangers and impact of fracking are misleading. McElhinney says “Gasland” was misrepresentative, and plans to investigate the health claims surrounding the process to reveal the startling lack of scientific evidence to substantiate them.  MORE