In light of the awards season, the Air Hugger would like to commemorate this week with a special award, the Fracky for outstanding achievement in creating unsafe communities in the category of Natural Gas production.

And the nominees are…

The Natural Gas Pipeline Explosions in the Ohio-Pennsylvania Region!

On February 9, 2011 another natural gas pipeline exploded in a residential area of Allentown, PA killing five people and damaging 47 homes.  The very next day, a blast occurred just across the border in Hanoverton, OH.  Luckily, no one was injured in this OH rural area but the fireball could be seen for miles around.  Even residents in Wilkshire Hills claimed to have seen the flames up to 25 miles away.  None of these are isolated cases, remember the San Bruno explosion in September?  But, we don’t have to go that far back, just two weeks prior to the Allentown explosion, a pipeline exploded in Fairpoint Harbor, destroying one home and sparking fires that damaged close to 20 homes.

Maybe these explosions have something to do with the unchecked 80+ year old pipelines that are carrying high pressured natural gas.  Too often, energy companies are responsible for poorly maintained pipelines, even pipelines that weren’t installed correctly in the first place.  Living near a high pressured gas pipeline doesn’t sound too safe, thanks to some energy companies.

And for our next nominee….

The Infrared Video Footage of a Natural Gas Plant!

Just last week the Pennsylvania State EPA released an infrared video showing gasses being spewed out into the neighboring communities.  These emissions cannot be seen by the naked eye, but the residents have been feeling the effects for years and are not at all surprised by the findings.  Sore throat, headaches and nosebleeds are what nearby residents have been experiencing since fracking began.

Most alarming, the State EPA took this footage last summer, 9 months before it was released to the public!  The State EPA knew natural gas drilling operations aren’t so safe to live around.   Sounds like a supporting nominee, but still up for consideration.

And last, but certainly not least…

Energy in Depth’s letter to The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences!

Just following the nominations for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, Energy In Depth sent a letter to the The Academy discrediting the nomination of Gasland for Best Documentary. Energy In Depth lobbied on the basis that the film is in fact fiction.  The film contains stories of contaminated drinking water, polluted environments and rampant sickness from the residents living near natural gas wells.  There are extreme safety hazards associated with fracking that CANNOT be ignored.  Whether you live near drilling, production or even a pipeline, there are serious risks associated and residents deserve the right to know as well what they are being exposed to.  To call Gasland fiction, discredits all of the associated safety hazards of natural gas drilling and marginalizes human health.

So Energy in Depth- someone made a documentary that makes you look bad and now you’re going to call everyone in it a liar?

And the Fracky Award Goes to…..

ENERGY IN DEPTH!!

According to an open letter published by Josh Fox, producer of Gasland, “The gas industry believes it can create a new reality in which their nationwide onshore drilling campaign isn’t a disaster.  But no amount of PR money or slick ads can keep the stories of contamination coming from thousands of Americans from being any less true.”

Thousands of people shared their stories of contamination and that gave them hope that things could get better with raised awareness, but not if Energy in Depth has anything to do with it.  Not only did they call thousands of Americans liars, but they did it with the millions made off of those thousands of Americans’ land.  The millions made off the complete disregard for contaminated air and flammable water

Special Thanks To-

  • Josh Fox for publishing Affirming Gasland and standing behind the truth of Gasland
  • Dr. Theo Colbern & TEDX for the extensive research to determine what chemicals are used in the fracking process.
  • The NRDC for lobbying for stricter fracking regulations
  • All the residents for sharing their personal stories and continuing their struggle for justice.