Fracking - short for hydraulic fracturing, a method to mine natural gas
and petroleum by cracking deep rock formations using a hydraulically
pressurized liquid made of water, sand and chemicals, not all of them
non-toxic - has been a method of getting one's hand on cheap natural
reserves that was highly controversial almost from the get-go, first and
foremost because there's no guarantee these chemicals stay harmless once
they're pumped into the ground, and they might actually affect the
groundwater - and not in a positive way. Incidently, Halliburton was
granted the first ever exclusive license for fracking as early as 1949,
and due to an exemption law that allowed fracking companies to pump a
large array of dangerous chemicals into the ground granted in the 2000s
when former Halliburton CEO and chairman Dick Cheney was vice president,
fracking saw its big boom. Groundswell Rising is not a
political film though, it rather shows the effects of fracking on rural
communities - not only the chemicals in the ground (and poisoning of
ground water), also the air and noise pollution, the endless commercial
traffic all day and night, coupled with the complete absence of the
promised economical growth ... in other words, it shows where industrial
deregulation painfully failed. But locals have taken protests into their
own hands, have organized to stop fracking, first on a community level
then on a state level, with attempts to making it national - and they've
succeeded to reduce fracking to a large degree. And please note, these
protesters are not tree-hugging communists big business always likes to
make those who care out to be, but simple country people from all walks of
life (including at least one self-proclaimed right wing conservative, who
just cares for the land he lives off), no big city intellectuals with
lofty ideas but the people concerned the most who also really suffer the
most under this, be it their health or actually their finances (as with
fracking going on all around, their land loses on value, which might
endanger future mortgages and the like). And all of this is in
fact what makes Groundswell Rising so compelling, it's not an
attempt to deliver a political message via means of propaganda disguised
as documentary but speaks with the people concerned the most, shows their
grassroots efforts to make a change, shows the side effects of fracking
rather than breaking it down into chemical formulas coupled with what-ifs,
makes this fight David vs Goliath palpable. What it might lack is
statements and reactions from the other side - but it does show some
pro-fracking adverts, and it's doubtful those responsible would have had
any more to say. Well, truth-to-the fact, if you're pro-fracking, you'll
probably stay a mile away from this movie no matter how informative it
might be, but if you want to get deeper into the subject without having to
fight yourself through tons and tons of scientific analysis, this is a
really good place to start!
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