Guest Post by Alexis Bonari

While preserving the natural beauty of the planet and preserving animal life for future generations should be reason enough to encourage planet-friendly policies, the human cost is also prohibitive. In this timely documentary and 2010 Sundance Film Festival award winner entitled Gasland (http://gaslandthemovie.com/), Josh Fox exposes the human cost of current United States gas drilling standards. After being offered a significant sum to allow a gas company to drill on his parents’ nineteen acres of land, he sets out on a mission to record the effect of drilling across America’s heartland. A man on a mission. As he travels, he finds that natural gas is leaking up through the ground and contaminating ground water. Fumes are affecting local wildlife populations, and many small lakes and rivers are losing massive numbers of fish and frogs. A new standard in documentaries.What sets Gasland apart from other similar documentaries is the candor with which Fox handles his side of the debate. He lets the plight of the people living near the gas wells speak for itself. Rarely does he make any sort of judgment call concerning how right or wrong our current drilling policies are. Tap water that can be ignited and a plethora of health problems are only a few of the side effects of drilling. The human cost.People living near the wells feel like they’ve been lied to. The companies won’t leave the land they’ve leased and the government won’t insist on more eco-friendly drilling standards.Gas companies = no comment .Throughout his journey, Fox attempts to solicit any sort of statement from the gas companies. True to form, they ignore all of his attempts to contact them.Although it is important to highlight the positive steps humans are taking to preserve our environment, it’s also crucial to point out local examples of failure to do so. Unless the costs to everyone involved are obvious, these unsafe practices will surely continue.

Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at onlinedegrees.org. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.