A fracking documentary will show at Mancos Public Library on Friday, Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
A free screening of investigative fracking documentary "Triple Divide" will be hosted by Mancos Public Library and moderated by a representative of Earthworks, Lyn Patrick environmental medicine doctor, and Joanie Trussel of Frack Free Montezuma.
As Colorado lawmakers and landowners grapple with the decision "to frack, or not to frack," a timely documentary about the effects of fracking in the headwater regions of Pennsylvania, Triple Divide, will screen at Mancos Public Library. Triple Divide is three-year investigation by Public Herald journalists Joshua Pribanic and Melissa Troutman, who researched government and industry data and gathered first-hand testimony from lease holders and citizens.
"The public isn't seeing the full impacts to water from fracking in any state, because regulators are mismanaging data, and decisions are made based on politics instead of science," says Pribanic. "The water impacts we encountered in Triple Divide are systemic. They're not isolated to a single state, but the public can learn from these experiences to protect their water resources."
Triple Divide has been called "a bombshell" and "the best documentary on fracking." According to the filmmakers, their original reports characterize how the state 'world-class regulations' fail to protect people, communities, and the environment. The journalists aim to bring together people on any side of the issue to discuss solutions.
"Pennsylvania has some of the best environmental laws in the country, but clearly it's not enough," says Troutman. "Major problems like the 'Pressure Bulb' effect from fracking, introduced in Triple Divide, still aren't a part of state or federal regulations at all."
Academy Award-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo co-narrates the documentary and added his voice to the project after seeing the film just weeks before its release in March 2013. Ruffalo's nonprofit Water Defense investigates water testing and protection measures. He's also co-founder of the Solutions Project. "This film is the shocking truth about how water and energy connect us all," said Troutman.