BillHustonBlog: What is the trouble with Truthland? -- by Scott Cannon

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What is the trouble with Truthland?
By Scott Cannon

The gas industry and Energy in Depth’s reason for making this movie is to debunk what it says are false claims made by Josh Fox in the Oscar nominated film “Gasland”, that taps can’t be lit on fire because of gas drilling causing methane migration, because the methane has always been there. No one is denying that there is naturally occurring methane in Pennsylvania and other parts of the country. The industry itself does not deny that drilling causes methane migration into aquifers, just Energy in Depth, the lobby group who produced the movie. I personally have videotaped a tap lighting on fire because of drilling in a woman’s backyard with newspaper reporters standing right next to me in this video. http://youtu.be/4LBjSXWQRV8

The whole premise of this video is that Shelly DePue watched “Gasland” with her family and decided to go across country to look for the truth. This is made up. She admits this at 8:10 in this video. http://youtu.be/jUfjWxpxORY The gas industry found her through a land owners group and asked her to be in the video, not how it is portrayed in the film. Nothing like accusing someone of making stuff up by making stuff up. It negates the whole point.

The second glaring problem is that the woman in the video goes around the country talking to experts that tell her that the well casings in gas drilling are safe and do not leak. What is not mentioned in the video is that after filming, one of the 10 wells on her property was found leaking and bubbling methane. Here is the link to the Inspection Report on that well. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4345401762886.2178381.1522786448&type=3&l=02a7b68d57

The third problem is that in the family makes a list of questions for Shelly to ask the experts including: “Do the gas companies follow the rules?” Apparently not. There was a 10 barrel oil based mud spill at the families well pad that WPX did not report. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4345401762886.2178381.1522786448&type=3&l=02a7b68d57

The forth issue is that Dr. Engleder implies that dish detergent is the only other substance in frack fluid besides water. Hmmm. Then says Josh’s Gasland is full of innuendo. Hmmm. I don't recall hydrochloric acid in my dish detergent. See link http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2012/07/05/4700-gallons-of-acid-spill-at-bradford-county-drilling-site/

He goes on to imply there has never been any problems with wells drilled in the last 50 years. What about all the abandoned and old wells in PA I see on YouTube with the bubbling methane? http://www.youtube.com/user/GeoguyNEPA/videos

In the video, Loren Salsman gives Shelly a nice glass of Dimock water and they drink up. What is not shown or mentioned in the video is that the water goes through an elaborate filter system provided by Cabot Oil and Gas, the gas company responsible for the methane migration in his well. http://youtu.be/Kni3UDhj550

Also, the company WXP Energy, who drilled the well, is being sued by a neighbor for possible water contamination. An investigation is under way. Here is a video about the neighbors. http://youtu.be/iPM64kseP30

Sincerely,
Scott Cannon
GDAC

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