On Monday, April 18th, Widener Law’s Harrisburg campus will welcome Josh Fox, creator of the 2010 documentary film
Gasland, to campus for a special showing of the film. Following the film, Fox will offer the audience a chance to ask him questions.
The screening of the film will begin at 6 p.m. in room A180 of the Administration Building, and Fox is scheduled to take questions at 8 p.m.
The Harrisburg campus
Student Bar Association, the
Environmental & Natural Resources Law Clinic, and the
Environmental Law & Policy Society are sponsoring the event, which coincides with the celebration of Earth Week.
Gasland, which was nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, looks at communities in the United States impacted by natural gas drilling, with a specific focus on the stimulation method known as hydraulic fracturing. Fox was motivated to create the film after receiving a letter from a natural gas company offering to lease his family’s land in Milanville, Pennsylvania for $100,000 to drill for gas.
After researching information about natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale that runs under large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and West Virginia, Fox visited Dimock, Pennsylvania. In Dimock, he spoke with families suffering health issues who believed that their well water had been contaminated by the hydraulic fracturing process. He then traveled to other communities in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Texas to document the stories of other families affected by natural gas drilling.
Gasland is the record of Fox’s journey. Over 200 hours of footage was shot and edited down to create the film, which runs about 100 minutes in length.
Admission to the event is free, but seating is limited. Donations will be accepted to help offset the costs of the event.
The film will also be shown live on the Delaware campus at 6 p.m. in the Ruby R. Vale Moot Courtroom. Those in Delaware will also be able to join in the Q&A with filmmaker Josh Fox via videoconference.