The Delta/Richmond chapter of the Council of Canadians will screen the Oscar-nominated documentary Gasland on Wednesday Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Ladner Pioneer Library.
Gasland explores and exposes the dangers to human health and damage to the environment from hydraulic fracturing - more commonly known as "fracking."
"Fracking is a process where sand, water and chemicals are blasted into rock formations such as shale, coal beds and 'tight' sands to gain access to trapped natural gas deposits," says Council of Canadians chapter spokesperson Cathy Wilander. "This injection process creates cracks in the rock formations and allows the gas to flow up the well."
As conventional natural gas supplies diminish, energy corporations are looking for new ways to get at trapped reserves.
"Water is destroyed forever with this process," says Wilander. "Millions and millions litres of water are polluted by the chemicals used to get to the gas with each fracture. Most of these chemicals are not removed and remain in the ground to pollute water and the surrounding environment."
After the film there will be a discussion.
"France has already banned fracking and we will look at what we can do to stop fracking and what the alternatives are," says Wilander.
