Ready for a little healthy debate? You’re in the right place

Gasland

Some say that “Gasland” isn’t just a movie, but more of a movement. And whether you lean toward the greener side of alternatives to oil or the side that looks more at fiscal prudence, if you haven’t seen the movie then now’s your chance. You’ll also have a chance to voice your own opinion.

“Gasland,” a film Josh Fox created in 2010, is based on the pros and cons of natural gas drilling and where it might take us in the future. The presentation is part of the Friends of Boca Grande Community Center Film Forum.

The movie particularly focuses on “fracking,” a process in which the earth is hydraulically fractured to obtain the natural fuel inside – natural gas.
Fox made the film when, in 2008, he received a letter from a natural gas company offering to lease his family’s farm in Pennsylvania for $100,000 to drill for gas. When he started looking into the process, he realized that fracking isn’t as simple as it sounds.

Ever heard of a family being able to light their own tap water on fire? Do you know what effects fracking has on the earth? You will if you attend the movie, which will be played at the Boca Grande Community Center on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. and on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. Both performances are free.

The community is also invited to attend a panel discussion on the movie, which will be held on November 10 at 3 p.m. The cost for the discussion is $10, and will play host to a myriad of speakers.

Walter and Jean Meanwell, two Boca Grande residents, will moderate the discussion panel which includes Percy Angelo, Debra Highsmith, Ken Smith and Tim Yonker.

Angelo is very involved in local environmental causes, and is also closely acquainted with environmental law. She graduated from Smith College and Stanford Law School, where she was the articles editor for the Law Review. She became a partner with the Chicago law firm of Mayer, Brown and Platt, and started the Mayer Brown Environmental Practice Group.

Highsmith received her bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Dayton, and worked as a petroleum geologist for Texaco (now Chevron) until 2001. She became involved with the Greater Charlotte Harbor Sierra Club and is now their chairman, and is also an active member of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee of the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program.

Smith is the senior vice president of operations at Groundwater and Environmental Services Inc. He has 25 years of experience with environmental consulting, and worked in the thick of “fracking” territory at the Exton, Pa. headquarters of GES. Smith has a degree in geology, is a licensed site professional in Massachusetts and a professional geologist licensed in Pennsylvania.

Yonker has a bachelor’s of mechanical engineering from Michigan State University, a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, and a master’s degree from Harvard Business School. He is also a former drilling engineer for Exxon.

Walter Meanwell graduated from the University of Virginia and spent 50 years in the brokerage business in Madison, Wis. He is the current treasurer of the Lemon Bay Conservancy.

“There are a lot of people who have a great deal of faith in natural gas,” Meanwell said. “And natural gas prices are cheaper than ever before. This is a very controversial subject, either way.”
For more information on the panel discussion or the movie showings, call the “Friends” office at 964-0827.