Split Estate screening in Ithaca

11/3 7 pm at Cornell Cinema (Willard Straight Hall) with an introduction by Shaleshock representative Helen Slottje

The natural gas drilling boom hit the midwest with promised of big money and promises of a clean alternative to fossil fuels. The reality has been far more complicated, with landowners forced to accept drilling rigs right outside their front doors, groundwater becoming contaminated, and public health issues, especially among children. Split Estate focuses on Garfield County, Colorado, where the breathtaking panoramas and clear mountain water are threatened by an industry that is exempt from federal protections like the Clean Water Act , and where one resident demonstrates the degree of benzene contamination by setting a stream alight with a match. A cautionary tale, and one that is all the more important to hear now, and in the Finger Lakes, as gas companies prepare for a massive hydro-fracking push throughout our area. “This film is of value to anyone wrestling with rational, sustainable energy policy while preserving the priceless elements of cultural heritage, private enterprise above-ground, and the precious health not only of people but the land itself.” (Gov. Bill Richardson, New Mexico)

2009, color, 1 hour 16 minutes, USA