FrackNation Exposes Gasland Lies

“FrackNation” is not only about the development of natural gas, but also about journalism, says Phelim McAleer, co-director of the 70-minute documentary.

Shown this week to about 70 people at a meeting of the Tea Party Patriots of Central Pennsylvania in suburban Harrisburg, the recently released video debunks virtually everything the 2010 pop documentary “Gasland” used to demonize gas drilling in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

For example, an assertion that gas drilling resulted in drinking water being contaminated with three types of uranium, including two of “weapons grade,” is one of many ludicrous claims in “Gasland.”  Weapons-grade uranium, made with highly sophisticated equipment typically at the cost of many millions of dollars, does not occur naturally.

“What journalist would put that out without checking with experts?” asked McAleer, an Irish journalist, who was a correspondent for The Financial Times and The Economist before becoming a filmmaker.

“FrackNation,” subtited “A Journalist’s Search for the Fracking Truth,” premiered Jan. 22 on AXS TV and has received strong reviews from The New York Times and National Journal.  It is available for sale on the documentary’s website.

Anne McElhinney, McAleer’s wife and also a co-director of “FrackNation,” will speak at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference April 20.