Appalachian Basin

The ‘Truth’ About What Josh Fox Thinks of Oil and Gas Supporters

Gasland director Josh Fox has taken his new one-man-play “The Truth Has Changed” on the road. Fox made recent stops in Youngstown and Columbus, Ohio, and EID was on hand at both “shows” to capture Mr. Fox’s latest thoughts…

Given the thorough rebuke of his previous anti-fracking works by the scientific and regulatory communities, one might think the title of his act implies Fox will finally come clean on what he’d previously presented as truth about oil and gas development, and on the practices and processes involved in the industry. But, alas, the three-hour (yes, three hours) solo-performance is but a stream-of-conscious of Fox’s take on “deep state” theories. He does, however, reveal one “truth” – how he really feels about his vast number of detractors.

Through vivid dream sequences, reminiscing about the life as a delegate for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and presenting Steve Bannon as the dark, shadowy overlord/man-behind-the curtain, Fox sprinkles in some old-hat Gasland moments for color.

He touches on Dimock, goes for the gusto with the farce of flaming faucets of Colorado, and sprinkles in anecdotes on the alleged health impacts of those met during his travels.

Instead of wasting time retreading long-debunked Gasland tales, we thought it may be best to share Josh’s newly vocalized thoughts about those who stood in opposition to his deliberately misleading documentary – about those who support shale development, and the myriad of benefits the industry has brought to communities across the country:

“[Gasland] screenings across are becoming downright hostile, there’s a seething, percolating rage that’s been drummed up — you know that type of Tea Party, white, down and out, heavily armed, mildly or overtly racist, confederate flag waving, proud of ignorance that kind of thing… not exactly my best friends.”

And there we have it. Fox – after being exposed by EID, among others – finds it easier to dismiss his detractors with labels after failing (repeatedly) to win the argument through a debate based in scientific fact and empirical data.

Where Josh gets truly entertaining – for us, at least – is towards the end of this particular clip, with his commentary on the “industry movies,” including Truthland – the scientifically sound counter to Gasland. Aside from the fact Truthland includes testimony from a myriad of respected scientists and regulators from across the country, in Fox’s mind, it is all part of that deep-state theme he carries throughout his trope:

“It was very difficult not to think about that third guy when I was trying to sleep at night. A guy by the name of Steve Bannon.”

EID has worked with and highlighted the research of a lot of premiere experts over the years, contributing fact-based, scientifically sound dialogue to the greater conversation on oil and natural gas development taking place across the country. We cite our sources, and our research is grounded not in anecdotal tales, but demonstrated empirical data. Unfortunately for Josh, there are no bogeymen to blame for the discrediting of his work. That’s called science.

At the end of the day, Josh Fox spends three hours using Gasland as his shibboleth into that new Hollywood “deep-state,” politic du jour. While we’ll leave judgment of the show’s overall artistic performance to the critics, judgement of his assertions on oil and gas – and those who support it – have already been made…and that’s not going to be changed.

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