Truthland currently has over 35,000 views on Youtube and has been viewed on computers throughout the world.  For people unable to watch the movie online, we have also been setting up screenings in local communities from Ohio to New York and some scheduled as far as California.  Two of our most recent screenings were in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Syracuse, New York.  With Pennsylvania and New York sharing a border it has become a priority to get many of these neighboring counties the facts on shale gas development without emotional rhetoric, and that’s the role Truthland has been playing across our region.

Syracuse, New York.

The Truthland screening in Syracuse, New York had a low turnout but was received very well from the majority of the people who attended.   To start off the night, the moderator asked how many people had seen the movie Gasland, with about half answering in the affirmative.  Interestingly, for everyone in attendance it was a first time screening of Truthland.

It was stated in the very beginning, the question and answer session was supposed to be used as a tool to learn about the movie or natural gas in a civil manner without debating..

Questions varied from the amount of force used (4:14) to the integrity of the well casing (18:05) and the stress on wellbores (11:05).  One woman brought in a picture of a well casing that had deteriorated and the panel explained why a well casing would look like the picture she brought flawlessly.  The same woman just wasn’t content with the answer she got so she made another statement (38:40).

She obviously wasn’t there to listen to the answers the expert panel had, she was there to push her opinion on the crowd.   Perhaps the most frustrating part of her argument was her concern for renters in Pennsylvania who have higher rent and could lose their apartments.  She must not care about the people in her own state, New York, who are losing their family farms and homes due to foreclosures on back taxes or mortgages.  The renters in Pennsylvania are the ones we all need to worry about in her opinion, who cares about home owners in New York?

Watch the whole question and answer below.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The Harrisburg screening was split over two days.  The first screening was for the public and the second was predominantly for state legislators and hosted by Senator Gene Yaw (R-23) as well as members of the public.  Both nights featured experts from the movie as panelists, including Dr. Terry Engleder of Penn State University,  former Secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP), John Hanger and the former Deputy Secretary of the PA DEP, Scott Roberts.  Also present at the screening and part of the panel was Gary Swan of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and Shelly Depue.

The 2nd screening began with Shelly Depue speaking for the audience about why she got involved in this project and how important energy is to her way of  life as well as everyone else (1:10).  She also goes on to talk about how blessed we are to have this resource right under our feet and the ability to extract it without relying on any foreign powers (1:40).

After the  screening members of the audience stood to ask questions of the panelists.  During this time one man made a comment about how Josh Fox in Gasland only used part of the interviews to portray his agenda and stated that Truthland did the same thing (:40). In reality, all of the interviews taken during the movie can be found in their entirety on the Truthland website allowing viewers to watch the full conversations rather than just the portion included in the movie do to time restraints.  This was something Josh Fox never did for the interviews he conducted and has left some of the people shown in his film appalled by his liberally taking their statements out of context.

The same man then asked why no one with methane problems caused by natural gas development were interviewed during the movie.  I have also heard this same question at the Buffalo screening so lets clear it up now.  Below is a link to the Truthland movie and at (23:20) Shelly speaks with Loren Salsman, a Dimock, Pennsylvania resident who was one of the landowners included in the Consent Order. Salsman states that he had preexisting methane in his water, which experienced increased levels after a natural gas well was drilled nearby.  He also explains how the situation has since been fixed and his water is better than it was when he moved into his home.

Below is one more video from John Hanger and his thoughts on the panel discussion from Harrisburg.

If you have questions about the  images shown in Gasland or natural gas development in general, then please come to one of our screenings and ask the professionals yourself.  You can visit the Truthland Facebook page or www.truthlandmovie.com to see when and where screenings in your region will be taking place. The next screening is actually tonight in Williamsport, Pennsylvania at 7pm at the Community Arts Center, for anyone interested and able to attend.