Natural-gas industry pushing back against Oscar-nominated 'Gasland'

It’s not every day a major energy trade association weighs in on Academy Awards nominations, but that’s just what happened Tuesday when “Gasland,” a film about the effects of natural-gas drilling, was nominated for best documentary feature.

America’s Natural Gas Alliance, a natural-gas industry trade group, blasted the Academy Tuesday morning for nominating the film for an award.

“This nomination is particularly troubling because natural gas is routinely and safely produced across this country and holds such extraordinary potential to advance our nation’s clean energy economy,” ANGA Executive Vice President Tom Amontree said in a statement. “Contrary to the film’s claims, natural gas development can and does exist in harmony with our environment, and it can play a central role in improving our nation’s air quality and solving our energy challenges.”

The industry has launched a campaign to push back against the documentary, arguing it grossly exaggerates the effects of a drilling process called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” in which chemicals, water and sand are injected into the ground to loosen natural-gas deposits.

According to ANGA, one of the key scenes in the film, which shows a man lighting his tap water on fire, has nothing to do with natural-gas drilling. The group, citing an investigation by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, says the methane in the tap water was naturally occurring.

But Josh Fox, who made the documentary, has defended the film.

“The natural gas industry’s PR system is so great, many people believe that natural gas is a good solution to climate change,” he said during an appearance on “The Daily Show” last year, according to The Wall Street Journal. “But it’s a dirty polluting fossil just like the others.”

Fracking has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, with environmentalists raising questions about the drilling technique’s effect on water supply and natural resources. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently conducting a study on the impacts of fracking.

The nomination comes as a new EPA analysis of greenhouse-gas emissions from natural gas indicates the drilling for the fossil fuel might result in more emissions than previously thought. ProbPublica has more on the study.