The High Cost of Cheap Gas 2014
Distributed by Green Planet Films, PO Box 247, Corte Madera, CA 94976-0247; 415-377-5471
Produced by Mira Dutschke
Directed by Jeffrey Barbee
DVD , color, 56 min.
Middle School - General Adult
Sustainability, Environmental Education, Environmentalism
Date Entered: 01/28/2016
Reviewed by James Gordon, University at Buffalo LibrariesThis movie is about natural gas, not gasoline. It does an excellent job explaining the process of hydrofracking and how it can result in contaminated ground water. It is an exposé about how fracking companies choose economically vulnerable communities to exploit poor regions, particularly in Africa. The filmmakers contrast the fracking controversy in Africa’s Botswana with the Karoo desert and with the USA. The title describes the central theme that environmental damage costs are not accounted for in the low price of natural gas.
This isn’t a movie you would show a class from start to finish. This movie’s value lies in effective segments that would make great classroom discussion starters when shown as isolated clips.