VANCOUVER – The Oscar-nominated documentary film Gasland is screening at SFU Woodwards tonight, and will be followed by a forum and discussion on the dangers of natural gas ‘fracking’ here in British Columbia. The event will take place Tuesday, September 20 · 6:30pm - 9:30pm at the Mowafaghian Cinema, at SFU Woodwards (149 West Hastings St.)

The screening follows the day-long SFU Sustainability Festival, and is being co-sponsored by Sustainable SFU, the Sierra Club of BC and the Wilderness Committee.

The event will also feature the launch of a new Wilderness Committee report, ‘Stop Fracking Now: Gas Industry Threatens Northern Rockies’. The paper examines the impacts of this growing industry practice on human health and the environment.

“Many people in British Columbia are unaware of the scale of environmental damage and impacts on human health caused by the fracking process used in shale gas extraction,” said Tria Donaldson, campaigner for the Wilderness Committee. "Unfortunately, even less people are aware of how extensively this is happening right here in our own backyard," said Donaldson.

Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a process in which large amounts of water mixed with hazardous chemicals like benzene is pumped down at high pressures in order to fracture shale rock formations and release deposits of trapped gas. There are large reserves of shale gas in northeastern BC.

“There’s nothing ‘natural’ about this gas development in our province, and it’s important that everyone understand that the issues presented in the Gasland documentary are relevant for us in BC,” said Donaldson.

Contact:

Tria Donaldson, Pacific Coast Campaigner, Wilderness Committee, cell: 250-686-9249