Elias
T/TH 9:00- 10:20am
Effluvium
The perspective I have chosen is social-conflict theory. Society is not integrated, but actually full of unequal divisions. We have scarce and limited social resources, PWP (power, wealth, prestige). We are in constant competition for them and conflict is the result. The emerging social structures benefit some in obtaining or retaining PWP at the expense of others. Using this type of analysis in reviewing the documentary “Gasland”, directed by Josh Fox, we see firsthand how small rural communities were exploited and how Politian’s benefited themselves.
In the begging of the film we see how these gas companies use their PWP to gain control of land. We discover that Fox’s land sits on a gold mine of natural gas. The gas companies offer to buy his land for $100,000. Fox refuses and finds that people are selling their land for a chance at some quick cash. However, what he finds is that these gas companies are contaminating their land and water with a process known as hydraulic fracturing(which uses over five-hundred different chemicals, most known to be cancerous to the human body), which starts to make locals in the communities incredibly ill. This begins to create conflict within the communities. So the gas companies try to break even with the locals by buying and installing water filters to clean their water. The filters do not work and this forces the locals into purchasing bottle water from stores, which is a huge inconvenience. But, how are these gas industries allowed to mistreat these communities? Turns out, a politician by the name of Dick Cheney, pushed a bill (Energy bill) through congress back in 2005 which exempts the oil and natural gas industries from a number of acts. This in turn, allows them to keep their hydraulic fracturing chemicals safe from discloser. In conclusion, we can see that these huge gas companies are able to use their power and wealth to take advantage of locals, while keeping themselves safe by passing laws that put a stop to any actions that could be taken against them.