Gasland

GASLAND—which won a Special Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival—is a timely documentary about the effects of natural gas drilling in the United States. Director Josh Fox decided to investigate after an oil company offered to lease his Pennsylvania land for $100,000. Natural gas is drilled by "fracking," a method whereby millions of gallons of water and chemicals are injected into the earth, thereby breaking down the rock and releasing the natural gas. But what are the health and environmental risks? Fox's research uncovers some astonishing finds, from sick humans to animals losing hair to tap water that is so contaminated it can be set on fire.