Fracking Facts Presents a Film Screening: Triple Divide

June 29, 2014
2:00pm - 2:00pm

Cross-Country Tour Of Fracking Investigation To Use Zero Gasoline
Investigative News Team Booking ‘Triple Divide’ Screenings Across U.S.

What do fracking and the car of the future have in common?

This summer communities across the country have the opportunity to witness investigative documentary Triple Divide about fracking in the Marcellus Shale, with the added bonus of getting up close and personal with the Tesla Model S, a long-range, all-electric family sedan selected to transport the directors across the U.S. without using gasoline and adding zero greenhouse gas pollution.

“Triple Divide is about how water and energy connect us all,” said Troutman. An investigative documentary about impacts from fracking in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania, Triple Divide has been called “a bombshell" and will tour the United States from June thru November thanks to a grant from the Investigative News Network with support from the Knight Foundation.

The documentary is the feature debut of journalists Joshua Pribanic and Melissa Troutman, who will tour the U.S. in an all-electric vehicle from Tesla Motors to test the manufacturer’s nationwide Supercharger system, where electric cars can be quickly recharged for free.

“Image crossing the country without using a single drop of gasoline,” said Troutman. “Tesla’s model may be a way to lessen the impact of fossil fuels on society and the climate. We’ll share our review of the experience online, and those who attend screenings will get to check out the car in person.”

Triple Divide’s namesake, the triple continental divide in Pennsylvania, is one of four highly unique watersheds in North America. It’s where three major rivers begin and flow to separate ends of the continent, providing drinking water for millions of people and hundreds of communities downstream.

According to Pribanic and Troutman, Triple Divide reveals how one state’s ‘world-class regulations’ fail to protect people, communities, and the environment. They believe it offers an opportunity for people on any side of the issue to come together and discuss solutions. To increase the ability to track human and environmental health complaints, Public Herald started the #Fileroom project, which it plans to discuss and gather data for during the tour as well.

“The public isn’t seeing the full scale of impacts from fracking either because regulators are mismanaging the data or decisions are made based on politics instead of science,” says Pribanic. “The impacts we encountered in Triple Divide are systemic, but we can learn from these experiences so that the stories of those interviewed are not in vain.”

“Pennsylvania has some of the best environmental laws in the country, but they aren't being enforced," says Troutman. "And major problems like the 'Pressure Bulb' effect from fracking, which we cover in Triple Divide, aren't a part of state or federal regulations at all."

Academy Award-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo co-narrates the documentary and added his voice to the project after seeing the film just weeks before its release. Ruffalo’s nonprofit, Water Defense, also investigates water testing and protection measures, and he is a co-founder of The Solutions Project.

The filmmakers will have screenings in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, California, Colorado, Montana, and Michigan with stops in between. Contact [email protected] or call 724-388-0464 to bring the tour to your area.

For a detailed list of screening times and locations, visit http://tripledividefilm.org/screenings. For video clips see TripleDivideFilm.org. Also follow @PublicHerald and #TripleDivide.

TRAILER, STILLS, AND REVIEWS
http://vimeo.com/ondemand/tripledivide/63571188
Reviews: http://tripledividefilm.org/about/reviews/
Photographs and stills from the film: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjE3Tb8F