With our fossil fuel enamoured government seemingly hell-bent on facilitating the extraction of shale gas in the Karoo and elsewhere by hydraulic fracturing, you might be wondering what this will mean for local communities.
One way of getting a sense of what we are in for if fracking takes off in South Africa is to watch the explosive documentary Gasland Part II at the Cape Town Eco Film Festival, which chronicles the American experience with this controversial technology.
By giving voice to ordinary Americans who’s health, quality of life, livelihood and environment have been impacted by fracking, Gasland Part II offers a bleak vision of a future that many South Africans now living in the ecologically fragile and water-stressed Karoo may be faced with soon.
Gasland Part II is much more than just a follow up to director Josh Fox’s original Gasland (nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2011), it’s an indictment of an entire industry that routinely puts profits before the wellbeing of people and the natural world in a desperate attempt to extract as much money out of climate changing fossil fuels as possible.
Is this the future the Karoo has to look forward to?
The Treasure Karoo Action Group’s Jonathan Deal will participate in an informal audience discussion and Q&A session following the screening.
Date: Thursday 27 March 2014
Time: 6:00 pm
Place: The Labia Theatre on Orange Street, Cape Town
Buy tickets: 
Reserve tickets by calling the Labia box office at 021 424 5927.
while you were sleeping 