Monday, March 19, 2012

Un-earthed, the documentary

This still blows my mind.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a process whereby water is blasted into the earth at a high pressure in order to release petroleum, natural gases or oil. It's a highly controversial practise, but one which is slowly coming more and more into use around the world. So much so that it is knocking on our own door here in South Africa. Fracking has been proposed in our beautiful Karoo, and the big petroleum companies are targeting this area as a future lucrative prospect. Many people don't know about the process at all, and those who do are given a sugar coated view of the operation. Hidden behind a facade of job creation and other benefits for the future is pollution and negative environmental impact on a massive scale.

A dear friend, Jolynn Minnaar, has jumped in the deep end. No no, she's nose dived in. I'm fairly sure that one day Jo will save the world. What started out as a casual 20 minute clip questioning what was going on, has now turned into a full length, 90 minute documentary called Un-earthed. Investigating this controversial topic has led Jo to the United States and further abroad, and what she is putting together is something which will be ground breaking.
However, she hasn't done this to gain favour or fame, nor is she doing it for some willy-nilly university project. This is real, and something that has had a major impact on her. Her efforts have been astounding, and so far this entire documentary is her baby. I take my hat off to Jolynn, as not many people have the balls to pursue a cause on one's own as intensely as she has. She's just your average 20-something year old girl from a small dorpie in the Karoo. But my God is she going to move mountains. Give this a look, I'm pretty sure it will make you sit up and start asking questions yourself too:



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