7 Ways Fracking Impacts YOU – An Interview with Gasland Director Josh Fox

This article originally appears in The Huffington Post.

Amy Neumann

Writer, Speaker; Social Good, PR and Marketing Consultant

Social Good Stars: Gasland Movie Director Josh Fox on How Fracking Affects Us All

Posted: 10/19/2012 10:17 am

This is the thirteenth installment of the Impact series,#SocialGoodStars. The people highlighted here are passionate, dedicated philanthropists, strengths to their communities, and social media masters. They also happily share their vast knowledge with others, making them shine as leaders in the Social Good world. You can read the twelfth interview with Plant a Fish Founder Fabien Cousteau here.

“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” ~ Rudyard Kipling

The power of emotional storytelling can be a strong persuader, a new way to gain attention to a cause, and an avenue to galvanize people through information to take action. And Josh Fox knows the power of storytelling well. He is the Emmy Award-winning, Oscar-nominated Director of the grassroots fracking (hydraulic fracturing) movie, Gasland.

Gasland movie Director Josh Fox on The Daily Show. The 2010 movie sparked awareness about a troubling issue – Fracking (hydraulic fracturing). Photo credit: Comedy Central/ The Daily Show

In 2010, the Gasland movie thrust fracking into the national spotlight. It showed real, heart-wrenching stories of normal, everyday Americans suffering consequences from fracking. People were stunned by the graphic, shocking footage of sick and dying animals, devastated environments, and water from kitchen faucets catching fire.

Josh Fox, Director of Gasland and The Sky is Pink, uses storytelling, combined with research and statistics, to make people aware of the effects of Fracking. Photo courtesy of Josh Fox/ Gasland

Josh is a Filmmaker and Artistic Director of theater who grew up in Pennsylvania. After receiving a large financial offer to drill on his land from a gas company, he set out to learn more about what exactly happens when someone gives permission to drill their land to seek natural gas.

Josh combines years of research, personal stories, and a persuasively knowledgeable tone into his projects. He has a mission, and a story he wants to tell; and he does it with science and facts intricately woven into real, personal stories of the people who have seen what he speaks about first-hand. This combination of factual credibility and emotional storytelling made Gasland a viral sensation.

In an industry where one, specific corporate voice and view has long held dominance with multiple millions of dollars in marketing, Josh chooses to let thousands, some on video, many via petition, share their voices and views as well.

Josh also makes masterful use social media and the power of relationships and the internet to make his viewpoint and research go viral. Josh makes it clear that in his opinion, people are neutral on the issue of fracking only when they haven’t heard much about it and are not involved in the industry, landowner (potential drill site), or environmental sides.

Since making Gasland, Josh has been honored by Yoko Ono with her Lennon Ono Peace Award, and has also been part of Artists Against Fracking, started by Ono and Sean Lennon to show support from actors, musicians, and other artists who are against fracking.

Josh Fox’s short film The Sky is Pink packs a wealth of information and statistics on Fracking into an entertaining, thought-provoking format. Photo courtesy of Josh Fox/ The Sky is Pink

Here’s how fracking affects us all, based on an interview with Josh Fox and reflecting his researchhere and here and his personal perspective:

34 states and counting are already fracking – the majority of the United States. That means, you’re likely either in a state that’s impacted, or have a friend or family member who is.

We’re all downstream. Watershed systems flow from small tributaries into large river basins in places like New York City, Los Angeles, Pittsburg, Cleveland, and many other major metro areas. Many frack chemicals are non-biodegradable and pose water contamination risks all the way to major watersheds.

We’re all downwind. Studies show that frack sites can emit high levels of pollution. In 2009, 7700 frack sites in the Dallas, TX metro area (there are now 15,000+) were pumping out the equivalent smog and CO2 emissions of all traffic in the entire Dallas/ Fort Worth DMA combined. In Pennsylvania, the industry goal is 100,000-200,000 frack sites, or another 10-20 DFW’s worth of emissions, in one state alone.

Climate change is impacted. Over a 20-year timeframe, frack gas emissions (CO2, methane) have a more dire effect on climate change than coal.

Democracy – your voice – is at risk. Private companies have spent $747 million lobbying congress to be exempted from several key laws including the Clean Water Act in order to continue fracking. While public sentiment is often negative, with petitions being signed and delivered frequently, citizens don’t have a quarter of a billion dollars to speak for them.

Land destruction is ongoing, including public treasures. Large swaths of public parklands and forests have been handed over for drilling, creating unprecedented destruction of plants, animals, habitats, and natural beauty. Industrialized landscapes are replacing scenic lands previously untouched, and private companies are being granted Eminent Domain rights on private land.

Economic recovery suffers. Sustainable energy sources built and maintained over the long-term create and keep real jobs. Frack jobs are typically in and out. While there may be temporary spikes in some jobs, the drilling leaves a slew of negative impacts on the community affected, and nominal long-term growth, behind when the drilling is done.
You can learn more about Gasland here and The Sky is Pink here. Follow Josh Fox on Twitter@gaslandmovie.

Amy Neumann is a social entrepreneur, writer, speaker and consultant on social good marketing. Check out her Charity Ideas Blog and follow her on Twitter @CharityIdeas. Amy is an also Assistant Director for POGCO, the People’s Oil and Gas Collaborative – Ohio, a grassroots organization focused on regulatory, safety, and property rights issues in the oil and gas industry, including hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Follow Amy Neumann on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CharityIdeas

Gasland Movie , Josh Fox , The Sky Is Pink , Fracking , Fracking Ny , How Fracking Affects Everyone , Fracking , Impact News

#SocialGood Stars: @PlantAFish Founder Fabien Cousteau (@FCousteau) on Helping Our Oceans

This article originally appears in The Huffington Post.

Amy Neumann

Writer, Speaker; Social Good, PR and Marketing Consultant

Social Good Stars: Plant a Fish Founder Fabien Cousteau on Helping Our Oceans

Posted: 09/02/2012 9:08 am

This is the twelfth installment of the Impact series, #SocialGoodStars. The people highlighted here are passionate, dedicated philanthropists, strengths to their communities, and social media masters. They also happily share their vast knowledge with others, making them shine as leaders in the Social Good world. You can read the eleventh interview with Global Impact CEO Scott Jackson here.

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”
– Jacques Yves Cousteau

Fabien Cousteau was born with a passion for the ocean. His grandfather, Jacques Cousteau, was a prolific ocean documentarian and explorer (134 documentaries, 70 books), and an inquisitive conservationist who helped invent the aqualung, allowing modern SCUBA diving. Fabien spent many years on board the Calypso and Alycone with Jacques and his family, developing a love for the ocean, filming it, and helping its creatures. His father Jean-Michel and sister Celine are also avid explorers, and the three of them completed a three-year multi-hour series for PBS called Ocean Adventures in 2006. Fabien uses his environmental economics degree from Boston University to bring insight into striking balance between regional and global environmental issues and the realities of market economies. In 2010 he founded the nonprofit Plant A Fish to empower and educate local communities by replanting aquatic plants and animals.

Between traveling between France and New York City, Fabien spends a great deal of time on the oceans filming. He also speaks around the world about the Ocean and its ecosystems, and has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Gayle King, and NBC’s Today Show. He is involved with the boards of SeaKeepers Society, Water Innovation Alliance, Millennium Project, and many others, and has spoken recently at TEDx and the 2012 UN Rio Earth Summit.

Here are some of his thoughts on saving the world, one fish at a time.

Plant A Fish (PAF) is an active, hands-on outdoor education and restoration experience developed by Fabien Cousteau, third-generation ocean explorer, documentary filmmaker and environmental ambassador. Photo courtesy of PlantAFish.org

You’ve said, “The oceans are the circulatory system of life on this planet. Quite literally saving the oceans protects ourselves.” Can you expand on that?

Oceans make up 71% of the earth’s surface and 97.5% of all the water on earth. And around 70% of all food contains ingredients from the oceans, even down to the grain grown using fish meal that may be fed to animals, or the kelp in ice cream. Someone skiing on a mountain 1000 miles inland is skiing on snow from water in the oceans. It’s critical to protect this ecosystem since it impacts all facets of life.

Once you start to learn more about the ocean and all its incredible life forms, it’s nearly impossible to turn your back. That’s why Plant a Fish came about – to educate, empower, and help restore these amazing creatures and ecosystems in a hands-on, fun way.

Telling stories visually, through documentaries and photos, is a hallmark of yours. Why do you think that’s so impactful?

Although it would be ideal for everyone to be able to experience the wonder of the ocean scuba diving or on a scientific submarine, since that’s not practical, being a storyteller for the oceans is the next best thing. I started film making when I was 8 and love it. Visual elements are at the core of telling compelling stories, and telling stories is a great way to inspire people and evoke emotions.

This is useful for any organization, visual storytelling. And although the attention span increases with the quality, any tool is a great tool when used properly – even a casual video shot from a smartphone can capture the essence of an event in a way that shares it more fully with the audience. And photos can capture the beauty and emotions of particular moments so they’re recreated for others, and create a desire to help or learn more.

What are some ways individuals can help the ocean?

Of course we offer many programs, and ideas to start an effort in your area, at Plant a Fish. Another great resource is your local aquarium. They will have access to conservation groups, events, and activities you can join to get more personally involved. There are hands-on actitives like beach cleanups and local restoration projects that are an opportunity to have fun and learn as well as protect and restore.

Just as important are simple, day-to-day things, a different way of seeing. Stay curious. Respect nature. Get guidance when doing new activities outdoors. Look but don’t touch. Explore, learn, and share what you discover.

And things like recycling are invaluable, but often come a bit late in the process. Instead, think: Refuse to use, reduce, reuse, then recycle. Conservation and protection are far more helpful to the environment that fixing things after they’re broken.

Fabien Cousteau was inspired to protect the oceans growing up on the decks of his famous Grandfather Jacques Cousteau’s ships, Calypso and Alcyone. Photo courtesy of FabienCousteau.org

You can learn more about how to get involved with the oceans at Plant a Fish, on Facebook, and @PlantAFish on Twitter.

Amy Neumann is a social entrepreneur, writer, speaker and consultant on social good marketing. Check out her Charity Ideas Blog and follow her on Twitter @CharityIdeas.

Follow Amy Neumann on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CharityIdeas

Social Good Stars — @CharityWater CEO Scott Harrison

This article originally appears in The Huffington Post

Amy Neumann

Writer, Speaker; Social Media Consultant

Social Good Stars — Charity: Water’s Scott Harrison

Posted: 07/11/2012 5:53 pm

This is the ninth installment of the Impact series, #SocialGoodStars. The people highlighted here are passionate, dedicated philanthropists, strengths to their communities, and social media masters. They also happily share their vast knowledge with others, making them shine as leaders in the Social Good world. You can read the eighth interview with Maggie Nielsen, partner at Global Philanthropy Group, here.

Scott Harrison is well-known worldwide as the charismatic founder and CEO of uber-impactful clean water charity, charity: water. But the story of how charity: water came to be is quite unique. It’s not often that such a colorful, inspiring, paradigm-shifting story happens. Scott’s is just that, and the global impact charity: water has had in the six years it has been around is staggeringly beautiful. I had the honor of learning more about the history and progress of one of the most productive water organizations out there through Scott.

Click above to hear Kevin Rose’s interview of charity: water Founder Scott Harrison. Photo courtesy of charitywater.org
Raised in a loving Christian home, Scott developed a rebellious side that led him to New York City. Part of a band, he got into the club circuit, then became a popular and wildly successful club promoter for many years. Although the glamorous celebrity lifestyle was irresistible for a time, Scott had an epiphany one New Year’s Eve. “I had become the worst person I knew,” surrounded by and enmeshed in the partying crowd, with no sense of purpose. In spite of what appeared to be a jet-setting, extravagant life, “I was desperately unhappy and needed to change,” Scott says.

So in 2004 he decided to “become the exact opposite of what I was then,” and after being passed over my numerous nonprofits trying to volunteer, he paid Mercy Ships, a hospital ship which provides life-changing surgeries, to be a volunteer in Africa. Having spent his wealth at about the same or greater rate at which he raked it in, his life went from lavish to austere in a flash. As the photographer responsible for documenting the thousands of surgeries Mercy Ships did over the next two years, Scott was astonished by the poverty he saw, and realized how important the most basic things most of us take for granted really were. One day in Liberia, he saw a surgeon dig a well for a village, next to a filthy human water source unfit for animals, and turn it into clean, fresh, safe, drinkable water. At that moment, his life forever changed.

Back in NYC in 2006, Scott dived into his passion to help bring clean water to the one in nine people in the world who don’t have it now — 800 million people. His unique club promoter background inspired an original idea that is now a commonplace and hugely successful fundraising tool — donating a birthday. First he threw a party at a club, and raised $15,000. But next, he thought, “What if people skipped the cab fare, the cover charge, the drinks, and the tips, and just donated that money?” He started with $1 for every year he’d been alive, and voila, the “donate your birthday” revolution began.

And thousands of birthdays donated later (to date), millions of people have been given life-sustaining, clean drinking water. Folks like Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Alyssa Milano, Justin Beiber, and countless other celebrities have given up their birthday gifts to give. And of course, thousands of caring people around the world have too. And not just birthdays — proceeds raised with creative activities like skydiving, marathons, lemonade stands, scrapbooking, mountain climbing, you name it!

One of the most unique, and original, things charity:water is also known for is the 100% model. One hundred percent of all donations go to drilling wells. This was a novel idea, and one Scott was adamant about. “People would constantly mention how they weren’t sure if their money was going to the cause, or to other expenses,” a conundrum he wanted to prevent. All expenses come out of a separate account, so all donations flow directly to water.

Bringing clean water and joy — charity: water. Photo courtesy of charitywater.org

Director of digital at charity: water, Paull Young, believes a few key brand values have driven much of the growth to date:

“At charity: water we are aiming to inspire a movement to solve the world water crisis. We do this by inspiring through story telling, maximizing the impact people can make by sending every cent given or raised to fund water projects, and then by helping our supporters see their impact by linking their donation to a specific water project.”

And not only does charity: water change lives in the developing world, but Paull and the team are building an experience for supporters that will do the same at home.

“We believe that people want to make a positive impact on the world, but might feel powerless to do so. We hope we can provide that opportunity, and once they see their impact believe that they’ll be transformed personally, just as they change lives in the developing world.”

Another groundbreaking idea was leveraging technology to further illustrate just how life-saving an impact every dollar makes. Before it was a more commonplace service, Scott started tagging wells drilled via GPS, and showing photos and videos of the sites and the happy people they serve. The impact this has is monumental — the story tells itself, through the smiles, joy, and laughter of kids and adults, even in some of the most remote places on earth. With the ability to tangibly not only see the wells, but the phenomenal effect they have on entire communities, donors feel the concrete impact they make in a very visceral sense. And by using social media to spread the message, millions of people get to see those results every day.

“A person dies every 15 seconds from water-borne diseases. That’s an enormous problem. But we are having a positive impact on a large scale,” notes Scott. Recently charity: water raised enough money to purchase two drilling rigs, which exponentially increased drilling ability.

Scott and the charity: water team, along with donors and volunteers all around the world, are indeed having a positive impact. To learn more about how Water Changes Everything, watch this video. To donate to charity: water, click here. You can also follow @charitywater on Twitter, and Like them on Facebook for more.

Amy Neumann is a social entrepreneur, writer, speaker and consultant on social good marketing. Check out her Charity Ideas Blog and follow her on Twitter @CharityIdeas.

Follow Amy Neumann on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CharityIdeas