Some people who speak out say, “I’m not a scientist, but.…” Then they confuse and stupefy people that human-caused global climate change isn’t happening. The pope, clearly not speaking as a scientist, says it IS happening. In the film “Faith against Fracking,” religious leaders, spiritual leaders, leaders of communities of faith, say it is happening.
This film’s voices speak out most particularly against fracking because its ill effects are making sense to people’s senses. They see the proliferation of ugly metal and dusty traffic. They smell fracking’s chemicals in the air and taste fracking’s chemicals in the water. They shake from the earthquakes it causes. They hear the silence of power brokers lacking the words of spiritual responsibility.
Throughout “Faith against Fracking,” a diverse mix of people concerned about people, concerned about generations of children, speak out. They speak out for the poor, the exploited, for people less able to distance themselves from consequences. They encourage people of faith, communities of faith, to speak out about consequences already at hand, consequences that are mounting.
Throughout the film, gentle, kind-spirited representatives speak of stewardship. They speak for communities already organized to believe in something exalted. They’re already organized to do unto others as they would have others do unto them.
There are more penetrating films than “Faith against Fracking,” but it does well to sit, amidst it all, through 20 minutes of contextual reminder that most people are already in league with a call do us all some good.