Dear President Obama Page #8

a state with a reputation

for independence

and rugged individualism.

Yet, even here, gas and oil

has never hesitated to take

what it wants, when it wants.

One result

of the recent boom is

that communities across

the country have been divided.

Often pitting neighbor

against neighbor.

A tiny fraction of people

in the gas patch were paid

and paid handsomely to lease

their land for drilling.

But everyone else received only

the down sides of the boom.

Industrialization, pollution

property devaluation

and ill health.

(Art)

Now, I tell you

how this came about.

My wife and I went

to Middleton one day

and we came home that evening

and all of a sudden

I noticed there was

a stake out there.

Big tall wooden stake,

with a bunch of

orange ribbons on it.

When I saw that

I immediately knew what it was

'because they've been drillin'

all the way around us.'

Couple days later,

this guy shows up

says, "We're gonna

drill a well there.

You don't have a choice."

And I didn't because

I can't fight an oil company

and I can't fight

the US government.

Government says they can do that

so they took my property

they took my land,

they drill an oil well on it

and I don't get

anything out of it.

They say here's

some money for damages.

Okay, so...

I get money for damages.

The oil company gets a tax

deduction for what they give me

and then I have to pay

20 percent unearned income

on what they give me

to take my property.

So the mineral owner

got a lot of money.

And the oil company

makes a lot of money.

And all the contractors

that were involved in

getting this thing drilled

and in operation

and everythin'

made a lot of money.

And what did I get

in comparison?

I got the shaft.

(Kyev)

Think about it,

from this vantage point

you worked your whole life.

You now own, a little

small piece of the pie

you got a home.

And natural gas companies

come in.

You gettin' less amount

off for your property now.

The value has gone down.

And what big business sees

as valuable

is that what is

underneath your property.

So they take that which is

most valuable to them

raise your taxes and fees

in order to take your property.

And then leave you

holdin' the bag.

And that is what become

the American dream.

But one of the main things

that gas is doin' is

dividin' our community.

Some are makin' money

off of this gas..

...while others are gettin'

sick off of this gas.

So for those

who are makin' the money

it's their blessin'.

But for those

who are gettin' sick..

...it has become a curse

on our community.

(Art)

'Across from the neighborhood,

across from the school'

'across from the church'

'they just came in

against our opposition.'

'They just, they just

put 'em, anywhere.'

'Not what's in the best interest

of the neighborhood'

'or the students..'

'...but what's in the best

interest of...the industry.'

So one would ask,

"Is it in our best interest

to have them drillin'

in our communities?"

And those of us

who've seen the impact

thus forth say,

"Absolutely not."

It's profit above people.

And anytime,

profit supersedes people

then that's not in the best

interest of our neighborhood.

[instrumental music]

(Mark)

It's not just individuals

who struggle

with the rights and wrongs

of fossil fuel extraction.

Sometimes, entire towns can

be unwillingly put at risk

thanks to conflicting

zoning laws.

Like here, in Abita Springs

in a state typically known

for being very friendly

to the oil and gas industry.

Greg Lemons had a long career

travelling the world

as a salesman before

settling down in Abita Springs

where his family has lived

for six generations.

A Republican. He's been mayor

for just one term.

And is taken on

the oil and gas industry

in a way

very alien to most Louisianans.

And I heard about it on

a newspaper article

that saying

that there would be a, um

fracking wells that would be

put out here on our doorstep.

It's the first time

I heard about it.

And I, you know,

was not notified by any

government agencies

or anything like that.

I'm charged with the health

and welfare of our community.

And, and anything

that jeopardizes it

I-I should know about it.

Initially, I thought it

as being Republican

and I thought,

it was gonna be a windfall

for the town of Abita Springs.

So I got deep

and I picked the covers open

and looked at it

and come to find out

that, that,

that economic benefit was

pretty well smoke and mirrors.

You know,

they talkin' about one well

but there's already been

60,000 acres leased

for oil and gas production.

Businesses don't go out

and lease that property

unless they plan on doin'

a lot of drilling

and lot of production.

The parish has zoning laws

through their Home Rule Charter

which is

constitutionally protected

say that they

have right to control

what goes in those areas.

The bad law on the books

of the State of Louisiana says

DNR,

Department of Natural Resource

in the case of oil and gas has

a right to make that decision.

I mean it's really a crazy

proposition when you think

about the argument

that they're making

Then they're saying,

under the law

we can go absolutely

anywhere we want.

You know, fill in the blank,

pick your favorite

beautiful place,

quiet, next to your house.

Next to you.. Anywhere.

Nothing is...not you know,

nothing is sacrosanct.

They can go anywhere they want

according to their argument.

If the parishes' zoning laws

mean nothin'

guess what? Town of Abita

zoning laws mean nothin'.

So that, that was really

frightening to people.

I remember sitting

at the public meeting

they had

in Abita Springs early on

and just lookin' around the room

and listening to the people

just shocked beyond belief

that this could

happen in America.

People say,

"How could that happen?"

Well, we have ground leases

in Louisiana.

We have mineral leases.

You may own the property

on top of it

but you may not own

the mineral resources

and if somebody has property

next door to you

with that fracking method,

they could go for miles

underneath your property,

and there's nothin'

you can do about it.

I-I think that was a big part

of the motivation

to get involved

and get involved quick

is that,

basically they were being told

"You have no say in this,

no matter where it goes."

[instrumental music]

(Mark)

When we think of California,

the first images

that pop into our heads

are the ocean

beaches, mountains

organic farming

green living

beautiful people

Hollywood.

Often overlooked

is California's starring role

as the third largest producer

of gas and oil in the US.

In a state,

racked by record drought

and still America's bread

basket, producing more than

fifty percent of the country's

fruits and vegetables

clean water is almost as

valuable a commodity as oil.

Almost.

With the overlap of the drought

and the boom in new extreme

energy extraction processes

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