Touted for its environmental, economic, and national security benefits, natural gas is considered by some the fuel that will bridge the nation's transition from fossil fuels such as oil and coal to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. The ability to extract natural gas from shale formations through a method called fracking-short for hydraulic fracturing-has unleashed vast, untapped sources. By some estimates, the United States now sits...

Hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" is a new technology that has opened up immense resources of natural gas buried in deep shale beds. Some see it as the answer to the energy crisis and a chance at energy independence. But fracking is an incredibly divisive issue ripping apart communities. The backlash is unprecedented, with states and countries adopting fracking bans. Is fracking bad? Or is it truly an unexpected gift of energy and jobs? This film...

When Amos Decker and his FBI colleague Alex Jamison are called to London, North Dakota, they instantly sense that the thriving fracking town is ripe for trouble. The promise of a second gold rush has attracted an onslaught of newcomers all hoping for a windfall, and the community is growing faster than houses can be built. The sudden boom has also brought a slew of problems with it, including drugs, property crimes, prostitution--and now murder. Decker...

Spreading out beneath the suburbs of Dallas, the underground deposit known as the Barnett Shale promises vast oil and gas riches. This program follows the efforts of Texas developers as they stampede for a piece of the action, even as local residents and environmental activists raise major objections. To liberate the bounty below calls for fracking-a controversial process in which huge quantities of water and chemicals are injected underground, shattering...

In 2009, filmmaker Josh Fox learned his land was on top of the Marcellus Shale, a giant reservoir of natural gas, and that he would be paid to lease his land for natural gas extraction. Fox documented his cross-country trek to find out if the controversial process of hydraulic fracking is actually safe. What he unearthed was a shocking discovery about a practice that is understudied and inadequately regulated, and raced to find answers about fracking...