What Lies Upstream
Film
Review by Kam Williams
Eco-Expose'
Warns of Dire Consequences of Unchecked Pollution
On
January 9, 2014, a coal industry cleansing agent called MCHM started
leaking from an above-ground storage tank into West Virginia's Elk
River. The major chemical spill was covered up by Freedom Industries,
the company that owned and operated the tank.
The
300,000 residents of Charleston were lucky that the substance emitted
a noxious odor, otherwise they might never have known that their tap
water was toxic. Still, some 700 folks called the local poison
control center to report rashes and a variety of other symptoms.
Six
days later, instead of caring about the health and safety of its
customers, the water company closed ranks with the prevaricating
corporation by declaring the licorice-tasting H20 safe to drink.
Unfortunately, most of the other official agencies, including the
Department of Environmental Protection and the Center for Disease
Control, also ran interference for Freedom Industries.
This
shocking state of affairs came to the attention of
filmmaker/investigative journalist Cullen Hoback who made his way to
the scene of the crime, camera in hand. Leaving no stone unturned, he
doggedly pursued the truth, until justice was served, albeit
belatedly.
The
upshot of Hoback's efforts has been chronicled in fascinating fashion
in What Lies Upstream, a jaw-dropping documentary which reveals most
regulating agencies to be untrustworthy puppets of big business
interests. Besides the Charleston disaster, the film covers similar
events which transpired elsewhere around the country (most notably in
Flint, Michigan), again and again illustrating how politicians and
bureaucrats have routinely failed to protect the people who elected
them.
A
sobering expose' issuing a dire warning about the whole damn nation's
being on the brink of ecological collapse!
Unrated
Running time: 85 minutes
Distributor: Hyrax Films
To see a trailer for What Lies Upstream, visit: https://vimeo.com/230726538
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