All language subtitles for Blowout.Inside.Americas.Energy.Gamble.2018.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX].eng

If there's one word in the oil
patch which makes everyone sit

up and pay attention, it's the
word "blowout."

A blowout is simply an
uncontrolled flow of gas or oil.

The gas begins to expand and
work its way upward.

If not controlled, the gas
bubble could cause a blowout.

Radio channel 1: Welcome to Good
Morning West Texas with Betty
King, brought to you by ...

Radio channel 2: The
International Energy Agency says

the United States is going
to pass Russia as the world's

top oil producer by the end of
this year.

And a lot of that oil and
natural gas as well comes from

West Texas, the Permian Basin
it's called, where output has

tripled in the last three
years."

Jerry Morales: Midland is on
fire again.

It's definitely the land of
opportunity as I've been saying
lately.

We are seeing just about
everything that's operable in
Midland at capacity.

I have two restaurants, and at
11 o'clock, your staff, your

restaurant better be ready
because those doors start
swinging.

Today's definitely
another boom, but we want this

one to be a sustainable, strong,
thriving economy.

And we believe that that can be
based on what we've been hearing

from the CEOs of the oil
companies.

Convenience stores,
hotels, the mall, everybody is
busting at the seams.

Zach Toombs: So, the United
States is in the middle of

really a new kind of fossil fuel
boom.

And we're just starting to
understand the impact that has.

I'm Zach Toombs. I'm a reporter
at Newsy.

Over the past few years, we've
seen oil and gas drilling in the

U.S. breaking all kinds of
records, going way up.

The amount of oil produced in
the U.S. has been climbing
pretty consistently.

It just became the top producer
in the world, over Russia, over
Saudi Arabia.

On natural gas production, the
U.S. has been at

the top for a while, and that's
only going up from there,

just steadily rising.

That ramp up in production is
partly due to new technology

in something called "hydraulic
fracturing" or "fracking."

That's helped companies unlock
this whole new

layer of oil and gas trapped
inside shale rock.

Now once they get into that
shale layer, they basically

inject water and chemicals to
create cracks in the rock that

lets them pull up the oil and
gas they find there.

That's helped create a new surge
for oil and gas that the

industry calls the
"Shale Revolution."

So it was fracking that made
this boom possible,

but for the first time, it's
really foreign demand and

exports, not U.S. demand, that's
been driving all this new
drilling.

More oil and gas has meant more
money for the industry,

and in many places, it means
more jobs and more tax

revenue for local governments.

But in places where
drilling overlaps with where

people live, we know there's a
health risk.

What we don't know is just how
big of a risk it is, and for how
many people.

This new fossil fuel boom brings
up a lot of questions

about public health, about
profits, and about the climate.

Our goal was to follow this oil
and gas from

where it's pulled up out of the
ground, to wherever it ends up

and see what the impact is.

But Newsy is just one of a
few newsrooms, including

The Center for Public Integrity,

The Associated Press,

and The Texas Tribune,

all teaming up to dig into this
fossil fuel boom to see what

caused it and what it means for
the U.S. and for the world.

So I'm Kiah Collier.

I'm a reporter at The Texas
Tribune.

I focus on energy and
environmental issues.

We're trying to tell people
about amassive oil boom

that's going on in West Texas
and New Mexico in

an oil play called the Permian
Basin.

This oil boom is by many
measurements bigger than any oil
boom before it."

Sharon: West Texas, our last
frontier,

they're turning it into an
industrial zone.

Zach: Oh yeah, I see it.

So you can't see it with the
human eye, but through this

camera you can see through
infrared.

So, that black plume that I'm
seeing is methane. What else?

Sharon: Volatile organic
compounds

like benzene, toluene, harmful
chemicals that we don't

want to be standing here
breathing.

Zach: So if we stand here long
enough,

or for the people who live
around sites like this,

what does that mean? What does
that do?

Sharon: Well, it's going to be
harmful to their health.

They could have upper
respiratory issues, asthma.

I mean, it's the same health
issues we see everywhere.

Zach: So just in the past year,
what changes have you seen

from the oil and gas industry?

Sharon: They're just poking
holes everywhere at a very
frenzied pace.

And a lot of this is going to be
exported to other countries.

We're sacrificing our air,
people's health, their quality
of life,

so that the oil and gas industry
can ship overseas the

oil and gas and make a profit.

Industry can go into an area
and put an oil and gas facility
literally in someone's backyard.

And when they start having
health impacts or they just

complain about these horrible
odors all the time, we can take

this camera and show them that
it actually is the oil and gas

industry, and they can't deny
it, because seeing is believing.

So we're holding the industry
and the regulatory agencies
accountable.

Zach: Environmental
organizers like Sharon Wilson

take that footage and show it to
state regulators

to try and get them to take some
action around these emissions.

Wherever we see these
underground layers of shale oil

and gas, we see more drilling
and emissions. That's the case

in Texas, but also in states
like New Mexico and Colorado.

And state air monitoring across
all of them is pretty spotty.

So, as this new drilling boom
has ramped up,

we're seeing citizens like
Sharon Wilson going out into the
field to monitor,

but we're also seeing some
scientists at federal agencies,

like NOAA, which studies the
atmosphere,

also going out into
the field and really filling in

the gaps in monitoring
emissions.

OK, well this is the notch.

So, are we are ready to roll?

Gaby Petron: We are like
detectives.

We drive around the oil and gas
field and we are looking at

real time readings of benzene.
And when we see very big hits,

we investigate and look at
what's upwind of us.

And that will tell us where
there's a source of benzene.

So, my name is Gaby Petron. I
work at NOAA

in the global monitoring
division where we study

greenhouse gases globally, but
we also look at regional

emissions of greenhouse gases
and specifically in the past few

years have looked at methane
emissions and volatile organic

compounds emissions from oil and
gas operations.

From earlier work, aerial work,
that we did in 2012,

we noticed that there's a lot of
benzene over the oil and gas

field that's not accounted for
in the state inventory.

So what we've been looking at in
the past year is monitoring

levels of methane and other
natural gas markers like ethane
as well as air toxics.

As we are looking at well pads
that are being drilled,

fracked and in early production
phases.

So we saw definitely a
plume from this pad with the
flare.

Here we're going to be
able to see the pollution

probably pooling and
accumulating near the site.

We're looking at different types
of gases that have different
impacts.

When we look at a greenhouse gas
like methane,

we're looking at decade-old to
century to millennia impacts on
climate.

That's the methane story. And
when we look at even

smaller scales, closer to
operations, we are interested in

understanding health impacts
that are related to air toxics
emissions.

Benzene is a known carcinogen.
Some of the other gases

can be irritants to the lungs or
the eyes and the throat,

so we have experts that are
working with us that are

better able than us to relate
the atmospheric ambient levels

that we detect with what the
potential impacts are on

people's health.

Lisa Mckenzie: Colorado is one
of the most prolific areas

of oil and gas development in
the country.

One of our most active areas of
oil and gas development is just

to the northeast of Denver.

I'm Lisa Mckenzie.

I've been studying the health
effects and the health

implications of developing oil
and gas resources

in residential areas for about 9
years now.

We now have quite a
bit of data showing that the

oil and gas sites can emit
hazardous air pollutants

like benzene, and there are
quite a few studies out now that

show people with certain health
effects are more likely to be

living near these oil and gas
sites.

And some of these health
effects are associated with
these chemicals.

They include things like
childhood leukemia

and pre-term births and some
other adverse birth outcomes.

The data on the health effects
of benzene in human populations
is pretty clear.

That's from occupational studies
that have been done.

What we found was that people
living closest to the well sites

and within 500 feet of the well
sites

had a higher risk for chronic
and acute health effects.

Respiratory effects and
neurological effects are the

main health effects that we
would expect to be associated
with these air pollutants.

Their cancer risk was eight
times EPA's upper threshold for
cancer risk.

So what we'd like to know is
really what the level of

benzene is that people are being
exposed to in their homes.

Zach: Now we know these
emissions are coming

off of any site that's actively
pulling up oil and gas,

like a rig, or a pumpjack, or a
site that's flaring.

And we know these emissions can
make people sick.

So the big question for us was,
if we take the research on

high-health-risk areas around
drilling and compare that to

U.S. Census data on where
people live, how many people
could be at risk?

We found data on where these
wells are across the country.

Now this is the first time that
anyone has compared the growing

research on health risks around
drilling to population data at
this scale.

The studies we're looking at
show the health risks start to

increase for people living
within 2,000 feet of a drill
site.

Then there's that higher-risk
zone for cancer within 500 feet.

Our new analysis estimates more
than 1.4 million people

live in that zone nationwide.

We see that drilling overlaps
with population in states all
over the country.

That includes Texas, where we
estimate as many as 480,000

people live within that 500-foot
high-risk zone.

And it includes Colorado, where
we estimate 27,000 people live
in that zone.

Now, there are rules that are
supposed to protect people from
this kind of thing.

They're called "setback" rules,
and they

determine how close drilling can
come to where people live.

But they're set at the state and
local level, so they're

different all over the country.

Now both Midland, Texas and
the state of Colorado

have setback rules that are
supposed to keep drilling

at least 500 feet away from
where people live.

But there are loopholes.

So for example, a company can
get an exception from a local

government that lets them drill
closer.

Or old wells can be
grandfathered in.

So that's part of the reason why
there could be more than

1 million people nationwide
living in that high-risk zone.

Basically, the "Shale
Revolution" has changed drilling

and put a lot of new drills into
residential areas.

But from state to state, the
rules on setbacks and other

safety measures haven't
changed with the times.

And that can put people in a
dangerous spot.

Tearsa Larson: It was a
beautiful home on a corner lot

with mountain views.

Kyle Larson: We were a little
hesitant at first because we

hadn't lived out of town before
like that and once we got up

there I think we really enjoyed
that feeling of being out of

town, not so much in the
congestion that goes on.

Tearsa: So we were all living up
there.

Myself and Kyle and Juan and
Amber and Gabriella, my

grandbaby, who was, when she
moved in, almost 2.

When we moved up to Frederick,
we actually had Amber's baby
shower up there.

It was really beautiful and
small town, really quiet,
peaceful.

Then we started getting notices
about them fracking up there.

And that's kind of where it all
started.

And that fracking site went up
so fast. It was really fast.

We thought, "Wow, it's really
close to our house,"

but, you know, we really didn't
think that much about it.

Kyle: Tearsa would call me
almost every night and tell me

just how absolutely miserable it
was to live across the street

from an active fracking site.

Tearsa: There'd be this really
strong smell in the air

and it would make me have
headaches.

I don't know if you've ever
smelt like really strong nail
polish remover?

That's kind of how it smelled.
Just like a really strong, sweet

kind of smell. It was weird.

So Amber, she had been calling
in at work because she was
having headaches a lot.

That was in September because
she was diagnosed September 9th
of 2014.

They had us all come in and they
said she had 2 weeks to live.

Her bone marrow was 90%
full of Leukemia cells.

And I just walked out and I went
outside of the hospital, and I

just sobbed because I knew it
was bad.

Amber Gonzalez: It was kind of
hard to really just kind of

let any of that sit in, because
you know, I thought, I have a

really young daughter, you know
that's all I really thought
about.

Is my kid going to grow up
without a mom?

And that's not what I wanted.

Sorry.

That's where they decided to do
their fracking,

and this is where we lived right
across the street from it.

We moved in September 2013. And
then we lived up there until

about September of 2014.

So my health problems started in
early September if not later
August.

I started noticing more things,
like I was getting bruises,

and I was becoming really tired.
My bones really hurt.

I was 29 when I was diagnosed.

And the doctor up there said it
was, you know, interesting

because this is an old man's
cancer. You know?

That's what they call it.
Because it's AML. It's Acute
Myeloid Leukemia.

Tearsa: It was a couple nights,
I think,

after she was diagnosed. I was
sitting up at night,

and I just Googled AML. And
benzene came up.

And I was just like, I knew. I
don't think I could have anybody

convince me anything else other
than that it was where we lived.

Amber: I never felt sick or
anything until this came around.

I've been back at my job for a
year and a half now.

I still have a lot of somewhat
issues.

And there's things that
can pop up at any time,

but I feel way better than what
I did before.

And I'll take it. You know? I'll
take it.

Kyle: Nobody knows anything
about how many people are
getting sick.

That to me is one of the biggest
tragedies here is that nobody

knows for sure on any of this.

So not knowing, you grab what
you can.

OK, let's make them be further
away until we do know.

Amber: I really do think they
should be set back.

They shouldn't be in our
neighborhoods. It's just too
much of a risk.

Tearsa: They should have to be
2500 feet back.

I don't even know if that's far
enough.

Zach: Following American
fossil fuel means following this

expanding network of pipelines
across the country.

And a lot of those pipelines end
up at the Gulf Coast.

Now, the production boom has
been big, but the boom in

exports has been even bigger.

Out of the increase in U.S.
oil and gas production over the

past few years, virtually all of
that has been sold and shipped
abroad.

Terminals along the coast that
used to be for importing

have switched to exporting.

So that makes the Gulf Coast
really a launching

point for American fossil fuels
headed overseas.

Eddie Martinez: Now, what you're
going to see behind you here is

what we call Refinery Row. You
got 3 major refineries here.

You have Valero, you have Citgo
and you have Flint Hills,

part of the Koch family.

Zach: So this port is playing a
big role in the global changes

in the energy market right now.

Eddie: We are. You know, our
customers are

setting the stage to be global
players.

Matthew Garcia: As far
as raw crude oil, the Port of

Corpus Christi is number 1 by a
significant margin.

Eddie: Not since the 1950s have
we been a net exporter of energy

in the America. Now this port
alone is producing over half its

volume of export crude to
international markets.

So we're, you know, creating not
only a numerous amount of jobs

but sending all our energy to
overseas markets.

Zach: Cheniere is building a
facility here.

Can you talk about that shift
from import facilities to export

facilities over the past
couple years?

Matthew: The demand for natural
gas across the world is

tremendous and it's only going
to keep getting bigger.

When the LNG facility, Cheniere,
comes online here in the next

coming several months, we're
going to be able to actually

start moving those LNG to those
markets, into Europe into Asia.

Eddie: So the region you see
here is kind of this blank
canvas if you will.

This is where most of the major
entities, energy companies,

mid-streamers are looking to
develop. In this particular
area.

Zach: So just like in West
Texas, the fossil fuel boom here

brings a lot of new jobs,
almost 800 just in Corpus
Christi alone.

And then there are thousands of
temporary jobs

to build out all these new
facilities.

But just like around drilling,
there's really another side to
the success story.

Because for decades, refineries
and processing plants all along

the Gulf Coast have put out a
similar mixture of greenhouse
gases and air toxics.

And as exports have ramped up,
so has activity at these
refineries.

Port Arthur is one of the towns
surrounded by these refineries,

and here the health impact is
well-known.

It has a cancer rate 40% higher
than the rest of Texas.

Hilton Kelley: "This was Burger
King.

This is the Burger King
structure. Old school Burger
King.

Let me have 10 shrimp. The
boiled shrimp. And two crab.

And what else come with that?
That about it?

Yeah, let me have the corn and
sausage. Alright, see that.

Look at that. Don't that look
good?

Zach: That looks great.

Hilton: Very tasty.

Zach: So you grew up in Port
Arthur?

Hilton: Grew up here. Born and
raised. Right here in Port
Arthur.

Grew up going crabbing. I
remember what it smelled like
here.

It always smelled like rotten
eggs.

You know, the odors.

Zach: So you grew up with those
emissions?

Hilton: Oh yeah.

Zach: With that rotten egg
smell?

Hilton: Mhmm.

But we didn't think twice about
it because it was just the norm.

When I came back home from the
military after I got out in 1984

downtown Port Arthur was
dilapidated.

We had white flight out of Port
Arthur I think in the late '70s.

Zach: Did you notice something
was off when you saw people

with cancer, people with
respiratory problems?

Hilton: Oh yeah. Once I met
Mister Alfred Dominic

and I had went to a couple
meetings he had invited me to

that was dealing with
environmental justice, he said

'What these plants are dumping
into the air is impacting our
air quality, it's killing us.

Because they're dumping sulfur
dioxide into the air,

they're dumping benzene.'

And I told him, I said, Well I
always knew that it stunk,

that it didn't smell good. But I
didn't know just how bad it was.

And he said, 'Yeah, what
you smell is poison.'

So you're telling me benzene is
a carcinogen?

1,3-Butadiene is a carcinogen?

And yet it's all in our air in
tons every day.

Alright, we're going to go ahead
and hook it up now.

Alright, it's the one that goes
inside this one. You got it?

Every chemical has a
fingerprint,

and the computer that it's
hooked up to is able to identify

exactly what that particle is
and how many parts per million

is coming through that light at
any given time.

Ordinarily, what we would pick
up on the UV Hound is

sulfur dioxide, that's always a
big one,

benzene, which is a known
carcinogen.

This helped me to raise the
alarm and show that

we at least have a problem
whenever I'm able to pick up

some readings and then it puts
the state into high gear to come

in and either prove me right or
prove me wrong.

That's Prince Hall housing
project.

Zach: And just a few
hundred feet behind us,

industry row.

Hilton: Right, thousands and
thousands of barrels

of oil per day have been
produced there since the '60s.

Zach: And this refinery is one
of the biggest?

Hilton: That is the largest oil
refinery

in the northern
hemisphere, Motiva.

Once that bitumen is processed
here,

it's processed to be sent
overseas.

It's not processed here to
benefit U.S. citizens
whatsoever.

Many of the people in this area
are moderate to low income,

and that's rightfully so because
there's not a lot of folks

that want to live next to
oil and gas productions.

Because it stinks, it's not
healthy, and we all know it.

If you're gonna have
clean-burning gasoline,

and the only way you get
gasoline is from crude oil,

all the impurities that came out
of that crude oil has to go
somewhere.

We're the sacrifice zone.

Those impurities are going into
my air, my grandkids air,

my grandmother's air. And
everybody in this town.

Port Arthur, Texas is considered
the sacrifice zone.

Zach: So on the drilling side of
this fossil fuel boom,

it was really new technology
that helped kick that off.

But it's a different kind of
innovation that's allowed

companies to start exporting all
this natural gas overseas.

That's the process of turning
natural gas, which is,

obviously, a gas, into a
liquid.

Basically by making the gas
really cold, they're able to

liquify it and pack a lot more
of it into containers that can

be sold and shipped abroad as
Liquefied Natural Gas, or LNG.

Now, when people talk about the
oil and gas industry's impact on

climate, they're usually talking
about carbon dioxide, or CO2.

Natural gas puts out a lot less
CO2 than other fossil fuels,

which is something that the
companies producing and selling

natural gas and LNG like to talk
about, a lot.

Ad 1: This energy source carries
tremendous benefits for

consumers and the environment.

Ad 2: It's plentiful, secure,
and all-American.

Ad 3: Think of gas molecules as
tiny, powerful, transparent
wizards.

Zach: But natural gas is not
magic.

Yes, it produces less CO2 than
coal,

and less than gasoline
from crude oil.

But it puts out a lot more of a
different kind of greenhouse gas

called methane, which natural
gas is almost entirely made out
of.

Methane only makes up about
one-tenth of

global greenhouse gases, but
it's 25 times more powerful than

CO2 at trapping heat.

And a 2018 study actually showed
that methane leaks from

natural gas production were 60
percent higher

than the U.S. government
thought they were.

And that can have a big effect
on the world's climate.

Gaby Petron: Greenhouse gases
are gases that are in the

atmosphere, and they are able
to absorb heat and re-emit heat.

So they act like a blanket that
you put around the earth

and the more greenhouse gases
that you

have in the atmosphere, the
thicker the blanket.

They are trapping the heat that
the earth's surface

is emitting towards space.

Since pre-industrial times, CO2
levels have increased

in the atmosphere by almost 50%
so we've gone from

280 ppm pre-industrial to 406
ppm in 2018.

When you look at Methane it's
even a bigger increase.

We've gone from less than a ppm
to around 2 ppm methane now.

The levels we are seeing now,
especially in terms of CO2,

have not been seen since 3.6
million years ago.

We can say that you know about 3
quarters of the climate change

we are experiencing today and
will experience can be

attributed to an energy system
that is reliable on fossil
energy.

2016, just 2 years ago, was the
warmest year on record.

The past 4 decades have been the
warmest in modern times and

we've seen that every decade in
the recent past has been warmer

than the previous one.

We have optimistic scenarios in
terms of climate change

mitigation which call for a
quick reduction in greenhouse
gases,

especially CO2 emissions.

And there are some scenarios
that are business as usuasl

where the emissions are kept
unabated and we see that

there's a very big difference in
what the final result will be.

So in this next scenario, that's
business as usual where there is

no abatement in greenhouse gas
emissions at all, we are way

beyond 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

And these are huge increases
for society and ecosystem to

react to and adapt to in such a
short time.

So everything is pretty much
getting very, very dark here.

Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen,

welcome to the 27th World Gas
Conference!

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick
Perry: We're bearing witness to

this astonishing energy miracle.

Jie Jenny Zou: This huge boom is
unique in that it's really,

you know, about this new market
place.

When you're really looking at
places like West Texas, the

Permian Basin, also New Mexico,
you're really talking about a

boom that is serving exports.

This is oil and gas that is
being sent abroad, overseas.

I'm Jenny Zou. I'm a reporter at
The Center for Public Integrity.

I report on the environment,
specifically climate change,

and the fossil fuel industry.

So it's, you know, 1973.

You've got the Arab Oil Embargo
Crisis.

And basically what this led to
was a shortage of

fuel in the United States.

You had gas prices surging. You
had these long lines at the gas
stations.

It basically leads to this whole
movement to conserve crude oil.

So by 1975, you've got Congress
essentially putting in place a

ban on crude oil exports.

It was all about conserving what
you have

for the American people.

And for decades it kind of went
unchallenged until around 2008

when fracking really took off.

And that's the only time when
you start to hear the oil and

gas groups like the American
Petroleum Institute start to

suggest that this old ban that
was put in place back in the

1970s, maybe you should throw it
out.

So around 2013, you see maybe
under a dozen companies lobbying

on the crude oil export ban.

And then a year to two years
later, that number grows

to 300 lobbyists on this, sort
of converging on Capitol Hill.

But you also had a lot of people
in the Obama administration who

also pushed for it.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz,
which was an Obama appointment,

you know, he was one of the
first people after the

American Petroleum Institute to
also say the crude oil export

ban was, you know, this old
relic of the past,

and it's sort of outdated, and
shouldn't we rethink this
policy.

They wanted to keep their
climate legacy, but they

also still wanted to keep the
drilling going, because the

Obama administration was so gung
ho about natural gas.

And in order to get natural gas,
you also get oil.

So you kind of had to have both.

People on the Hill, you know,
Senator Murkowski,

Senator Heitkamp, both from oil
drilling states,

insert a provision in that
year's budget that would

essentially undo decades of this
ban on crude oil exports.

And it makes the U.S. part of
the global energy marketplace

in a way that it's never been
before.

And it's also a great
business opportunity

because you're talking about
profits, and you're talking

about a handful of companies
that are able to

export this stuff to countries
abroad.

The U.S. government has
essentially become a pitchman

for the global natural gas
industry.

And you've got folks
like

Energy Secretary Rick
Perry visiting India,

visiting Poland, and going to
these countries and

essentially telling them, 'You
should buy American natural

gas,' helping essentially a
handful of companies that are

the only ones right now that can
actually export natural gas.

And the company that benefits a
lot from this is Cheniere."

Tyson Slocum: Its largest
shareholder is

a billionaire named Carl Icahn.

Hi, I'm Tyson Slocum. I'm the
director of the energy

program with Public Citizen.

Carl Icahn not only is an active
investor and owner of critical

fossil fuel infrastructure, but
for almost a year

served as a top adviser to the
president of the United States

on energy and regulatory policy.

So there is a lot of financial
benefit to Carl Icahn's LNG

export company to the
initiatives that Trump has
announced.

We've seen Carl Icahn's company
join Trump administration

officials on excursions to
China,

where an agreement was
made to facilitate

more liquefied natural gas
exports from Louisiana to China.

By emboldening the oil and gas
industries, you're increasing

their ability to finance more
lobbyists and make sure that

U.S. energy policies are
oriented towards the

self-interest of the oil and gas
industry.

The fear that I have is that we
are looking at investment and

government policy decisions
today to build out natural gas

infrastructure to stick around
for the next 40 or 50 years.

And once you build new
pipelines, the owners of those

new pipelines do not want to
see those pipelines become

irrelevant in just a few years.

Zach: So it was the Obama
administration that lifted the

export ban and opened the door
for U.S. oil and gas being sold
abroad.

But it's truly been the Trump
administration that has

taken this fossil fuel boom to a
whole other level.

President Donald Trump: We're
here today to usher in a new

American energy policy. One that
unlocks millions and millions of

jobs and trillions of dollars in
wealth.

Powered by new innovation and
technology we are now on the

cusp of a true energy
revolution.

Zach: From the start
Trump surrounded himself

with energy advisers who owned
parts of the oil and gas

industry and stood to profit
from weaker regulations.

People like Carl Icahn and
Harold Hamm.

And the administration just
started going through all these

regulations the industry
didn't like,

either pushing them off or
getting rid of them completely.

One of the biggest changes was
that they made it a lot easier

for energy companies to release
methane

and other emissions into the
air.

Now that saves companies
time and money because they

don't have to monitor their
emissions as much, but it

also ups the risk for problems
with public health and climate.

The Trump administration has
also been aggressively selling

oil and gas abroad, especially
from Cheniere, whose profits are

up more than 10 times over the
past few years.

And as more money comes in for
the oil and gas industry,

these companies put more money
out into political battles

all across the country.

At the federal and state level,
these companies are putting a

lot of money into fighting
regulations.

And usually, they win.

John Elway: Colorado's all
about people.

Friends and neighbors, family
and community.

We're all together in making
this a great place to live.

Proposition 112 is going to hurt
everyone acrossed our state.

It will eliminate as many as
43,000 jobs in the first year
alone.

Let's come together to protect
Colorado.

Join me in voting no on 112.

Heidi Henkel: Hello! How are
you?

Neighbor: Good!

Heidi: Hey Chris!

Hey, Bob! How are you?

Bob: I'm doing fine. How are
you?

Heidi: We can just stay
out here really quick.

We're just stopping by.

We're just walking around
letting people know

about the setbacks for oil and
gas

that's going to be on the
ballot.

Have you heard of
the?

Neighbor: The 2500 foot?

Heidi: Yeah, 2500-foot setbacks.

Today, I believe I have 38
doors to hit.

Proposition 112 provides
a 2500-foot buffer between

homes, schools, and water
sources and any new oil and gas

drilling in the state of
Colorado.

We made it a statewide ballot
initiative to protect all
people,

not just here in Broomfield, not
just in Weld County,

not just in Eerie but statewide.

Neighbor: You know I've
thought something about the

health aspects but I guess the
economic side is the part

where things are a bit more
wishy washy.

So I want to make sure I have
the facts on that part.

Neighbor 2: You have the full
support of this household

and we will vote.

Heidi: Thank you. Awesome. Thank
you.

Neighbor 3: When does voting
start?

Heidi: Umm, early
October.

Thank you! Bye.

Neighbor 4: Go Broncos!

Heidi: Yes! Woo!

Heidi: You ready to rock your
Tuesday?

Gonna do your spelling
test today?

Maybe right before your
test look at the ones you had a

hard time on?

Alright, you go ahead, bean.
It's exhausting

fighting a billion-dollar
industry.

I'm hoping that we're serving
not just Coloradans

but those around the world.

You know, fossil fuels needs a
clear boundary put around them.

Otherwise they won't put
boundaries on themselves.

Anchor 1: I'm Mitch Jelniker
with the latest from Denver 7.

The polls are open for this
year's midterm election.

Voters in Colorado will be
deciding on 13 initiatives.

Anchor 2: Oil and gas
development is one of the

bigger items on this year's
ballot.

112 in particular would increase
the distance new drill

rigs need to be from homes and
schools.

Anchor 3: Let's break
this down for you.

A yes vote on Prop 112 means you
want to increase the setback for

new wells to 2500 feet from
homes, schools,

hospital buildings and also
"vulnerable" areas.

A no vote keeps these
regulations the same.

Heidi: It is a long one this
year.

Yes on 112 for safer setbacks
for oil and gas.

I've been waiting quite a few
months to fill that bubble out.

How's that feel?

Heidi: That felt really good.

Are you going in to vote?

Voter: Trying to drop off a
ballot somewhere.

Heidi: Oh yeah. OK. Here's
this too, in case.

Ryan Luby: So we are at the No
Against Proposition 112 event.

Millions of dollars have been
spent by largely this group of

people to try to defeat this
proposition.

I think this is a referendum on
the oil and gas industry, at

least in this state and how it
interacts with our communities.

Oil and gas is in a lot of ways
the backbone, or at least

historically one of the
backbones of Colorado's
industry.

Dany Haley: If Proposition 112
were to pass,

what's at stake economically are
good paying jobs,

up to 147,000 jobs possibly lost
over the next 11 years.

Ryan: It would create half mile
setbacks in every direction

around anything that's
considered vulnerable,

basically preventing new oil and
gas development on more than

80 percent of non-federal land
here in Colorado.

Dan: So, I think this is one of
the biggest issues our industry

faces in the coming years.

It's really incumbent upon our
industry to make sure that

communities and neighborhoods
understand our commitment to

safety and to develop this
resource cleaner and better and

safer than anywhere in the
country.

Ryan: Talking with some
of the industry folks

who are here, they acknowledge
that even if they win tonight

and this proposition is
defeated,

there are going to have to be
some hard conversations

within the industry of how do we
prevent something like this

from happening again?

What do we need to do to be a
better neighbor for our state?

Heidi: Do we know the numbers
for 112, John?

Patty would you mind looking up
112? Do you know the numbers?

I know we're not winning. The
measure needed 50% to pass.

We made it to 42. 16-point
difference.

It looks like we're losing,
which is to be expected I think

with how many millions of
dollars they had.

But I was just telling someone
else that this is just the
beginning.

I'm hoping that they'll take a
closer look as to

what can actually happen.

It's not as safe as they think
it is.

Right now I know I'm sad we lost
but at the same time

it's a huge win for Colorado and
the awareness that we have.

Zach: All this new oil and gas
is moving out of the Gulf Coast

at a record-breaking pace.

And that's actually led the
Panama Canal to open up a whole

new set of locks, basically
expanding this U.S.-to-Asia

trade route to make room for
more liquified natural gas.

Silvia de Marucci: Do you see
any crocodiles today?

Zach: Any what?

Silvia: Any crocodiles?

Zach : No, I haven't
seen any crocodiles.

Silvia: Sometimes we get some
alligators in there.

Zach: Really? They want to go
from the Atlantic to the
Pacific? Or vice versa?

Silvia: Yes, and they don't
want to pay tolls.

They go for free.

We were not in an oil-producing
area until the U.S. discovered

this Shale Revolution and all
these techniques to extract

the gas from the rocks.

I would say that now we are very
relevant for that particular

trade between the US and Asia.

Zach: What are the trends that
you've seen in

LNG coming through the Panama
Canal?

Silvia: After the contracts with
the Asian companies began to

kick in, then we saw a lot of
volumes going to South Korea,

which is probably the major
destination through the Panama
Canal,

Japan, and we see China surging,
buying more and more each time.

So I would say main destinations
South Korea, China, Japan.

Just to give you an idea, in
2017, I think we had about

6 million tons of natural gas
transiting the canal.

And we haven't finished 2018
yet,

but we are probably going to
double that volume this year.

Zach: The path of American oil
and gas

now stretches all over the
world.

Outside of North America,
most of the biggest buyers

are in Asia.

That includes South
Korea, China, Japan, and India,

where US Energy Secretary Rick
Perry helped close a deal to

send Cheniere's natural gas for
the next 20 years.

So here's why these global gas
shipments really matter.

Long-term, the world's top
polluters have to curb their

greenhouse gases to avoid the
worst impacts of climate change.

Moving to renewable energy could
do that.

And supporters of natural gas
say that can be a sort of

"bridge" to that renewable
shift.

But natural gas is still a
fossil fuel,

and it still puts out these
heat-trapping gases.

So if the world is going to hit
its targets for curbing

greenhouse gases, that bridge
can't be too long.

So now the countries trying to
cut their greenhouse gases

have a choice: either a fast
transition to renewable energy,

or the natural gas "bridge."

Shrikant Sabre: You can see the
4 arms directed toward the
cargo.

Zach: So there are four arms
connecting the jetty to the
tanker.

So three for the liquid, and one
for the vapor.

Shrikant: Yes, 1 for the vapor.

Zach: So here, tankers are
coming in.

LNG is coming off the
tankers.

Shrikant: We can say 3 to 4
cargo comes in a month.

Zach: Is that more than it used
to be?

Shrikant: Yes.

Unloading activity has already
started.

You can see they're decoupling
the bolts.

Shrikant: We have
reached it at the right time.

Zach: We're here at the right
time, yeah.

They are right in the process of
disconnecting the arms.

They've got two of them off.

Shrikant: This is the first
time, I think, some media person

is capturing this moment.

Zach: Really?

Shrikant: Yeah.

Zach: So after the liquified
natural gas is taken off

the tanker, it's put into your
tanks here, you turn it

back into a gas and push it off
to the rest of India basically?

Shrikant: Basically, we
are sending a gas.

We are unloading LNG, liquified
natural gas,

and we are sending gas to GAIL
network.

Zach: So once it's converted
back into a gas, then it's ready

to be sent through the pipelines
to cities across the country.

Shrikant: Yes.

Zach: So it was about a 24-hour
process to get the liquified

natural gas off the tanker. Now
that's done.

Shrikant: Yes. The activity's
over right now.

The next ship will be coming
after a week.

Zach: India is buying American
oil and gas and carrying

it across the country through
pipelines, but the

government here is also doing
something the U.S. isn't doing.

It's laying the groundwork for
this huge buildup of solar
energy.

Basically, India is betting on
renewables for its future,

while the U.S. is building out
all this new fossil fuel
production.

But India has a population of
1.3 billion people and growing.

and it needs a quick alternative
to the coal

that's polluting its largest
cities.

So both the U.S. government and
the global fossil fuel industry

is offering up natural gas as a
solution.

Narendra Taneja: When
it comes to power, electricity,

67% of electricity that we
produce comes from coal.

Zach: Wow, so two-thirds?

Narendra: Is coming from coal,
yes.

Natural gas in big cities in
India is emerging as an
alternative.

We are moving in the direction
of LNG,

which means we're going to use
LNG to fire our power plants,

we need LNG to run buses, public
transport system.

A city like Delhi, Delhi's
already running only on

natural gas, CNG, compressed
natural gas.

Zach: So the buses
that we see running around here.

Narendra: All buses, all
three-wheelers,

all taxis are running on natural
gas.

Zach: And more likely than not,
that's imported natural gas.

Narendra: Yes. Let me put it
this way.

Today when you look at
India's energy mix,

it is roughly 90% fossil fuel.

67% of electricity that we
consume is coming from coal.

But we know that by 2040, 2050,
probably 50% of our energy

requirements are going to be
met by renewables.

Zach: In a sense, it seems like
natural gas is becoming the last
fossil fuel.

Narendra: Yes, I think that's
the right way to look at it.

Zach: So India is preparing for
a sort of renewable future right
now.

And how is it doing that? How is
it incentivizing renewables?

Narendra: You see, very good
question.

I think you know, we are a more
complex country, but

we are very blessed when it
comes to solar.

India's got the most aggressive,
most ambitious renewable energy

plan, you know, in the world.
Most ambitious.

Government has taken the lead.

So I expect that in 10 years
from now this revolution,

which is a grassroots
revolution,

the solar revolution, is going
to surprise the world.

Zach: That's very different than
what we're

seeing from U.S. political
leaders right now.

Has India noticed the shift from
the U.S. and how it's

approaching energy production?
And how it's approaching

setting goals on emissions
curbing and that sort of thing.

Narendra: Well, very good
question.

You see, we used to look at the
US,

but the developments in the
US over the past few years

have been a bit disappointing.

For instance, shale is a game
changer.

But the fact is that shale
contaminates.

Zach: The air and
the water.

Narendra: The air and
the water, and the Earth.

It contaminates. When it comes
to climate deal.

Paris Climate deal.

The United States has moved out
of it, and India is

extremely disappointed by what
President Trump has done.

We are committed to it for the
sake,

simply because we care for
the health of our people.

Zach: In recent years the US has
really doubled down

on oil and gas production.

India's buying some of it, but
what contrast do

you see there between how the US
is building its energy future

and how India is building its
energy future?

Narendra: You see, let's not
forget one thing.

Energy, ever since the First
World War, is 90% politics.

You can't take politics out of
energy.

So there are no black
and white pictures.

When I say that you know I'm
disappointed with what the US is

doing in terms of pulling out of
the climate deal or shale gas

contaminating air, water, earth
and everything.

But at the same time the fact
that the US is able to produce

more oil, more natural gas is
good for us.

Good for emerging
economies like India.

But at the same time in terms of
carbon emissions and all that,
it's bad.

But as I said, there is no black
and white answer.

It's a mixed answer.

India needs every single source
of energy you can think of.

India needs every source
of energy you have available
today.

India needs every source
of energy that is going to come

on the table 5 years from now,
10 years from now.

Whether it is energy from space
or is energy from gravity

or is energy from just sheer
thought or whatever.

Zach: We saw American oil and
gas drilled in Texas,

processed at the Gulf Coast,

shipped through the Panama
Canal, and burned off in India.

But the path of fossil fuels
doesn't end there.

The pipelines and terminals that
the industry is building around

the world are meant to take oil
and gas use

well into the 21st century.

Emissions are put into
the atmosphere,

and global temperatures keep
rising, which means

the next step in this process
has the biggest impact.

Gaby: So there's a clear trend
of warming around the world.

Over the ocean and over land.

Tropical storms and hurricanes
feed on heat from the oceans.

And as the ocean is warming we
see increased energy available

for tropical storms to grow in
size but also in intensity of
rainfall.

So as we are moving towards a
warmer world

we expect more intense storms.

One key consequence of global
warming is sea level rise.

So through thermal expansion,
warm water takes more

space than cold water.

If emissions are not reduced
fast we could see

a 1 meter to 2 meter increase in
the sea level by the end of this

century without climate actions.

By 2100 with a middle of the
road scenario emissions for

greenhouse gas emissions we are
looking at 150 million people

being climate refugees due to
their land and their homes

being now covered by the ocean.

Tasneem Siddiqui: "Bangladesh
is identified as one of the most

affected countries of
climate change related events.

In Bangladesh, already 4.7
million people has been

displaced due to effect of
climate change.

From 2011 to 2050, 16 to 26
million people will be migrating

due to coastal erosion,
riverbank erosion, flood,

drought and cyclone.

Our research found that 60% of
those who move internally, due

to climate change or otherwise,
they all come to Dhaka.

So when you think of this many
people coming into Dhaka,

the main problem here is, the
government or the state

doesn't have places to
accommodate them.

Then their living condition if
you think,

and their personal security,
their family security,

all these things are in a mess.

Abu Siddique: The name of
this neighborhood is Rupnagar
Duaripara.

Not exactly downtown. It's a
suburb.

Zach: Siddique can you tell me a
little about this neighborhood?

Abu Siddique: Most of the people
who are living here,

they are basically
rickshaw pullers or some sort of

low-income job they are doing.

Zach: So it could be
construction, it could be any

kind of manual labor work?

Abu Siddique: Yes manual labor.

Zach: So it's a lot of
low-income people.

A lot of them moved here for
environmental reasons?

Abu Siddique: Yes, this sort of
neighborhood you'll find

in many parts of the city.

The number of people living in a
slum in Bangladesh has increased

by 370-something percent.

Zach: So the number of people
living in these

neighborhoods in Dhaka has
grown by almost four times

what it was over 15 years. What
are the big factors behind so

many people moving to these
neighborhoods?

Abu Siddique: Basically,
unemployment in their own
hometown.

Her name is Kohinoor.

She along with her family came
here from a coastal district,
Bagerhat.

Zach: So how long have
you lived in this neighborhood?

Zach: Salt water had basically
covered the land that they were
on.

Abu Siddique: Yes. Agricultural
lands are totally barren.

Now there is no agriculture
production.

No agriculture production means
all their living means have been
destroyed.

That's why they are now here,
like many others.

Zach: A lot of the countries
contributing the least to

climate change will feel the
biggest impact.

But climate change will be felt
by everyone,

including the top emitters of
greenhouse gasses.

Sea level rise might seem like
a slow-moving threat,

but scientists point to
another effect of warmer oceans

one that's already being felt in
the U.S.

Anchor: Hurricane Maria.

Anchor: Hurricane Florence.

Anchor: Hurricane Harvey.

Anchor: Hurricane Michael.

One of the worst hurricanes in
American history.

The worst hurricane to ever hit
the Florida panhandle.

Zach: More sirens.

Ralph Boone: Yeah, I hear that
all night long.

Zach: So, this is where you
work?

Ralph: Yeah. This is my job.

Zach: When did you find it like
this? You walk over after the --

Ralph: Well we knew it was
coming but we didn't

know what extent the damage was
going to be.

And when I came up here, this is
what we get.

I had another driver, one of my
other drivers, he had to

leave his trailer because his
trailer got blown away.

He came up here, him and his
wife, and they go to the

back, the whole building on the
backside collapses on them.

So they got out and went in
their truck and sat down

and stayed there the whole
night.

Zach: How long have you
lived here?

Ralph: All my life. I'm 45 years
old.

Zach: Is this as bad as
you've seen it?

Ralph: This is the worst I've
seen it.

This is the first time we ever
had a storm this strong and this
catastrophic.

This is the worst one I've ever
been through in my lifetime so
far.

Zach: Hurricane Michael hit 3
days ago and still

for almost 100 miles around
there's no cell service, no

electricity, people are without
gas.

We still don't know what the
true death count is and all

along this section of the
Florida panhandle there's just
devastation.

Firefighter 1: Sir, I'm
holding whats up?

Firefighter 2: I'm gonna check
the second floor and see if
it's clear.

Firefighter 1: Got it copy.

Firefighter 2: I don't see
anything.

We've got to search every single
thing.

Firefighter 1: I understand
that.

Betty Rich: It was scary.
Horrible.

The wind and the rain, I thought
we were going to be gone.

It came so quick, people were
just so thankful for us to be

able to open because they
weren't prepared for this storm.

They're saying we may not get
electricity for like a month.

Zach: And what do you think it's
going to be like 2 or 3 weeks

from now when there's not
electricity?

Betty: Huh, I don't know.

Zach: There's so much to deal
with between the destruction

and the loss of electricity.

Some people are trying to
rebuild what they have,

some people kinda just cut their
losses and move.

What kind of reaction have you
heard from people on both sides
of that?

Betty: It's really going to be
bad.

The two hospitals in Panama
City are going to be down for 2

or 3 months and a lot of people
here in Duff County work there

and in Panama City, and it's
going to be devastating because

they're not going to have a job.

So they're gonna have to move
or I don't know.

Zach: If we trust the scientific
consensus,

in this century, we're on a path
to 150 million climate refugees,

13 million just in the U.S. --
with jobs or homes destroyed,

whether it's by sea level rise,
or more powerful wildfires, or
storms.

And most of that climate change
comes from how we produce
energy.

Jenny: Climate has just
kind of taken

a back seat to all of this.

This is coming at a time when
you know we are supposed

to be trying as a global society
to reach zero emissions.

Meanwhile you're
building all this infrastructure

to support decades of natural
gas and oil development, and

that pushes us way past 2050.

So we're kind of going in
one direction, and all the

science tells us to go in
the opposite direction.

Gaby: There's a wakeup call that
needs to happen.

It seems that we've lost
momentum.

The energy system that has
brought us to where we are

today, that has given us a lot
of improvements to our quality

of life is probably not the
system we want to rely on to

make sure that our kids and
our grandkids have a planet

they can live in down the road
and for the generations to come.