Recently, I had the opportunity to get deep into a discussion about “Haynesville” and what the film could add to the current energy discussion. It was interesting because this person had fairly restrictive views on the energy picture and where we , as a nation, should be. He focused on green energy and the idea that we should immediately switch over to wind and solar. His future was one of electric cars and zero carbon emissions. In his mind, coal and oil were things we could simply wish away, and they would be gone by the end of the week.
As I politely listened to his screed on fossil fuels, I thought about my own understanding of the energy picture when I started the “Haynesville” project. It was very simple and similar to this gentleman’s. I, too, believed that it was easy as flicking a switch and being done with fossil fuels. I saw the Haynesville gas find as more of monkey’s paw that the people of Louisiana had to bear. Without giving anything away in the film, once filming started, I attained a broader understanding of the issues. And here is my understanding in a nutshell: It’s really, really complicated. There is an answer, but it’s complicated.
I know. Saying that “it’s complicated” is a bit of a cop out. The truth is that, currently, we can’t just throw the switch and make everything renewable. While the film makes the case better than my typing, the energy picture is a tangled web of sources, technologies and a nation whose energy consumption is skyrocketing. What we need is more time to develop better, cleaner sources of energy. What we need is education on how to live better with less energy. What we need is the answer that is laid out by the energy experts (environmentalists, energy industry wonks and academics) in “Haynesville”. That said, I guess you’ll have to see the film to know what I’m talking about. Trust me, it’s worth the wait.
-Gregory Kallenberg, Director of Haynesville