Concerned Citizens of Portage County and the Kent Environmental Council are the sponsors of a viewing of “Gasland,” a documentary about the impacts of fracking at 8:30 p.m., Dec. 1 at the Kiva.

The showing, originally scheduled to be held at The Kent Stage, was transferred to Kent State earlier this week, and now is being also sponsored by the KSU Public Health Student Alliance.

“Gasland,” a documentary by Josh Fox, presents the impact of natural gas drilling through hydraulic fracking, or fracking, in communities throughout the U.S.

Portage County residents have been recently approached by brokers representing energy companies wanting to lease residents’ lands to explore natural gas through fracking.

However, some of the residents approached claim not have received any information regarding environmental impact or land devaluation, which can happen from that type of drilling.

Concerned with the situation, some of the residents came together to form Concerned Citizens of Portage County, and have been holding informal meetings on the topic to reach out to others who also have been approached by brokers.

“People should attend because this is an excellent avenue to educate themselves about hydraulic fracking and the impact it has on our water, our health, our environment, the wildlife and our communities,” said Jennifer Hovis, one the founding members of Concerned Citizens of Portage County.

The documentary will be followed by a question and answer session via video chat with the movie’s director. Members of the citizens’ group will also be available to answer questions before, during and after the film.

“I hope that what students will see, aside from this excellent documentary, is a group of individuals working hard to educate others about this important issue,” Hovis said.