Above: A scene from the children's television program Fraggle Rock, which ran on HBO from 1983 to 1987. The Muppet-like puppet characters, who lived in caves, would often explain the process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, during episodes using a model well positioned on the set.One episode had a puppet break the process down for the young audience: "And then boys and girls, hundreds of perfectly safe toxic chemicals are injected into the ground to help energy escape to the surface. Energy that will help make your toys and popsicles and A-Team big wheels. And, no matter what you hear boys and girls, the water is safe to drink. But don't play with the flames that come out of the faucet, don't ever play with those flames. Fraggle Rock will be right back after a message from our Fraggly friends at Halliburton."
"As it turns out, Jim Henson, the show's creator, was reportedly on the payroll of Halliburton, a leader in fracking," said Josh Fox, star and creator of the Oscar-nominated documentary Gasland. "Fraggle Rock was just a way to promote fracking to children. When I was little the puppets came to my school and put a show on called Fracking Rock. I wish I knew all this before the movie came out."
Cooper-Sinclair, and independent research firm, recently released a study showing that adults 33 to 38 absolutely "love" hydraulic fracturing, a process that releases natural gas from rock formations such as marcellus shale.
"I don't know what it is," said Gail Bauer, 36, of Wellsboro, PA. "I know fracking is bad for humans and the environment, but I love it. I absolutely love fracking. There, I said it, I love fracking ... and Fraggle Rock."
Cooper-Sinclair also reported that natural gas company executives pushing the controversial process nationwide fall within this age group and have Fraggle puppets in their offices.
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