How Battlestar Galactica Fought Fracking

By Paul Rauber

December 5, 2014

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When the history of the fight against fracking is written, special mention should be accorded the cheesy 1978 television series Battlestar Gallactica. First, it famously (and to some, extremely annoyingly) pioneered the euphemistic use of "frak," making it a dirty word even before the environmentally destructive method to drill for oil and natural gas was invented. (For a painstakingly assembled video of all such usages in the series, see here.) 

Second is Edward James Olmos, the craggy faced actor who portrayed Commander Adama in the series. Olmos has more recently lent his talents to the Sierra Club as the narrator of Fracking 101, an animated short that explains the basics of hydraulic fracturing and the dangers it poses to the environment and public health. "As global reserves of fossil fuels dwindle," he says in his still commanding baritone, "the oil and gas industry has turned to fracking, a more dangerous and expensive extraction method that threatens our climate." Commander Adama, we salute you!