Despite the climate emergency situation declared by the European Parliament in November 2019, the interest in fossil fuels is growing in the East Mediterranean, inside the EU. Very few are aware that 1/3 of the greek territory is currently under exploration for hydrocarbons by local and multinational companies, a fact that translates to an imminent threat to a well-preserved natural environment rich in water and biodiversity. The almost abandoned greek countryside, originally home to ways of life strongly connected to the land and its mysteries, is fighting an existential struggle against severe population decline and high rates of unemployment. In this context, local communities are divided between those who were promised job opportunities in the oil business and those who fight for green development and clean water for the next generations. At the same time in Albania, just 200 km north the Greek-Albanian border, the largest onshore oilfield of Europe, -today one of China’s investments in the Balkans-, is growing its production in an already polluted environment where the oil industry has been present since the 1920s. Could this Albanian landscape a projection of the greek western province in the future? The issue becomes urgent, as in 2020 the greek government has approved a controversial environmental super-law which raised critiques and protests, as it facilitates the growth of business, construction and mining activities even in NATURA 2000 protected areas. The submitted pictures are part of a larger project that, by combining landscapes, portraits and testimonies, intends to document the territories and lifestyles that will be affected by the development of the fossil fuels industry scenario in Greece. With the intention to raise awareness about this issue, the project interweaves pictures from both Greece and Albania - reflecting on the connections between the two neighboring, yet somehow distant Balkan countries.