Drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Reserve
By Colin Sullivan
Introduction
President Dwight D. Eisenhower had the foresight in 1960 to set aside this
arctic treasure for future generations. Congress reaffirmed the value of the
Arctic Refuge in 1980, expanding the Refuge to 19.5 million acres and designating
most of Eisenhower’s orginal
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is an amazing and inspiring place.
Visitors tell of its stunning vistas, unique wildlife and untouched landscape.
Scientist note the importance of the refuge as habitat
for hundreds of species and the crucial role it plays in
Since its original formation in the 1960s, the Artic Reserve
has battled against oil companies, for control over
On March 17th, of this year, Congress, with a 51-49 vote, barely passed a bill that will allow drilling in the wildlife refuge. This decision, although not final, has upset and angered many environmentalists, including former presidential candidate John Kerry, who said, “Today we saw a Republican sneak attack on one of our most treasured natural wonders.” The debate isn’t finished as Congress still needs to pass a budget for the drilling.
Now it’s your turn to decide what’s best.
Tasks
It’s time for your voice to be heard on this issue. Your job is to follow the steps outlined on the TIPS online worksheets, along with information you gather from the websites listed below, and make a recommendation on what to do about this problem.
1) After completing your TIPS worksheets, you will write a letter to your state senators, Hillary Clinton and Charles Shumer, or President Bush, explaining your findings and your opinions on the drilling. I expect you to use specific facts that you gather from your online research to support your point.
2) You
must research to find out about a single animal that lives in the
Public
Policy (PPA) Worksheets
a. Define
the Problem Worksheet 1 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/select.html
b. Gather Evidence Worksheet 2 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/gather.html
c. Identify Causes
Worksheet
3 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/identify.html
d.
Evaluate Policy Worksheet 4 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/existing.html
e.
Develop Solutions Worksheet 5 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/solutions.html
f. Select best
Solution Worksheet 6 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/bestsol.html
Related
Websites
http://www.anwr.org/photo.htm - Arctic National Wildlife Reserve Website
http://www.anwr.org/topten.htm - Top Ten Reasons to Support Drilling
http://www.sierraclub.org/wildlands/arctic/index.asp - Sierra Club Website (Against)
http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/arctic/arissue.html - Defenders of the Wildlife
http://www.arcticwildlife.org/flashintro.htm - Flash Movie Against
Drilling
http://www.balancedpolitics.org/anwr_drilling.htm - Good and Bad Effects Chart
http://csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/durableRedirect.pl?/durable/2000/10/25/fp11s1-csm.shtml - Christian Science Monitor
Argument For Drilling
http://magazine.audubon.org/features0109/arctic.html - Audubon argument against
PPA Evaluation Rubric
|
Excellent |
Very Good |
Satisfactory |
No Credit |
Research And Letter |
Problem clearly
identified and thoroughly researched. Letter is convincing and well written. |
Problem identified and reasonably researched. Letter is choppy
but contains good facts. |
Problem identified and letter is written, but with many
grammatical mistakes. Information is randomly thrown in. It is not a
convincing argument. |
Problem is not
identified. Research is lacking. Letter is incomplete. |
PPA Worksheets |
All six steps of the
PPA are clearly addressed and all worksheets correctly completed |
All six steps of the
PPA are addressed and most worksheets correctly completed |
At least half of the worksheets are completed. It appears that
the student has used the information in their letter. |
Incomplete worksheets.
Student never attempted nor asked for help. |
Written Report |
Well organized, demonstrates logical sequence. Includes picture. |
Organized, demonstrates logic. Picture included. Paper is messy
or not enough info. |
Organized, but confused sentence structure. There is a picture.
There is limited information on the animal. |
Poorly organized, limited information, no picture. |
Standards
English
English E1 – Read and comprehend informational materials
English E2 – Produce a report of information,
produce a persuasive and reflective essay
English E3 – Participate in group meetings
English E4 – Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its
clarity and effectiveness
English E7 – Produce functional documents appropriate to audience and
purpose
Conclusion
Congratulations!
If you have done what was asked of you then you now understand one of the more
complex environmental problems facing