ir-34: human-environment interaction political cartoon€¦ · the bp deepwater horizon blowout in...

© 2013 Region 4 Education Service Center Geography by Design, Volume 2 of 2

IR-34: Human-Environment Interaction Political Cartoon

© 2013 Region 4 Education Service Center Geography by Design, Volume 2

Level 1Visuals Words (not all cartoons include words)1. List the objects or people you see in the

cartoon.1. Identifythecartooncaptionand/ortitle.

2. Locate three words or phrases used by the cartoonist to identify objects or people within the cartoon.

3. Record any important dates or numbers that appear in the cartoon.

Level 2Visuals Words1. Which of the objects on your list are

symbols?

2. What do you think each symbol means?

1. Which words or phrases in the cartoon appeartobethemostsignificant?Whydoyou think so?

2. List adjectives that describe the emotions portrayed in the cartoon.

Level 31. Describe the action taking place in the cartoon.

2. Explain how the words in the cartoon clarify the symbols.

3. Explain the message of the cartoon.

4.Whatspecialinterestgroupswouldagree/disagreewiththecartoon’smessage?Why?

Adapted from the National Archives and Records Administration

IR-34: Human-Environment Interaction Political Cartoon

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Side ADrillingforoilissafefortheenvironmentandagreateconomicbenefit.Currenttechnologymakesit easy and safe to extract oil from Earth with minimal environmental trouble. For example, Norway hasbeendrillingsafelyintheNorthSeafordecadeswithnosignificantproblem.Sincethe1969oilspilloffthecoastofSantaBarbara,California,theUnitedStateshascarefullyregulatedoildrilling and has built a very good record of preventing any appreciable damage to the environment. The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 notwithstanding, the environmental impact of oil spills isnegligible.Forexample,naturalseepageaccountsfor47%ofoilspilledintowateraroundtheworld;drillingcontributesonly2%ofthecontamination.

Whether the oil is located in your backyard or several miles off a coastline, it is a valuable resource thatmustbeobtained.Oilisstillthemainsourceoffuelfordevelopedcountries.Drillingforoilhasa positive effect on a country’s economy. Revenues from the oil industry provide jobs as well as tax sources that pay for things from public roads to education. For instance, the shale oil industry in the United States is expected to lead the country to account for one-third of new oil supplies over the next couple of years and will cause the United States to move from the world’s leading oil importer to a net exporter.

Building up oil reserves is important to the security of a country. With large supplies of oil on hand, the dependency on foreign oil goes down, allowing the United States to become more self-reliant on its own energy resources. Additionally, the price of oil goes down, helping those who struggle financiallytoaffordgasolinefortheirautomobilesandnaturalgastohelpheattheirhomes.

The positive economic aspects of the oil industry far outweigh any potential environmental issues.

Side BDrillingforoilisadangerousenvironmentalandeconomicactivityforanycountry.Oildrillingis unsafe and environmentally unsound. For example, the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill off the Californiacoastspewedmorethan3milliongallonsofcrudeoiltothesurface,killingwildlifeandendangering the natural habitat. The worst oil spill in the history of the United States occurred in 2010. The BP Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico had close to 200 million gallons (4.8millionbarrels)ofoilthatfloodedtheGulfwaters.

Theinfrastructurecreatedasaresultofextracting,shipping,andrefiningoilfromEarthhasdevastating effects on wildlife and ecosystems. But human error continues to have the biggest potential negative impact. The 1989 accidental oil spill of the Exxon Valdez released about 35 milliongallonsofoilintheGulfofAlaska;theoilfiressetbySaddamHusseinintheearly1990sreleased nearly 340 million gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf; and the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon blowout disaster, during which nearly 200 million gallons of oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico,damagedhundredsofmilesofcoastlineandaffectedthousandsofbirds,fish,seaturtles,and marine mammals.

Continueddependenceonfossilfuelsdiscouragesdevelopmentofalternativefuelsources.Newtechnologies created from developing new energy ideas create jobs to replace those currently in oil-relatedfields.Governmentsmustcleanuptheenvironmentafteroildrilling’simpacts,negatinganyeconomicbenefitsgainedfromtheoilindustry.Cleaningupaftertheoilindustrycoststaxpayers billions of dollars annually.

National security would not be affected by limited amounts of domestic oil reserves if oil was not the main resource for fuel. Drilling for domestic oil makes a country more dependent on this nonrenewable fuel source. The volatility of world oil availability and its negative effects on a country’s security were illustrated by the oil crisis of the late 1970s.

Oildrillingshouldbediscouragedandreplacedwitheffortstodevelopnewwaystofueladevelopedcountry.

IR-35: Two Sides Drilling

© 2013 Region 4 Education Service Center Geography by Design, Volume 2Page 1 of 2

IR-36: Human-Environment Interaction—Reading to Learn

Part A: Use the right column to record notes from the text that support the conclusions listed in the left column.

Conclusion SupportOildrillingshouldcontinue.

Oildrillingshouldstop.

Part B: Record notes from the text about coal mining in the table below.

Coal MiningUnderground Mining Surface Mining


IR-36: Human-Environment Interaction—Reading to Learn—Answer Key

Sample answers are shown below. Accept all reasonable responses.

Part A: Use the right column to record notes from the text that support the conclusions listed in the left column.

Conclusion SupportOildrillingshouldcontinue. Growing demand for supply

Safe technology1998 study by US Geological Survey showing potential for ANWRAffects only 8% of ANWR landLow incidence of plants and animals in ANWRRealizelargeprofitsfromleaserentals,royalties,andtaxrevenuesLessen dependence on foreign oil

Oildrillingshouldstop. Impact on ecosystemDamage to pristine environmentPotential for catastrophic and irreversible damageTakes focus away from search for alternative energy resourcesIncreases demand for fossil fuelsLoss of farmland, drinking water in NigeriaNobenefittoindigenouspeopleinNigeria,whosufferfoodshortages, unemployment, and health hazardsDanger from transportation of oil and gasHazards of eco-terrorismLand and water pollutionChoke points

Part B: Record notes from the text about coal mining in the table below.

Coal MiningUnderground Mining Surface MiningDangerousDeathbycollapsingwallsorfloodsBlack lung diseaseExpensive, but decreased costs with new technology

More damage to environmentSeepage of minerals into surface and ground waterErosionStrict enforcement in US through Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977

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© 2013 Region 4 Education Service Center Geography by Design, Volume 2Page 1 of 3

IR-37: Human-Environment Interaction

Human-Environment Interaction

As there is growing demand on energy resources, there is increased demand for securing oil reserves around the globe. Most experts believe that by using technology that is readily available for oil exploration and drilling, the actual extraction of the oil from underground or underwater is generally safe. However, environmentalists express concerns about potential damage to the land and water wheredrillingtakesplace.Concernshavebeenraisedabouttheimpacttoplantsand animals on land and under the water if there should be a human or natural disaster, such as leaking pipes, sabotage, warfare, earthquakes, or hurricanes.

Oneregionthathasreceivedquiteabitofattention is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in northeastern Alaska. Proponents of drilling for oil in this region are encouraged by a 1998 study by the United States Geological Survey that suggested that this region of North America has the highest potential for discovery of a large oilfield.Additionally,proponentssaythatonly8%ofANWRtotallandareawouldbeaffectedbyhumanexplorationforpotentialoilfields.Relativelyspeaking, the potential payoff would far outweigh any possible environmental damages. The amount of plants and animals in this region is minimal compared with other locations, thus minimizing any potential environmental impact. Billions of dollars acquired from lease rentals, royalties, and tax revenuesisthemostimmediatebenefit.TheUnitedStateswouldbenefitfromthecreationofnewjobsand less dependency on foreign oil.

The strongest argument against expanding drilling and oil exploration in northern Alaska is the potential damage to the pristine environment and the wildlife that live there. Those who oppose drilling and exploration in ANWR believe that any damage would be catastrophic and avoidable. Instead of continuing the search for more fossil fuels, some scientists, politicians, and environmentalists believe that humans should focus more on developing alternative fuel sources, especially those that they believe have less harmful effects on the environment.

The debate over ANWR focuses on the environment, whereas the debate over oil drilling in Nigeria has had an effect on humans as well as the environment. In the coastal areas of Nigeria, communities have lost farmland, and some sources of drinking water have been polluted as a result of leaking oil pipelines. More significant,though,isthattherevenuegeneratedbytheoilindustryinthedeltaof the Niger River has been controlled by the government and Royal Dutch Shell, theoilcompanythathasdonethemajorityofthedrillingandrefininginthisarea.TheOgnis,theindigenouspeoplewholivethere,havenotreceivedanymonetarycompensation or assistance. As a result of political instability within Nigeria’s

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska contains oil reserves. It also is home to many plants and animals but not humans. At what point do human needs outweigh the need to protect the environment?



government and the lack of government regulation on multinational corporations, theOgnishavesufferedfoodshortagesduetofarmlandthatcannotproducecropsbecause of the pollution from drilling. They have suffered unemployment and health hazards as well.

The gravest danger to the environment has come from the transportation of oil and natural gas once they have been extracted from underground wells. The potential hazards of eco-terrorism on oil pipelinesinplaceslikeAzerbaijanintheCaucasusregion of Southwest Asia are very real. There is conflictthroughoutthisregioninvolvingArmenians,Georgians,andChechensinsouthernRussia.

The largest human hazard concerning oil occurred in Kuwait in 1991. Toward the conclusion of the Persian Gulf War, the President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, had the military sabotage more than 600 oil wells in Kuwait. The result was the loss of more than 240 million gallons of crude oil that polluted both the land and water.

There is potential for economic and environmental conflictwherevertherearechokepoints. A choke point is usually referred to as a narrow waterway between two larger bodies of water. The countrythatcontrolsthechokepointcaninfluenceordictatetradingpatterns.Whenyoustudytheflowofoil and global trading patterns, the Strait of Hormuz becomesoneofthemostcriticalchokepoints.Otherimportant choke points include the Strait of Gibraltar, the Strait of Malacca, Bab el-Mandab, the English Channel,BosporusandDardanellesStrait,andthePanamaCanal.Thesechokepointsarecriticalshipping lanes for a variety of goods, not just oil.

Coalisanothernaturalresourcethatmustbeminedorextractedfromtheground.Coalisminedintwoways: underground mining and surface mining. Underground mining is dangerous. The two leading causes of death in underground miningarewhenthewallscollapseorwhenwaterfloodsinthemine.Along-termhealth risk is contracting black lung disease, the result of inhaling coal dust over long periods of time. Underground mining also is more expensive because of the

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What might some of the environmental concerns be if an oil tanker started to leak crude oil?

Invading Iraqi troops were driven out of Kuwaitin1991,buttheysetfiretonumerousoil wells before leaving the country.

If the US does not own any land or have oil rights in or around the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, why is there such a strong American military presence in the region?



technical aspects of drilling through the ground to get to the location of the coal. However, technological advances in the past 30 years have helped to decrease the cost as well as the safety hazards of underground mining.

The second method of coal mining is called surface mining. When the coal seam, the location of the coal deposit, is relatively close to the surface of Earth, the topsoil

and the entire accompanying habitat are removed and set aside. The bedrock of Earth is then broken up in order to get to the coal deposits. Surface mining has historically been much more damaging to the environment than underground mining. The overburden, or the surface that has been cleared in order to reach the coal deposits, was dumped at a nearby low-lying location, typically a wetland. The heavy metals found in the discarded land lead to the development of sulfuric acid and iron hydroxide, which seeped into surface and ground water. Unhealthy amounts of these pollutants in a community’s drinking water can lead to serious health issues. Another

environmental consequence of surface mining includes erosion. If the topsoil is cleared away and not properly restored, the nutrients in the soil could disappear and lead to the inability to replant trees in the area. With the lack of topsoil and fauna, the area couldbecomebarrenveryquickly.Oncethecoalhasbeen removed, the land should be restored to its originalformasmuchaspossible.Countrieshavevarying laws that outline these requirements. In the United States, this is fairly straightforward and has been strictly enforced since the Surface Mining ControlandReclamationActin1977.

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Surface mining strips the top layers of soil. US mining companies are required to replace these layers after mining is completed.

Underground mining can be dangerous to workers who extract coal deposits from unstable pockets deep within Earth.


The following rubric will be used to evaluate your letter to your US senator.

4 The student fully describes either the pros or cons of oil production and presents a compelling case for the side taken.

3 The student describes either the pros or cons of oil production and presents a somewhat compelling case for the side taken.

2 The student somewhat describes either the pros or cons of oil production and presents a brief case for the side taken.

1 The student does not describe either the pros or cons of oil production and presents a weak case for the side taken.

0 The student does not provide enough information to make a judgment.

IR-38: Letter to US Senator—Rubric

The following rubric will be used to evaluate your letter to your US senator.

4 The student fully describes either the pros or cons of oil production and presents a compelling case for the side taken.

3 The student describes either the pros or cons of oil production and presents a somewhat compelling case for the side taken.

2 The student somewhat describes either the pros or cons of oil production and presents a brief case for the side taken.

1 The student does not describe either the pros or cons of oil production and presents a weak case for the side taken.

0 The student does not provide enough information to make a judgment.

IR-38: Letter to US Senator—Rubric


1. Surface mining for coal has become more environmentally friendly recently because —A. displaced land is required to be put back intact after the coal is removedB. the technology used in extracting the coal from the surface is less damaging

to the landscapeC.there is less coal dust created underground; therefore, there is less air

pollution generatedD. not as much water is contaminated on the surface due to the type of

machines that are used

• Damage to coastal ecosystems• Increase need for money to repair harm to environment• Continuedependenceonnonrenewableenergysources

2. Which of the following is the best title for the text above?A. ArgumentsforUndergroundCoalMiningB. Rationale for Building Wind FarmsC.MotivationforOilEmbargoD. ReasonsagainstIncreasedOffshoreOilDrilling

3. Which of the following statements would best support drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)?A. Dependenceonforeignoilwouldbedecreasedby90%.B. TheoilfieldislocateddirectlybelowEarth’ssurfaceandwouldbeeasyto

extract.C.Only8%ofANWRtotallandareawouldbeaffectedbyexploration.D. The US would be able to export the same amount of oil as Middle Eastern

countries.

IR-39: Human-Environment Interaction Assessment Items

ir-34: human-environment interaction political cartoon€¦ · the bp deepwater horizon blowout in...

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