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Current Events Position Paper Should the Keystone XL Pipeline be built?

Current Events Position Paper Should the Keystone XL Pipeline be built?. SOCIAL STUDIES 6 ASSESSMENT. Student Outcomes . This project addresses outcomes from the following components of the Social Studies Curriculum: S kills and P rocesses—Up to 4 outcomes.

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Current Events Position Paper Should the Keystone XL Pipeline be built?

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  1. Current Events Position PaperShould the Keystone XL Pipeline be built? SOCIAL STUDIES 6 ASSESSMENT

  2. Student Outcomes • This project addresses outcomes from the following components of the Social Studies Curriculum: • Skills and Processes—Up to 4 outcomes. • Citizenship and Identity—2 outcomes. • Knowledge and Understanding—Up to 3 outcomes • See the detailed word document: Decision Making—Keystone Pipeline Project for more detailed information on specific student outcomes covered.

  3. The Project is designed to allow students to demonstrate the following skills being assessed in Social Studies: • Research and Critical Inquiry--Researches to find and use information. Reflects on changes of perspective based on information gathered. • Communication--Interprets and expresses ideas using oral, written, visual and media literacy. • Thinking and Problem-Solving—Thinks critically, creatively, historically and geographically.

  4. The Project • After reading, listening and watching a variety of government, environmental and business websites; news releases, blogs, newspaper editorials and articles, and video footage of various groups who have a vested interest in the Keystone XL Pipeline, you will be required to list the arguments for and against building this pipeline and then take a stance on the issue yourself. (See the exemplar provided for an example).

  5. Background Information • To truly understand the debate about TransCanada Pipeline’s Keystone XL pipeline you must first understand: • What travels through the pipeline? • How that material is retrieved and made ready for transport? • What are the alternatives to using bitumen? • Are the alternatives feasible at this point in time?

  6. What You Need To Consider? • Is bitumen necessary for our energy needs? • Do the benefits exceed the costs? • Is the Keystone XL pipeline the right way to provide the bitumen to places that can change it to usable oil (and other petrochemical by-products like plastic)? • Are there better ways to refine the bitumen than send it raw to the refineries in the US and Eastern Canada? • Is the information you are viewing to make your decision valid? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PthxTIaSbw&feature=related

  7. What Goes on at the Athabasca Oil/Tar Sands in Alberta? (one perspective) • Government of Alberta: What are the Oil Sands? (text) • http://www.energy.alberta.ca/OilSands/793.asp • Oil sands—Come see for yourself part one & two (video) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHGD1N-Vix4&feature=related • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfl0wUXKPvo&feature=related • How do you remove and recover bitumen? (text) • http://www.energy.alberta.ca/OilSands/1719.asp • http://www.energy.alberta.ca/OilSands/1723.asp • How is bitumen transported? (text) • http://www.energy.alberta.ca/OilSands/1720.asp • What happens when the site has no more bitumen? (text) • http://www.energy.alberta.ca/OilSands/1721.asp • Can the abandoned sites be restored? (text) • http://www.energy.alberta.ca/OilSands/1722.asp

  8. What is the Keystone Pipeline Project? • Stage One • Allows Raw bitumen to be transferred from Alberta to existing Refineries in the US. • This initial phase of the project cost approx. $5,200,000.00.

  9. KEYSTONE XL • This expansion phase of the project is currently estimated to cost $7,000,000.00. • Upon completion, the Keystone Pipeline System would provide 5 percent of the current U.S. petroleum consumption needs and represent 9 percent of U.S. petroleum imports. • 60 minutes—US dependency on Alberta Oil Sands: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALCTOs2zakc&feature=related

  10. Map of Existing and Proposed Pipelines • The red line identifies the existing Keystone Pipeline . • Construction began in 2008 and the pipeline was ready to use in June 2010. • The gold dotted line identifies the Keystone XL pipeline (expansion to existing system) • It is waiting approval for construction from the US government .

  11. What Must You Consider • Is Oil a key part of our current and future energy needs? • Does the economic benefit of the Oil Sands justify its existence (for Canadians)? • Is the Oil extraction from the Oil Sands causing more harm than good? • Should the bitumen mined in Alberta be processed in Alberta (not sent to the US)? • Do the economic and energy benefits the Pipeline provides justify the building of this pipeline?

  12. Sources of Information and Opinion • News Releases: These are documents created by/for companies that promote their product. • Newspaper Editorials: These are individual opinions by people who then submit them to a news source for publishing • Blogs: These are opinions of individuals with varying degrees of knowledge on subjects. • Websites: These are locations of data that serve the purpose of the people who create them (will likely have a bias). Some will appear very polished and seem very convincing. You must consider the reason why the website in created and maintained. • Debates: These are summations of arguments proposed by various groups with a vested interest in the topic.

  13. Information provided by the builder and owner of the Keystone Pipeline Project • Home page for TransCanada Keystone Pipeline Project: • http://www.transcanada.com/keystone.html • News Release from TransCanada Pipeline (owners of the pipeline): • http://www.transcanada.com/docs/Key_Projects/keystone.pdf • Economic benefits news release by TransCanada Pipelines: • http://www.transcanada.com/docs/Key_Projects/Keystone_Benefits_US_July_2010.pdf • Facts page produced by TransCanada Pipelines: • http://www.transcanada.com/docs/Key_Projects/know_the_facts_kxl.pdf • Environmental Safety response by TransCanada Pipelines: • http://www.transcanada.com/docs/Key_Projects/Pipeline_Safety__Ogallala_Aquifer_2010.pdf

  14. The World’s Reliance on Fossil Fuels as a primary source of energy • What are fossil fuels? • http://www.enviroliteracy.org/subcategory.php/21.html • Additional energy information (graphs and detailed) • http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2006/key2006.pdf • Stability Fears Rise as Oil Reliance Grows (BBC) • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3953907.stm

  15. Some Compelling Arguments by Recognized Experts for Keystone XL • Piping in jobs—Leslie Preston TD economics. • http://www.edmontonsun.com/videos/edmonton-alberta?autoStart=true&videoId=1171450787001&pageNumber=6 • Protesting the pipeline—jobs verses the environment—David Kreutzer of the Heritage Foundation. • http://www.edmontonsun.com/videos/edmonton-alberta?autoStart=true&videoId=1176864738001&pageNumber=5 • Greenpeace Co-founder (Dr. Patrick Moore) defends the oilsands and the Keystone XL pipeline. • http://www.edmontonsun.com/videos/edmonton-alberta?autoStart=true&videoId=1194668525001&pageNumber=3

  16. What sort of fuels can replace Oil? • Despite the promise of alternative energy sources — more appropriately called renewable energy, collectively they provide only about 7 percent of the world’s energy needs (Source: Energy Information Agency). This means that fossil fuels, along with nuclear energy — a controversial, non-renewable energy source — are supplying 93 percent of the world’s energy resources. • Source—Ecology Global Network: • http://www.ecology.com/2011/09/06/fossils-fuels-vs-renewable-energy-resources/ • Oil is still the biggest energy source .... • http://www.ecology.com/2011/02/15/oil-still-the-world-energy-leader-but-will-supply-interruptions-wreak-havoc/

  17. Alternate Energy Choices • BLOG—David Suzuki: Is there such a thing as Ethical Oil? • http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/science-matters/2011/10/can-oil-be-ethical/ • Food Energy and the future of Biofuels: • http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/climate-blog/2011/07/food-energy-and-the-future-of-biofuels/ • Descriptions of alternate energy sources: • http://www.altenergy.org/

  18. Compare and Decide:Which Websites seem more scientifically valid? • Investigating Alternative Energy Sources to replace Oil: • http://www.oilcrisis.com/youngquist/altenergy.htm • Blog to support alternatives to fossil fuels • http://renewableenergyworld.info/ • This link is the first of a nine part series (watch all 9) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK-ZDDXToDY&feature=relmfu • Does this video support or criticize the oil sands? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkwoRivP17A&feature=related • Looking closer at what people are saying (text) • http://www.grist.org/oil/2011-09-02-separating-fact-fiction-tar-sands-keystone-xl-pipeline

  19. Oil Imports by US in 2007 • The table below shows oil imports by the US in 2007. This is before any of the Keystone Pipeline Project was up and running.

  20. What About These Opinions • http://dirtyoilsands.org/thedirt/article/quick_facts/ • http://dirtyoilsands.org/thedirt/article/the_spread_of_oil_sands/ • http://dirtyoilsands.org/visuals • http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-smith/the-keystone-pipeline-too_b_966648.html • http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1265368.html • http://www.care2.com/causes/final-day-of-keystone-xl-protest-over-1000-arrested.html • http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/opinion/tar-sands-and-the-carbon-numbers.html?_r=2 • http://www.care2.com/causes/canadian-government-says-emissions-from-tar-sands-could-double.html • http://www.chttp://www.care2.com/causes/environmental-leaders-encourage-civil-disobedience-to-stop-keystone-xl-pipeline.html • http://www.care2.com/causes/leaks-discovered-in-u-s-canada-keystone-pipeline.html • are2.com/causes/state-department-witholds-information-on-tar-sands-oil-pipeline.html

  21. What You Have Not Heard • If oil is a necessity and if the Oil Sands will generate close to $40, 000,000,000.00 in tax revenues for the provincial government and close to $100,000,000,000.00 in tax revenue for the federal government, then why are they shipping it to the US to get it refined? Why not build the refineries here (construction jobs) and process it into the various products that come from crude oil (production and research jobs)?

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