NAME: ______
Fossil Fuels Investigation: 5 Case Studies ofMethods to Acquire Fossil Fuels
PURPOSE: The purpose of this investigation is for you to learn about 5 ways in which we (the world) are acquiring fossil fuels to meet our energy demand. While researching and investigating each study, you should be considering the following questions:
What are the Pros and Cons of each method?
What impacts does this method have on the environment?
How much energy potential does this method have (how much energy can we get out of it)?
What does this method mean for the United States in acquiring energy resources?
Is this a necessary method to get the fossil fuel, or could we survive without it?
Do you believe that we should utilize this method?
DIRECTIONS: You will be working with a partner to go through each case study, complete the tasks, and answer the questions provided.
***Although you will be working cooperatively, I want you to do ALL TASKS TOGETHER!!! You will NOT SPLIT UP THE WORK!!! The point of working together is to help each other with the tasks, not to make less work. You will individually be responsible for all information on the Test. If the work in not done cooperatively and together, then you will get a zero for the project.
OUTLINE/CHECKLIST:
Case Study 1: Fracking for Natural Gas
Case Study 2: Oil Sands/Tar Sands for Oil
Case Study 3: Deep Sea Drilling for Oil
Case Study 4: Mountain Top Removal for Coal (Last Mountain Movie)
Case Study 5: Drilling in Ecologically Sensitive Areas- ANWR
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Case Study 1: Fracking for Natural Gas
Part 1: Refer to the following link to construct a diagram of fracking on next page. Consider using some of the words below on the diagram and give a brief description of the process in the diagram. I don’t want you to memorize the whole process, but just to have a general understanding of how it works. This only works on a computer…WILL NOT WORK ON iPAD!!!
***Alternate link if the link above does not work!
Click on launch interactive fracturing 101:
Derrick-
Water Table-
Conductor Casing-
Surface Casing-
Impermeable Rock Formation-
Kick Off Point-
Horizontal Section-
Perforating gun-
Well Head-
Fracturing Fluid
Hydraulic Fracturing-
Proppant-
Hydrocarbons-
Reclaimed Well Site-
Part 2: Now that you have finished your diagram…we want you to look at your diagram and come up with some problems that could arise from fracking. Talk with your partner and come up with 5 areas on the diagram and label them with an asterisk and a number. On the # below provide a few sentences that describe each problem.
Problems:
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
Part 3: Analyzing the possible problems as presented by scientists and articles: Go to the following article and answer the questions below.
What is the major issue with fracking that is described in this article?
What is the second issue that is presented in the article—the one that is a concern in Pa?
Both of these issues are a result of a problem with what aspect of fracking?
Part 4: click on the following link and scroll through the video. This is the video of a helicopter flying over a fracking well in the Marcellus Shale. We do not want you to watch the whole video—just to scroll through and get an idea of what a fracking operation actually looks like.
Describe the scope of the operation that you see:
What components of the operation are presented from this viewpoint that were not present in the original animated diagram that you drew?
After watching this video, how does the idea of impacts of natural gas fracking change in your mind?
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Case Study 2: Oil Sands/Tar Sands for Oil
What are oil sands?
EIS-
What is Bitumen, and how is it found natural in the soil?
What are the 2 ways we can acquire (not refine) the bitumen from the ground?
Why is the Process of Separation necessary to get oil from the oil sands?
How Oil Sands Works:
What type of mining is shown in this video?
What is “overburden”? Does this have a negative or positive sound and why?
Although we don’t expect you to know every part of the refining process, I want you to follow along as the video explains how we go from the oil sands to the final usable product. What general observations can you make about the whole process? How involved is it?
Click on this link
What does SAGD stand for?
Watch this short video, and explain how SAGD works below in a few bullets.
When do you have to use SAGD to get oil sands?
How are Fracking and SAGD similar?
Click on this link-
Where does Alberta (only a state of Canada) rank in terms of world Oil Deposits?
What do you notice about the % values of Greenhouse Gas Emissions caused from Electricity Production and Making Oil Sands?
Where does Alberta get most of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product)?
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Case Study 3: Deep Sea Drilling for Oil
How an Oil Rig Works-
How far below the ocean are we drilling now?
How far below the floor of the ocean are we drilling?
How many miles total is that (hint: look up how many feet are in a mile)
Once the oil rises, it is boiling hot…why is this (answer is not on webpage…you should know this)?
BP Oil Spill(***need to do on computer….will not work on iPad)
-
How much oil did they EVENTUALLY determine was leaking per day?
How did they attempt to first stop the leak on May 7th?
How much of the Gulf was closed to fishing?
~Scroll through the rest of the timeline…skim the dates…and answer the questions below
For how long did the oil leak into the ocean?
Why did it take so long to plug?
How did they finally plug the hole?
What are the overall impacts to the environments 6 months after the spill?
Watch this video on the development of oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico since the early 1900’s…
What do the size of the black dots represent?
What do you notice about how many wells are added over time (what patterns do you see?)
What do you notice about the pattern of the size of the oil wells?
What does this mean about the types of wells we are starting to use more often? Why do you think this is the case?
Now that you have done some research on the issues write down all the advantages and disadvantages of deep sea oil drilling that you can think of.
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Case Study 5: Drilling in Ecologically Sensitive Areas- ANWR
For what reasons was The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge founded?
Click on Wildlife and Habitat on the left, then click on wildlife.
How many of each species are there in the refuge?
Mammals:
Fish:
Birds:
Scroll down to wildlife landscapes.
List the 5 different ecological regions that the area contains:
Click on the following link:
What is the area called where oil exploration would take place in ANWR? Is this area coastal or terrestrial?
What amount of oil, according to the USGS is there most likely to be in ANWR (95% probability)?
How many years will likely be needed for approval and exploration before production will actually begin?
How many barrels of oil does the USA use in one year?
If all of the oil was supplied by ANWR, how long would the supply last?
According to this webpage :
what are 3 animals that could be negatively impacted by drilling in the refuge? List the names of the animals and the ways that they could be affected:
What does it seem that this website supports?
List some arguments that this group states in support.
What does it seem that this website supports?
List 3 major arguments that this group states in support.
What is Glenn Beck’s viewpoint on drilling?
Does he present a well rounded and researched argument?
What is phoeniix55421’sviewpoint on drilling?
Does he present a well-rounded and researched argument?
List a few of the opinions presented in this article:
This is a complex issue, and many other issues have been left out due to time constraints. Now that you have been exposed to both sides of the issue, what is your opinion on oil exploration in ANWR?
The Dilemma- Should we use fossil fuels?
Directions: Below, I would like you to write a 8-10 sentence response to the following prompt. Write in thorough complete sentences. NO FLUFF!
“What major challenges do we face when utilizing fossil fuels as a resource to meet our energy demand?”