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ANWR
Debate
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Goal
of the Exercise:
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| To familiarize you with the various environmental impacts,
conflicts, and politics surrounding the exploration and development of
energy resources located on public lands. It will also help
you to learn how to analyze policy proposals and to develop your skills of
argument and persuasion. This semester, the class debate will focus on President Bush's recent proposal to open up a portion of the Alaska
National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil and natural gas exploration and
development. |
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Issue for Debate
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| Should the Congress approve President Bush's proposal
to open up a portion of ANWR for oil and gas exploration and development? |
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Background
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| The Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) was created by Congress in
1980 when President Jimmy Carter signed Alaska's National Interest Lands
Conservation Act that expanded the initial wilderness area designated
pursuant to the 1964 Wilderness Act. ANWR is approximately
19.5 million acres in northeastern Alaska, a region larger than the states
of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts combined. ANWR's
wilderness area is off limits to the construction of roads, buildings, and
pipelines. It is also off limits to most vehicles, timber
harvesting, and to mining. Activities allowed are mostly limited to
hiking, camping, sport fishing, nonmotarized boating, and similar low
intensive recreational pursuits. Aircraft are not allowed to fly in
and out of the refuge. Section 1002 is a 1.5 million acre stretch of
coastal tundra within the ANWR about 30 miles wide and about 100 miles
long. Only Congress has the authority to decide whether oil and gas
exploration and development will be allowed in this part of the refuge or
whether Section 1002 will become part of the protected wilderness.
The question for debate pertains to whether Congress should open up some
portion of Section 1002 for oil and gas exploration and
development. |
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Class Debate
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| The assignment is relatively simple. To ensure that
each side is equal in number, each student will be assigned to either the
pro or the con position. You may pair up with up to one other student to
research your positions and prepare the written assignment described below. You
should begin by familiarizing yourself with the proposal to open up a
portion of ANWR for oil and natural gas exploration and development by
reading Bush's
National Energy Policy and the reserve reading, both of which
have background information. You may also want to examine a recent GAO
report on oil and gas activities in national wildlife refuges. Handouts
on various points of view on the ANWR debate are also available. The following web sites contain a
variety of competing facts and opinions that should help you formulate the
arguments you will advance during the debate: |
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| The format of the debate will be as follows. The pro
and con groups will appoint members to argue key points in their side in
the debate. Each side will be allowed to make a short opening statement of up to 5 minutes
in order to present your main arguments for or against the proposal.
After each side has presented its position, there will be a 2 minute
rebuttal period. The other members of the pro and con side of the
audience will each be allowed to ask questions to the opposing side's
debate team. The questions will alternate back and forth as time
permits. The
instructor will moderate the question and answer period. Both debate
teams should come prepared to answer questions from the instructor as
well. The question and answer period will continue as
time permits (probably around 25 minutes). Each debate team will then be
allowed 2 minutes to make a short closing statement.
Some class time
will be provided for each side to organize and decide on who will
represent their views on the debate team. Different members of the
debate team are expected to present
the opening statement, take the lead in question and answer period, and
deliver your closing remarks. You may need to meet outside
of class to prepare for the debate if you do not use your class time
effectively. All students are expected to participate in the debate
by either delivering the opening remarks, rebuttal, closing statement, or
by asking or answering a question posed by the other side or the
instructor. Thus, regardless of which position you have been
assigned, you are expected to be fully informed about the arguments for
and against the proposal and come prepared to ask questions. Poor
participation in the debate will have an adverse affect on your class
participation grade.
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Written Assignment - Opinion Editorial
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| To ensure you come prepared to actively participate in the
class debate, you will be required to prepare a written summary of your arguments
whether they are for or against this proposal. The format of this
assignment will be an "op-ed" (opinion editorial) article with a
length of about 750 words (most word processing programs have a word count function). See one
of the many op-ed handouts over the course of the semester for guidance on
what styles are appropriate. To receive an
"A", it is expected that your editorial will be similar in
style, substance, and quality to submit to a local paper for
publication. You may work with up to one other student to
prepare your op-ed article. If you choose this option, you will each
receive the same grade for the assignment. |
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