Geography: Activist Project

Grade 9 Human-Environment Interactions

Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Case

Study

Opinion Statement

Ian Cox-Leigh 13/09/2012

Background on the IssueNorthern Gateway Pipeline:

• Export Oil from Alberta’s Oil Sands• Import Foreign Natural Gas Condensate Delivered by Ship• Two Lines Connecting Bruderheim, Alberta, to Kitimat, British

Columbia• Risks: Pipeline Route, Pipeline Failures, Issues at Port or from

Shipping, Oil Sands Production in General• Approval Process: Environment Assessment, Intergovernmental

Joint Review Panel (JRP) – Hearings Conclude This Fall

• More Basic Details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enbridge_Northern_Gateway_Pipelines

The Planned RouteThe proposed Northern Gateway project would build a 1,200 km pipelines from Alberta to a marine terminal in Kitimat, B.C. These pipelines would export 525,000 barrels of diluted bitumen and export 193,000 barrels of condensate every day.

In the News• B.C. Enbridge pipeline critics say money not

the issue: Latest spill proves Northern Gateway risks too great, they say

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/07/30/bc-enbridge-northern-gateway.html

Discussion• Who are the parties involved? – Consider different governments,

citizens’ groups, and businesses. • What are their views on the Northern

Gateway Pipeline?

• What is the issue at the core of this debate?

Essential Question

Are the risks worth the rewards? What are the risks to the

environment involved in exploiting natural resources?

Exploring DeeperJigsaw Activity

• Home groups of three (3).• Each person is to study and become an expert on one

particular set of perspectives on this issue: economic, environmentalist, and First Nations.

• Meet with expert groups, discuss readings, and decided on what is most important to share with others.

• Return to home groups and share your findings.

• Reading package distributed in class or available online at: http://www.iancoxleigh.com/jigsaw_northerngateway.pdf

Independent ActivityYou have decided to either speak to, or submit a letter to, the Joint Review Panel considering whether to recommend the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline. The Joint Review Panel seeks to answer two main questions: 1. Will the project cause significant adverse effects on the environment?2. Is the project in Canada’s public interest?

You can chose to either:• Create a two page (double-spaced) letter,

OR• Create a 3-5 minute video, expressing your recommendation to

the Joint Review Panel based upon your well-defended opinion. Remember to back your opinion up with clear reasoning.

Independent ActivityThis is your opinion, and it really

counts!

• If you choose to write a letter, then once you have had some feedback (both from your peers and from yourself) then you may choose to submit it to the Joint Review Panel and have your opinion actually help sway their decision.

• If you choose to create a video, we can work together to re-work your points into your own individual letter or into a single letter several people sign together.

Information for Other Teachers:Curriculum Expectations

Grade 9 Geography – Human-Environment Interactions

Overall Expectations

– explain the relationship of Canada’s renewable and non-renewable resources to the Canadian economy;– analyse the ways in which natural systems interact with human systems and make predictions about the outcomes of these interactions. 

Specific ExpectationsKnowledge and Understanding – identify the role of government in managing resources and protecting the environment;– explain the ways in which the traditional ecological knowledge of Aboriginal peoples, including their concepts of place, wilderness, and boundaries, influences how they interact with their environment.

Inquiry/Research and Communication Skills – evaluate differing viewpoints on the benefits and disadvantages of selected resource megaprojects . . .

Information for Other Teachers:Curriculum Expectations