Energy & Power Production:
What are the Choices?

Introduction | Task | Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion

Introduction

We are facing a shortage of energy. As our population continues to increase, as we build more homes, as we become more dependent on energy-dependent technology, the shortage will become severe and critical.

The town council for a small town has been asked to approve an application for a new power plant using a specific technology. The council must consider all sides of the issue and make a decision on whether to approve or reject the power plant's application.

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Task

Your team, representing the town council, will be considering the application for a new power plant. The team will evaluate the technology and the opinions of four different groups of town residents, all of whom are stakeholders in the decision. (A stakeholder is a person or group with a direct interest, involvement, or investment in something, for example, the employees, shareholders, and customers of a business concern.) The four stakeholders are:

  • Construction engineers--they want a plant design that is simple to build,
  • Business people--they want a reliable source of energy, and a technology that will be viable in the long term,
  • Environmentalists--they want an energy source that will not harm the environment, and
  • Town residents--they want cheap energy prices and low taxes.

As a member of the team, you have two tasks:

1. Your town council will address the class and present its decision on whether to approve or reject the power plant's application, with the reasons for the decision.

2. Individually, your task will be to prepare a 3-4-page position paper that summarizes the assigned technology and the town council's decision on whether to approve or reject the power plant. The paper should also include the reasoning behind your decision. Your individual paper should include:

  • A description of the assigned technology,
  • Pros and cons of the technology as seen from each stakeholder point of view,
  • The decision of your town council on whether to approve or reject the plant,
  • The criteria your team used to make the decision.

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Process

  1. The class will be divided into teams representing town councils.

  2. Each town council will be assigned a specific energy technology. The technologies under consideration by the town councils are solar power, wind power, hydropower, nuclear power and fossil fuels. Your town council will be assigned one of these technologies.

  3. Each member of the town council will assume the role of one of the four major stakeholders represented in the town--construction engineers, business people, environmentalists, and town residents. He/she will investigate and evaluate the technology for the new power plant from the perspective of the people he/she represents.

  4. The town council will discuss and reach an agreement on whether to approve or reject the power plant's application and present that decision to the class.

  5. Individually, each member of the council will write a position paper on the assigned specific technology detailing the technology and the decision the council reached on whether to accept or reject the plan. A bibliography of the resources you used must be attached to your paper and must be in the proper format. The correct format for your bibliography can be found in the Conestoga Writer’s Guide.

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Resources

You must use a variety of resources in researching the technology your town council will consider. Your paper must include a bibliography of the resources you used. It must include books, Conestoga network resources, and websites.Websites, other than those recommended on this webquest, must be aproved in advance by your instructor.

Books

CHS Network Resources: From school these resources are accessible from the Start button, Programs, Library Reference folder, then...

    Encyclopedias & Dictionaries folder for: World Book Online, Encarta Online Deluxe, Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

    Current Issues folder for: Facts.com (use Issues & Controversies and Today's Science), SIRS

    Magazines & Newspapers folder for: EBSCO, GaleNet Student Resource Center

    Science folder for: New Book of Popular Science, Scientific American Archive

    All of these subscriptions are available from home. Please ask librarians for passwords.

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Websites

Additional websites on energy resources can be found by using search engines such as:

Google
Excite
Yahoo

Please remember that any Internet sources not included in the listed websites above, need to be approved by your teacher.

Evaluation

Your grade will be determined by using the rubric attached. You must also do a self-evaluation of your paper. No grade will be given without a self-evaluation!

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Conclusion

We are facing a shortage of energy. Our towns continue to grow, increasing the need for housing. We are more and more reliant on technology for communication, information, and work. Our lifestyles demand more electricity and yet, power plants are not being built. Besides, when faced with the possibility of a new power plant, no one wants one in their backyard. In the near future you will be part of the communities that must decide what to do.

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