Microbial Diversity
Situation
An oil barge has hit a bridge over a local waterway. The oil spill is contained for now, but it is moving toward a local estuary and downstream where a low income/marginalized community is located. A company "Bioremediator Inc." has offered to provide their newly transformed "safe" cholera bacteria to digest the oil from the spill. They are willing to clean up the spill at no cost to the local community given that the community signs release forms. The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) has been monitoring the situation, and they call for a meeting to assess the situation.
Town Meeting
Student Roles/Stakeholders
1. Townspeople by the oil spill waterway
2. Company that spilled the oil
3. Barge pilot
4. Wildlife/Conservation Groups - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ELF, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the local fishing industry, local fisherman, other wildlife protection groups
5. Bioremediator Inc.
6. Mayor and city government
7. Representatives of the town downstream
8. Center for Disease Control (CDC) or other health professional to discuss cholera
9. Local Professor/Geneticist to explain bacterial transformation process (without bias of Bioremdiator Inc. professional)
10. Reporters - newspaper and television
Assessment
1. Student should be given at least 1-2 days in the library to research their positions.
2. They must provide a minimum of two sources that represent the positions they are assigned. (Good ideas - email potential stakeholders like Democratic, Republican and/or Green Parties for information concerning stand/position on environmental issues; talk to/email/call local companies or town council members to learn of their positions)
3. Position statement must be in writing with sources included (to prevent any "winging it.")
4. Teachers may want to consult the Forensics/Debate advisor for advice on how to run a good debate.
Ask other teachers to come in during their planning periods to evaluate the quality of the arguments/discussion. (This would be a great time to have a principal or school board member come in and evaluate.)