Oil drilling in Alaska

This resource focuses on the opportunities and challenges of developing a cold environment by examining the case study of oil drilling in Alaska. The main aim of the resource is for students to consider the positive and negative impacts of drilling for oil in this sensitive environment.

Students complete a card sort activity where they categorise statements into the positives and negatives of drilling and then into social, political, economic and environmental aspects. This is followed by a town hall debating task where students take on the roles of the key stakeholders and identify the issues surrounding oil drilling in Alaska.