Climate Change: Party Platforms and Article Study

Starter 32: Capping Methane Leaks is a Win-Win for Industry and Environmentalists
Watch the Newshour clip linked above.

1. What solution are they describing to the problem of climate change here?  Describe it.
   
2. Do you think your senator would vote for legislation requiring this?  Why/why not?
3. What questions do you need to answer in order to write effective legislation on methane leaks?

Essential Question:  How does each party define the problem of climate change, and how does that definition shape the solutions they support?
 
Objective:  To understand how our party defines the problem, and what solutions are being proposed.

Platform Study: 
Partner with another senator from your party.  Go to your party’s political platform.  For Democrats, use Ctrl F to search “climate change.”  You’ll see there are two main chunks- read them!  For Republicans, go straight to the section titled “America’s Natural Resources.”  Read it!  Use the Party Platform Study handout to organize your notes (it's on the DOCS page of my DP).

Article Study:
Get into a group with your party members, and figure out which article each person is going to do from your party list (see DOCS page of DP for list).  You should have two people on each article (you won't assign every article).  NOW...find a partner from the OTHER party.  Together, you will read two articles- the one from their party, and the one from yours, and you will complete the Article Study notes for both of those articles.  Keep an eye towards solutions, and places for compromise and collaboration.

IF YOU WERE ABSENT:  Choose one article from the Republican list, and one from the Democrat list, and complete Article Study notes for both.  All articles and handouts are on the docs page of my DP.

If you have time, I STRONGLY suggest that you read another article or two!

HOMEWORK
Finish article study if you didn't finish it in class.  DUE:  Start of class, Friday.  You will need this to be prepared for our party caucus tomorrow!