Independent Study for Students

LESSON ONE
Oil Crisis:
Get Into the Game
A global oil crisis has begun. Oil usage worldwide has increased to where the oil supply can only meet 95 percent of the demand. Begin the inquiry into the effects of less oil in our lives.

LESSON TWO:
How Bad Can It Get?
Fuel prices rise in anticipation of when actual supplies start to run short. It's clear that there is no quick fix to the shortage. Tensions start to rise.

LESSON THREE:
Life Is Starting to Change
Widespread changes are starting. Goods and services that depended on cheap oil are failing.

LESSON FOUR:
Elasticity and Collapse
This lesson investigates the factors that define elasticity in relation to oil—factors such as lifestyle, geography, setting and community.

LESSON FIVE:
Oil Dependency Among Nations
The oil crisis has caused some nations to reconsider their foreign policy objectives—and to aggressively seek to acquire oil.

LESSON SIX:
Food Without Oil
The impact of oil on our food supply is one of the most serious aspects of the oil crisis. Shortages are forcing many people to look for locally grown food.

LESSON SEVEN:
Breakdown
Governments have been hit as hard as anyone by the crisis, leading to the existence of red and green zones in cities and refugee camps in rural areas.

LESSON EIGHT:
Preparation and Community
With problems piling up and the government unable to help, many communities across the nation are turning inward for solutions.

LESSON NINE:
Lessons Learned
Now that the crisis has stabilized, how do we go forward? How do we balance our desire for energy's benefits with the risks and costs of procuring it?

LESSON TEN:
Your World Without Oil
Help out the World Without Oil team. Script and deliver your own citizen report that communicates what is happening to you in the crisis.

STUDENTS: LESSON EIGHT

Preparation and Community

Introduction

With problems piling up and the government apparently unable to help, many communities across the nation are turning inward for solutions. To disengage from dependency on outside resources and agencies, communities have begun to pool resources, develop local capabilities and police themselves.

Many people, seeing how unprepared society is for a prolonged crisis, are starting to make life changes to help themselves improve the future. Community networks are bringing together the expertise of their members to share ideas, goods and skills to lessen the effects of the crisis and keep chaos at bay.

Part 1: Set the Stage

1. Watch Kal's "Small Town Shortage" video.

Part 2: Take Action

If you could not rely upon the government, what could your community accomplish? Create a list of potential ways your community could survive an oil shortage. In what ways might your community come up short? Review the following WWO posts for inspiration:

Part 3: Lesson Activity

1. Browse FEMA's "Are You Ready?" Web site.

Answer the following:

What makes a good emergency preparedness plan?
What level of planning is the responsibility of the individual? The community? The government?

2. Some areas have developed strategies to address potential problems, but at this time (March 2008) few have addressed in depth the possibility of an oil shortage. Portland, Oregon stands out as an exception. Have students review this "Portland establishes task force on peak oil" article. Could this be a model for the rest of the nation?

3. Create an outline for a personal and community-based emergency plan. The outline should include:

Tasks individuals need to take to be ready.
A list of potential problems that their area might face and specific issues these problems may cause.
Basic needs and amenities that would be affected by potential problems.
A list of responsibilities of local offices and groups.

Part 4: Reflection

During a crisis, being properly prepared for an emergency can make all the difference. The same can be said for having a strong network of friends and families that can face a difficult situation together. For this lesson, student reflections should focus on the following questions:

How prepared were you for an oil crisis? Your family? How prepared was your immediate community?
Who do you have to turn to? How have those people responded?
What has your community done to in order to limit suffering and other long-term problems?

Part 5: Take It Further

Being prepared appears to have made a big difference for individuals during this crisis. For others, working together in small and large communities is opening a way to collectively cope and move forward. For today's challenge try one or more of the following ideas:

Explore your community take pictures or video of your surroundings, interview your neighbors and assess your community's ability to handle an emergency.
Create your own personal emergency kit. Using the FEMA or other local resources, stock an emergency kit at your home. Use photos or video to show what's in it.
Try and find your town's, city's, or county's emergency preparedness plan. How readily can you obtain a copy? Read and assess the plan. Do you think your area is being pro-active enough? Why or why not?
As with all of the challenges, post your findings on your blog. If you can, add photographs, drawings or video!

Additional Resources

View lesson nine >>

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