Due: December 14th (But you can hand it in before then!)
Planet Earth in the News
The main project of this unit will be to find an article in the news (within the last 10 months) about one
or more the following topics:
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Minerals form when magma cools.
Rocks form in various ways and are classified as igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic.
Weathering causes rock to erode and sediment to form.
Mountain formation is caused by convection currents under Earth’s tectonic plates.
Earthquakes occur when pressure at fault lines becomes too great.
Volcanoes erupt when magma pushes upward, usually due to plate tectonic movements.
Fossils indicate when various strata in Earth’s crust formed.
Fossil fuels are created over millions of years.
You will then do the following: Remember, that you should start at the Beginning category and make sure
you have fulfilled the requirements before moving on to the next level. A Mastery assignment will have
not only the Mastery requirements, but all of the categories before it as well!
Beginning – Find an article, identify where it comes from (ie. Website, newspaper, magazine, TV, radio),
who wrote the article, and when it was published
Acceptable – Identify the planet earth concepts in the article
Proficient – Explain and describe the planet earth concepts
Mastery – Analyze why this article is important.
Example:
Fracking triggered 2014 earthquake in northeastern B.C.
Quake one of world's largest ever triggered by hydraulic fracturing
By Betsy Trumpener, CBC News Posted: Aug 26, 2015 6:21 AM PT Last Updated: Aug 27, 2015 8:45 AM PT
Fracking triggered a 4.4-magnitude earthquake in northeastern B.C. last year, CBC News has learned, making
it one of world's largest earthquakes ever triggered by the controversial process. B.C.'s Oil and Gas Commission
confirmed the cause of the earthquake in an email statement to CBC this week, saying it was "triggered by fluid
injection during hydraulic fracturing." The 4.4-magnitude quake was felt in Fort St. John and Fort Nelson in August
2014. It was preceded by a 3.8-magnitude earthquake in late July, also caused by fracking. B.C.'s Oil and Gas
Commission told CBC that several companies were doing hydraulic fracturing in the area at the time, and several
more were disposing of fracking waste. But the commission says it was Progress Energy's operations that were
"associated with triggering this event." Hydraulic fracturing, often called fracking, is the process of injecting water,
sand and chemicals at high pressure deep underground to break rock and free gas.
Fracking fluid reduced
Since the 2014 earthquake, Progress Energy has been ordered to reduce the volume of fracking fluid being used,
and the company has complied, according to the commission.
As well, new seismic equipment has been set up in the area. No new earthquakes have been detected in the
immediate area.
Last week, Progress Energy temporarily shut down another fracking site after a 4.6-magnitude earthquake hit
just three kilometres away.
Responding to The Canadian Press late Wednesday, Progress Energy said the cause of the recent quake has not
yet been established.
"The northeast B.C. foothills is a seismically active area with more than 6,000 seismic events each year, 99 per cent
of which measure a magnitude so low that they are not felt on the surface," said a statement from spokesperson
Dave Sterna.
Officials say it will take several more weeks to determine if the 4.6-magnitude quake was triggered by fracking.
Minister says events are 'rare'
In a statement, B.C. Minister of Natural Gas Development Rich Coleman said "felt seismic events related to
hydraulic fracturing are rare."
"The province has a leading role in North America in the detection and mitigation of induced seismicity associated
with unconventional gas development and works closely with the Oil and Gas Commission and industry," the
statement said.
The statement went on to emphasize that drilling must stop immediately if "seismicity reaching a magnitude of 4.0 is
detected."
In January, Alberta's energy regulator reported fracking likely caused a 4.4-magnitude earthquake in the northern
town of Fox Creek. Scientists told CBC at the time the quake was the largest in the world ever caused by fracking.
Beginning – Hand in the article stating that it came from the CBC website, written by Betsy Trumpener,
CBC News Posted: Aug 26, 2015 6:21 AM PT Last Updated: Aug 27, 2015 8:45 AM PT
Acceptable – would add a Summary of the Planet Earth Concepts
This article is about earthquakes (which occur at fault lines when the pressure becomes too great) that are
caused by the process of fracking. Most of the earthquakes have been at a magnitude of 4.4 which hasn’t been
too dangerous and there has been some debate as to whether or not the earthquakes are due to fracking.
Proficient – would add an Explanation and Description of the Planet Earth Concepts
By “injecting water, sand and chemicals at high pressure deep underground to break rock and free gas”, the
process of fracking might cause the pressure to be released along the fault lines causing the earthquake. The
Earth’s crust, which is broken up into plates, is floating on a mantle of molten magma. Where the plates meet,
called fault lines, there tends to be movement between the plates, due to the convection currents in the upper
mantle. The earth literally shakes as a result of this pressure being released. The fracking might disrupt this
force and cause the plates to move.
Mastery – would add an Analysis of the importance of this article
This article is important because we need to realize the impact our actions have on the world around us. We
could cause a really big earthquake that could kill a lot of people or destroy the environment. We need to think
about whether or not we should continue fracking in these sensitive areas or find a way that fracking doesn’t
cause earthquakes.