This video explains how the United States's greed for oil has led the government to issue harsh sanctions and employ military action in countries around the world.
Students will learn that the United States is responsible for the most cumulative emissions in the world; yet, the government spends hundreds of billions of dollars on the military in order to safeguard oil interests in other countries.
The video notes that the United States and other wealthy countries have a responsibility to make climate reparations to countries suffering from climate change.
Teaching Tips
Positives
Students will learn that United States makes many military decisions under the guise of protecting democracy, when in reality the decisions have more to do with oil.
The video presents solutions for how the United States can reverse its course and turn away from military imperialism.
The video is segmented into chapters, making it easy to jump to a specific section.
Additional Prerequisites
The content of the video ends at 11:53. The rest of the video is an advertisement.
The video takes a clear stance attacking the imperialism and militarism of the United States.
Differentiation
Civics and government classes could use this video to generate ideas for research projects. Students could choose to research any topic related to the United States government and its relationship with oil.
History classes could make a timeline of the United States's role in climate change.
Other resources on this topic include this ClimateScience course on climate politics, this article on how gerrymandering affects climate change policies, and this activity that gives students a chance to discuss proposed climate policies.
Scientist Notes
This resource provides insights on the role of the USA in coal and fossil fuel divestment and supporting economies in transition and the Global South to reduce emissions from energy production and consumption. It also provides evidence of military imperialism by the USA on low-income countries and the need to stop such actions. This is recommended for teaching environmental justice.
Standards
Science and Engineering
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-1 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
Social Studies
Civics & Government
Civics & Government 2 (F1): Students understand constitutional and legal rights, civic duties and responsibilities, and roles of citizens in a constitutional democracy by explaining the constitutional and legal status of "citizen" and provide examples of rights, duties, and responsibilities of citizens.
Civics & Government 1 (F2): Students understand the ideals, purposes, principles, structures, and processes of constitutional government in the United States and in the American political system, as well as examples of other forms of government and political systems in the world by explaining how and why democratic institutions and interpretations of democratic ideals and constitutional principles change over time.
History
History 1 (D1): Students understand major eras, major enduring themes, and historic influences in the history of Maine, the United States, and various regions of the world by analyzing interpretations of historical events that are based on different perspectives and evidence from primary and secondary sources.
History 1 (D2): Students understand major eras, major enduring themes, and historic influences in the history of Maine, the United States, and various regions of the world by analyzing major historical eras, major enduring themes, turning points, events, consequences, and people in the history of Maine, the United States and various regions of the world.
Personal Finance & Economics
Personal Finance (F1): Students understand the principles and processes of personal finance by explaining how scarcity influences choices and relates to the market economy.
