This brief video gives a quick definition of fracking and focuses on the potential human health impacts for communities near industrial fossil fuel activities.
The video provides aerial footage of hydraulic fracturing sites and the cities around them.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This video uses a youth voice to succinctly explain a complicated environmental justice issue related to fossil fuel extraction.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should be familiar with how fossil fuels are mined and used in the United States.
The video is available without an account.
Differentiation
Closed captioning and subtitles can be enabled for students with learning differences or English language learners.
Consider having students think about who might have opposing arguments to this video and how to find common ground with those people.
This video would be an effective conversation starter before further investigation into the environmental health concerns of mining and burning fossil fuels.
Scientist Notes
People of color and low-income communities may be surrounded by fracking activities. This resource is suitable and recommended for teaching environmental and climate justice.
Standards
Science and Engineering
ESS2: Earth’s Systems
HS-ESS2-2 Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems.
Social Studies
Geography
Geography 1 (D2): Students understand the geography of the United States and various regions of the world and the effect of geographic influences on decisions about the present and future by using inquiry to predict and evaluate consequences of geographic influences.
