Media Constructions

of Sustainability

in the Finger Lakes

PowerPoint Presentation: Lesson 24

Hydrofracking, Media and Credibility

Part 1: Credibility in Diagrams

L24, Slide 1

Does this Web page strike you as a

credible source? Why or why not?

Yes It is probably a credible website because its URL indicates

that it is from an educational institution (.edu). In this case, the website is from the Idaho Museum of Natural History (http://imnh) housed at Idaho State University (.isu).

On the bottom of the Web page, you can also see a link to Source Information that lets you know where the article information originated. The Source Information is presented on the next slide.

L24, Slide 2

L24, Slide 3

Discuss the credibility of the sources for the

“What is an Aquifer?” article.

Excerpt from “What is an Aquifer?”

What is an Aquifer?An aquifer is a body of saturated rock through which water can easily move. Aquifers must be both permeable and porous…

Why is Groundwater So Clean?Aquifers are natural filters that trap sediment and other particles (like bacteria) and provide natural purification of the ground water flowing through them.

How is an Aquifer Contaminated?An aquifer can be contaminated by many things we do at and near the surface of the earth. Contaminants reach the water table by any natural or manmade pathway along which water can flow from the surface to the aquifer…In general, any activity which creates a pathway that speeds the rate at which water can move from the surface to the water table has an impact.

L24, Slide 4

"What Is an Aquifer?" Digital Atlas of Idaho. Idaho Museum of Natural History, Idaho State University, n.d. Web. 19 April 2012.

What is the message in this diagram about the potential dangers of aquifer contamination from hydraulic fracturing drilling?

What is your evidence from the document?

L24, Slide 5

What is the message in this diagram about the potential dangers of aquifer contamination from hydraulic fracturing drilling?

What is your evidence from the document?

L24, Slide 6

L24, Slide 7

Which diagram was created by the natural gas industry and which by an opponent of hydrofracking?

What is the evidence in the document for your guess?

L24, Slide 8

Produced by Lisa Bracken, a hydrofracking opponent whose “Fracked Frank’s

Hydraulic Fracturing Primer” is on her website, Journey of the Forsaken

Produced by Energy in Depth, a campaign mounted by the Independent Petroleum

Association of America (IPAA)

What questions might you ask about these diagrams in order to judge their credibility?

L24, Slide 9

What questions might you ask about these diagrams in order to judge their credibility?

• Who created the diagram?

• In what context was it used?

• Who paid for its use?

• What is the mission of the producer?

• When was it made?

• Are there texts or diagrams from other sources that confirm or challenge this interpretation?

L24, Slide 10

Part 3: Credibility in a Google Search

L24, Slide 12

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5.

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At first glance, which sources would you consider more credible and which sources would you consider less credible and why?

Tips for judging the credibilityof a media source

• Identify the source, its funding and mission and speculate on how that may influence the information

• Assess and verify the currency and accuracy of the information

• Reflect on how one’s own bias may influence one’s judgments about the credibility of the information

• Seek, compare and evaluate the information from diverse sources

L24, Slide 13

Works Cited

Slide 1"What Is an Aquifer?" Digital Atlas of Idaho. Idaho Museum of Natural History, Idaho State University, n.d. Web. 19 April 2012.

Slide 3“Sources and Resources: What is an Aquifer?” Digital Atlas of Idaho. Idaho Museum of Natural History, Idaho State University, n.d. Web. 19 April 2012.

Slide 4"What Is an Aquifer?" Digital Atlas of Idaho. Idaho Museum of Natural History, Idaho State University, n.d. Web. 19 April 2012.

Slide 5“Going Deep: Well Stimulation Technology Deployed Thousands of Feet Below the Water Table.” Energy in Depth. Independent Petroleum Association of America, 22 March 2011. Web. 19 April 2012.

Slide 6Bracken, Lisa. "Hydraulic Fracing Diagram 1." Journey of the Forsaken. N.p., 13 Feb. 2012. Web. 19 April 2012.

Slide 13Project Look Sharp. “Sample Google Search: Josh Fox and Gasland.” Google.com. N.p., 19 April 2012. Web. 19 April 2012.