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EnviormentIntroduction
Members of Congress regularly struggle with the perceived contradiction between environmental protection and job creation. Community leaders and various citizen and business groups sometimes hold different views on this issue, which members of Congress may have difficulty resolving. The purpose of this seminar is to provide an opportunity to discuss and explore the issues involved in the environment and jobs debate. By participating in a debate on all sides of this issue, you will be better able to reach your own conclusions. You may find the issues to be more complicated and interconnected than expected. Like a Senator, you will contribute your own ideas and experience in reaching a decision. To guide our discussion, we will all become members of a simulated community called Simmeon. Simmeon is facing a dilemma regarding the future of the community. The Beautimus River runs through town. Some members of the local business community want the federal government to build a dam on the river to provide low-cost hydroelectric power. The local business community believes the dam is a good idea and that it will bring high paying jobs to town. In the short term, construction of the dam will promote employment in the construction industry. In the long term, low electricity rates may bring manufacturing facilities and jobs to town. These groups believe the dam would bring much needed growth to the community. At the same time, other business leaders in the central business district who are committed to preserving Simmeon's small-town feel are actively working against the project. Citizens who are advocates for the environment also oppose the dam because of the possible damage to wildlife, while the agriculture community supports the project because of the opportunity to expand production. As is common for large projects of this type, Congress will be asked to provide part of the cost of the dam. Your exercise involves presenting testimony at a hearing on the project before the Senate Committee on Public Projects. In preparation for the hearing, the chair of the Senate committee asked for an evaluation of the project by experts at the federal Department of Dams - the preliminary report is included here for your reference. In addition to the facts provided, you may draw on your creativity and experience in your own community to consider additional factors that should be evaluated during the hearing. You will be divided into four groups, each representing a particular viewpoint in the community. Your group will develop a position for or against the project and will prepare brief testimony to be presented to the Senate Committee on Public Projects. Several of you will be nominated to serve as senators on the committee to help with the questioning of the witnesses. At the end of the hearing, you will vote on whether the federal government should support the project.
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