INFORMATION LITERACY EVALUATING INFORMATION

The EPA is responsible, in part, for issuing mining permits, based on the predicted environmental damage from the mines. As with many other issues in environmental science, there is often disagreement between government regulators and companies about the extent of environmental damage. Federal regulators argue that some practices are so harmful to the environment that they should be halted; companies argue that halting certain practices will result in severe economic loss.

Go to www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122297492. Click on the “Listen to the Story” link, review the photo gallery, and read the story about mountaintop removal.

Evaluate the website and work with the information to answer the following questions:

Question 18.21

Is this a reliable information source? Does it have a clear and transparent agenda?

  • Who runs this website? Do this group’s credentials make it reliable or unreliable? Explain.

  • Is the information on the website up to date? Explain.

Question 18.22

When was this story aired, and on what program? What type of information is reported in this story?

Question 18.23

Now read an ABC News story about mountaintop removal at http://abcnews.go.com/US/community-rallies-mountaintop-removal-mining/story?id=13897050#.TxWpurKacZJ.

  • Who runs this website? Is it comparable to the other website you looked at? Why or why not?

  • Compare the content of the two stories. Which do you think provides more in-depth coverage of the issue?

  • Now look for links to other stories about mountaintop removal. Do both sites have links to other websites that you could use to learn more if you wished? Are the links more useful or relevant on one site than the other?

Question 18.24

One of the links provided on the ABC site is to Massey Energy, which declined to be interviewed for the story.

  • Why do you think Massey Energy would decline to be interviewed?

  • Do a brief Internet search for Massey Energy. What types of stories appear? Do a brief review of the stories. Do these stories give you any more insight into Massey Energy’s motives for declining an interview?

Find an additional case study online at http://www.macmillanhighered.com/launchpad/saes2e