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Difficulty: Medium21st-Century Environmental Challenges and Energy Policy

"The dramatic expansion of domestic natural gas production, driven by technological breakthroughs in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, has altered the nation’s energy landscape. It has created jobs, lowered utility costs for working families, and reduced our reliance on foreign energy sources. At the same time, we cannot ignore the growing concerns of communities experiencing the environmental impacts of this boom, from potential water contamination to increased greenhouse gas emissions. Our policy must ensure that we harness our energy resources responsibly, using federal oversight to safeguard public health and protect our ecosystems."

— Representative Edward Markey, statement on natural gas drilling and environmental impacts, 2011

The debate described in the excerpt most directly illustrates which of the following continuous tensions in United States history?

  1. The struggle to balance economic growth and resource extraction with environmental conservation and public health regulations.Answer
  2. B
    The complete dominance of laissez-faire principles that prevented the federal government from playing any role in resource management.
  3. C
    The consensus among policymakers that supply-side economics should be used to increase federal spending on fossil fuel production.
  4. D
    The transition of foreign policy priorities from geopolitical security to absolute isolationism.

Answer

The struggle to balance economic growth and resource extraction with environmental conservation and public health regulations.
The correct answer is correct because the debate over hydraulic fracturing involves weighing the immediate economic advantages of domestic energy production against long-term ecological risks, representing a continuation of debates over industrialization and conservation that dates back to the Progressive Era and the environmental movement of the 1970s.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document.
The excerpt by Representative Edward Markey highlights the benefits of hydraulic fracturing (job creation, lower utility costs, energy security) alongside its environmental drawbacks (water contamination, greenhouse gas emissions) and calls for federal regulation.
Understanding the core conflict presented in the source is necessary to identify the broader historical theme.
2
Identify the historical theme that connects to the conflict in the stimulus.
The conflict is between the economic benefits of energy extraction and the environmental/health costs of that extraction. This is a classic debate over regulation versus economic development.
Connecting the specific twenty-first-century event (fracking) to a long-term historical pattern is required by the AP U.S. History curriculum.
3
Evaluate the choices and eliminate incorrect options.
The option referring to the struggle to balance economic growth with environmental conservation aligns directly with the tension in the text. Other options contain historical inaccuracies regarding laissez-faire policy, supply-side economics, or isolationism.
Selecting the option that accurately reflects historical consensus and the text leads to the correct answer.

Key Concept

21st-Century Environmental Challenges and Energy Policy
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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21st-Century Environmental Challenges and Energy Policy

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