KWL CHART by Jahnvi Shah

My Knows... (Patrick Blois)

2025-09-20 00:25:48 UTC

I am aware that the dependence on fossil fuels has created the climate disaster we all face and that the world continues to produce greenhouse gases as we burn oil, coal, and gas for energy. I understand that there are more people living on Earth now than ever before.

My carbon footprint is close to seven metric tons a year (Carbon Calculator - Climate Hero, n.d.). While the average Canadian carbon footprint is roughly twenty metric tons, the worldwide target to fight climate change is set at just two (“Simple Carbon Calculator,” n.d.). Much more needs to be done to avert the coming crisis. By focusing my efforts on changing as an individual and educator I hope to impact and inspire other Canadians to do more – starting with the people in my family and in my classroom.

Patrick Blois

My wonders... (Patrick Blois)

2025-09-20 00:30:25 UTC

To what extent have current global conflicts and economic uncertainties stalled progress and investment in renewable energy systems?

If petro-culture is everywhere, a part of everything, and inside everyone... how does an individual support and effect meaningful and positive change in their community (in terms of becoming more ecocentric in our views)?

Patrick Blois

My Knows about Petroculture

2025-09-20 03:37:56 UTC

I know I need to be better and be more responsible in my actions towards practicing more sustainable ways of living. Especially since the Industrial Revolution, the use of fossil fuels have significantly increased and has entered our lives in every possible dimension. I know that resource extraction, consumption, and pollution has been leading causes of the climate crisis and environmental degradation.

- Erica

What I want to know about Petroculture

2025-09-20 03:41:54 UTC

What would life after petroculture look like? And is it even possible to transition without total collapse of our world?

How does petroculture shape my own identity?

- Erica

What I learned about Petroculture

2025-09-20 14:29:08 UTC

Below the padlet is my full reflection. Here are my key takeaways:

Oil systems and petroculture have become so deeply engrained into our society and thinking that I wasn't even aware of before. Fossil fuels shape our identity and daily routines in ways that are often overlooked.
Rewarding aspects of this presentation: Learning about petroculture and collaborating with my group members.
Challenging aspects of this presentation: Overwhelming feelings exacerbated by climate change, the Anthropocene, and fossil fuels. Feelings of discomfort about environmentalism and how entangled my own life is with oil systems.
Energy literacy and education goes beyond individual sustainable practices. It includes reflective and respectful spaces for conversations about the environment and imagining the future, and that necessary discussions about climate and energy must be prioritized in my teaching practice and my students' learning.

- Erica

My Learning (Patrick Bois)

2025-09-24 22:44:28 UTC

The photographs by Edward Burtynsky were more impactful in effecting an emotion that might shift thinking in an audience. Each image had me pausing to think. How did he select each composition? What does each composition symbolize for the artist? What does each composition symbolize for me as a viewer? I found myself deep in thought, thinking about the different parts of the world I have traveled and worked. I thought about how much energy I consumed to get to those places, and how I would find stores that sold products from half-way around the globe to appease my western sensibilities. But I saw a lot. I saw how old canals and waterways in Beijing have become stagnant and full of garbage. I saw the marginalized Coptic Christians of Cairo collect and sort the garbage for a population of over thirty million – all to be recycled for money to aid their communities, not to help the environment. I’ve been stuck for hours in traffic in Seoul; had I walked, my commute would have been half the time. The week’s learning has solidified the concept that petroculture is pervasive and our use of oil ubiquitous.

Patrick Blois

Oil and Power (Adrian T)

adriantugade1 — 2025-09-26 11:25:24 UTC

I know that petroculture is more than just oil as a resource; it’s about how deeply oil shapes culture, politics, and identities. Coming from Iran, I’m all too aware of how Western powers intervened and even overthrew governments in the 20th century for control over oil fields. For my generation, there was always a sense of identity tied to being from an “oil-rich country.” Later, after moving to Canada, I saw how oil once again shaped politics and public debate. To me, petroculture feels inherently political, almost everywhere.

- Adrian

Unintentional Biases (Adrian T)

adriantugade1 — 2025-09-26 11:40:02 UTC

Not bias, per se, but my own world views continue to permeate through my teaching. My Petrosubjectivity is a big part of who I am and how I approach teaching. How can I frame my teaching in such a way that shares my views, but also leaves space for my students to implement/create their own?

My Learning (Adrian T)

adriantugade1 — 2025-09-26 11:49:38 UTC

Playing through the retro game on the website actually taught me more than I expected. I’ll admit I lost a few times, which forced me to slow down and really think about the questions. That pause in itself became part of the learning.

The readings and media highlighted how petroculture isn’t just “out there” in politics or the environment but also in the metaphors we use and the routines we live by. The photographs and poetry especially made me notice things I usually overlook, energy is not just infrastructure, it’s identity and culture.

What stood out most to me was how much of my own world view reflects this. Oil has always been political in my life story. But this week made me realize how my petrosubjectivity also slips into my teaching. The challenge I take away is figuring out how to share that part of myself while still leaving space for students to create and question their own frames.

Zoe Armstrong

2025-09-27 03:19:31 UTC

After completing the reading of this week's digital texts, I feel like I know a little more than I did before. I'm aware of the way in which oil runs our society and I know how much I rely on fossil fuels for my everyday life. I know that oil has been around for a long time and that it is currently the "cheaper" way to power our energy needs as a human race. I also know the of the damage it has caused our planet and how desperately we need to transition to renewable sources of energy.

Zoe Armstrong

2025-09-27 03:20:44 UTC

I wonder how we get ourselves out of this? Is it possible to shift our society out of this petroculture? Are we too far gone? Will we every realize that our planet is more important than money?