Cheng Hang
Ms. Booker
25 April 2009
Reflective Paper
To reflect on one’s essay is to in turn review the choices made and explored within the text. A research paper contains facts and statistics that back up the writer’s main purpose. These facts and statistics come from different sources such as books, articles, and journals. These books, articles, and journals not only should contain important information, but contain information that is accurate. These accurate sources are called “scholarly” sources, and they are major part of my research essay. I’ve used these articles mainly to back up and inform readers of the context of my essay. Following the guidelines for English 102 and then trying to meet them I then articulated my choices for the stakeholders and other various areas within my essay.
After reviewing the guidelines within the sheet presented at the beginning of the semester I worked to see that these goals would be met. Through careful analysis and thinking I went to “engage texts through analysis, interpretation, and critical inquiry”. With my topic being about green technology and creating green jobs, I went through the process of explaining what these green jobs were. Then I went through critical analysis by identifying the negatives of certain renewable energies such as wind power. I stated that wind power has “only few models that have the capability to capture about %50 of the energy”. Rather than state only positives I went through careful analysis and identified the multiple negatives about wind technology. I not only stated what the author presented, but also interpreted what he was stating through a more detailed voice. In contribution to analysis, interpretation, and critical inquiry I also stated numerous stakeholders that are associated with the creation of green jobs. A few examples of the stakeholders that I presented was the United States Government, the American people, and the companies associated with the creation of green jobs. Also my research was for the most part based on facts and statistics used from different authors such as Andrew Goudie,and journalists from the U.S News and World Report.
After reading further down the English 102 Final Portfolio Assessment sheet, I can see that all my statistics and facts about global warming led up to my controlling purpose being fully revealed and then thoroughly investigated. I also included a significant amount of background information about the different types of alternative energies out there. Ranging from wind energy to solar energy, I touched based on the major alternative energies out there. I have explained the necessary background information needed to let the readers create a decision that will be based on facts and statistics rather than those based on popularity and inaccurate facts. Furthermore, I used the MLA style of writing to formulate this paper and used direct quotes, and/or articulate paraphrases from the different authors used within my paper. In addition to the information presented, I created a works cited page that provided the bibliography of all the information used in my essay. The events that were presented in my paper about global warming, alternative energies, Nye, and Vonnegut led up to my presenting of my initial question, Are green jobs really being created? I believe that I have met firmly the requirements for the English 102 Final Portfolio Assessment with my Research paper on global warming and the creation of green jobs.
Global warming is a consequence in which man must take responsibility for because of their lack of understanding from the release of greenhouse gasses. My choice to visit the topic of global warming and the creation of green jobs is because of the numerous problems we have today. Problems such as atmospheric deterioration and rising sea levels are in part due to global warming. I just wanted to research and see what the alternatives to fossil fuels bring to the table. In my research I thoroughly looked for sources that were scholarly from the UWM libraries online catalog of articles, journals, and books. I mainly used sources from the UWM libraries online catalog because of the ease of use. The search feature implemented into the website was easy to navigate and find the sources that I wanted to use in my paper. These sources were good sources and in addition there were a lot of them too. Another way that I chose to do my research was by using books from the UWM library because being located on campus the access was there. Also they have a great selection on global warming, alternative technologies, and green jobs. I feel as if I could have had more time, I would have used the books from the library more frequently, but due to much easier access from the UWM catalog I chose to use that instead. The UWM catalog proved to be a very useful and adequate resource because of all the areas in which the engine searches. Moving on, I chose to this topic in hopes to inform those multiple stakeholders about the wonderful and clean alternatives to fossil fuels. These alternatives are quite new but with time they can and will be a huge part of future. Also they cause little or no global warming at all. They are much more efficient than fossil fuels, and that’s what I hope to get across to the American people and those hefty failing car manufacturers out there. Their resistance to change has gone long enough, and I just want them to know that fossil fuels won’t be there forever. Meaning they won’t be selling these cars that they are on the dealer lots anymore. One day they will be forced to manufacture electric and hybrid cars, and just maybe these inventions will save mankind from certain doom.
The reason why I did all that I did was because after reading through all my sources I found the best way to present my case against global warming, and this case I believed, produced the greatest results. By provided the reason for global warming and then presenting the alternatives for fossil fuels, I set the audience up to see the negatives of fossil fuels and then to see the negatives and positives of these new alternative energies. I also used Vonnegut and Nye because in part, Nye had a lot of information in his book that were crucial to my purpose, global warming. Also I used Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle because the story of a world destroyed was fictional but in our world, it is still very much possible if we as humans don’t change and see our faults. If we don’t see our faults we could possibly end up in a world where every step we take is a frozen step. These choices that I’ve made have had a crucial and positive effect on my controlling purpose.
The controlling purpose of my paper has caused me to take different steps in the search for helping me define my controlling purpose in the end. The utilization of the UWM catalog and books were used help me identify stakeholders; illustrate more information and statistics to support my controlling purpose. These steps that I used to end at my controlling purpose caused me to set up a line of information crucial to the success of fully exploring my controlling purpose. These sources that I used were of much help due to the ease and accessibility of them. Not has the UWM libraries helped me create a paper that is academically just but a paper that is also statistically based. I believe firmly that they use of the UWM facilities and the choices that I have made have helped me to finish the requirements of the English 102 course.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
DRAFT FOR RESEARCH PAPER!
Cheng Hang
Ms. Booker
English 102
11 April 2009
Are Green Jobs really being created?
Since the creation of primates in the world, tools have been essentially to their survival and well-being. These tools could have ranged from a small stick to a large boulder. Although simple, these tools were crucial and viable. Now, fast forward to 2009, people use tools far more complex and sensitive than those of the first primates. A few things that the first primates lacked were the technology and intellectual capacity to build cars and skyscrapers. We as humans had the intellectual prowess to build the first skyscrapers, the first cars, and the first modern day power plants. Although we have created one of the greatest inventions of all time, we have also created one of the most devastating and horrific global warming events ever to date. The permanent scars seem to be more and more prominent as the last few years winded down. Now, not only have talks of implementing green renewable resources into our lives begun, but also the creation of jobs associated with renewable resources have started taking place. Since the beginning of the recession that plagued the United States several years back, millions of Americans have lost their jobs due to economic instability. Now a green movement has started, but will it induce the creation of millions of jobs that will help those ailing Americans get back on their feet?
Over the years, a plague has disrupted the environment’s natural balance and its beauty. This plague is called pollution. Pollution has many effects on the Earth such as global warming. Global warming is the emitting of green house gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and nitrous oxide or as described by Andrew Goudie as “The process by which the Earth may be become warmer because of the role of mechanism such as the green house effect” (Goudie 83). The release of carbon dioxide is partially due to the burning of fossil fuels, “since the start of the industrial revolution humans have been taking stored carbon out of the earth in the form of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas). They burn these fuels releasing Co2 in the process” (Goudie 93). The most common sources that emit greenhouse gasses are from the burning of fossil fuels in our vehicles and factories such as steel mills. The reality in releasing greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere is that the buildup of these gasses creates a thick barrier that traps sunlight within the atmosphere. Thus we have a greenhouse effect which is “A climatic effect caused by permitting incoming solar radiation but inhibiting outgoing radiation” (Goudie 83). The trapped radiation furthers the effects of global warming by melting the polar ice caps, causing increased temperatures, and a rising sea level. Then you ask yourself, what if all of the polar ice caps melted? If all of the ice within the polar ice caps melted the sea level would rise significantly enough to cover large seaside cities. The increasing amount of greenhouse gasses within the last several years has caused a national movement towards green and renewable technologies. Global warming is not just caused by driving our fossil fuel powered vehicles but it is also caused by “the burning of low-quality fuel in the densely populated townships” (Goudie 109). If enough of these greenhouse gasses, or sulfur dioxide are released into the atmosphere acid rain will be produced. Acid rain is precipitation that is unusually acidic causing death amongst “plants, fish, and wildlife” (Nye 96). The last several decades of burning fuel without thinking about the consequences have started a global scare. A scare that has forced a new movement to be induced, this movement involves the creation of alternative energies.
What will happen when the world runs out of fossil fuel deposits? The only viable answer to that is to use and implement renewable resources because we simply just don’t know how much fossil fuel is left and we don’t know when it’s going to end. Adamantly, there is a green movement in the U.S that seeks to use more renewable energies. A renewable energy is a energy generated from natural resources such as sun, wind, and water. The most prominent of all green energies is solar power. Solar energy is used to heat up water to turn turbines and in effect creates electricity, “The reflected sunlight heated the water into steam, which turned a turbine. Voilà , sun-powered, utility-scale electricity” (Eweres 21). Currently solar power is a reality with the company BrightScource, who’s already built their first plant, Ivanpah, near the Nevada border which supplies 140,000 homes with electricity (21). Not is the company only doing well it has also found customers such as Southern California Edison, the utility company that supplies electricity to Los Angeles. The company has agreed to buy enough electricity from BrightSource to power over 850,000 homes. Furthermore, with the recent signing of the stimulus bill, there will be a $60 Billion loan available to companies like BrightSource who are every so diligent working towards a solar powered nation.
Not is there only one source for a green future, but there are many. The next most prominent technology to be implemented is wind technology. The use of wind technology has increased at a significant amount within the last several years. Wind technology consists of a turbine with blades that are lifted when airflow is present. Although wind technology “has the greatest energy producing potential” (Wald 2) that doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t any problems associated with it. Wind technology has the potential to rake in large amounts of energy but currently there are only few models that have the capability to capture about %50 of the energy in the air that passes through them (2). Fuel cells are another example of a renewable technology. Fuel cells consist of an electrolyzer, which breaks up water in to hydrogen and oxygen molecules. The hydrogen molecules then run through the fuel cell to make electricity. The only exhaust that comes out of the exhaust pipes is water. That is why fuel cells are being highly sought after. Since fuel cells are only starting be implemented into our vehicles, they come with a high price tag with the “capital cost in the thousands of dollars per kilowatt of capacity, and the round-trip efficiency through the electrolyzer to the fuel cell and then back into current is less than 50 percent--meaning that for every two kilowatt-hours put in the bank, only one comes back out again” (4). Fuel cells are already a reality in the Honda FCX Clarity which runs entirely on water and only emitting water as an exhaust.
Since these green technologies are only in a developmental stage, there are numerous stake holders. For example, a stake holder would be the government because the government, who supplied loans for companies in the renewable technologies sector, made a large investment in the future. Imagine if the government gave large amounts of money to these growing companies and they did nothing to better our energy crisis. What if none of these companies actually did what they said they were going to do? Simple, the government would in part be angry and nonresponsive to any future bidding for an energy bill that will help get this nation into the future. Another stake holder would be the companies that are developing these alternative energies. They as producers have a goal to meet by developing these crucial technologies that will in part help us become a better nation, be more energy efficient, and work towards a waste free nation. The last and most important stake holders are we the people. We the people are hurting in this bad economy, and from the creation of green jobs we will help more people back on the right track. Like so many other countries that are largely using ethanol based fuel, we as Americans are only using as much as 10% of ethanol in our fuels. With the diminishing fossil fuel deposits in the world, we are only prolonging our skeptical dreams that fossil fuel will carry us into the next 100 years. The truth is we don’t know how much is left. That’s why we as Americans must have an alternative source for energy or we will be left behind as the world moves forward.
Looking at other similar texts, such as David Nye’s, Technology Matters, which was discussed in class we can see that David Nye shares some values with Andrew Goudie. David Nye holds a neutral approach to the topic about technological effects on nature as he does in most of the questions that arise in his book, Technology Matters. From Nye’s point of view he talks about the effects of technology that has negatively impacted nature, “Likewise, burning coal produces not only electricity but also smoke containing sulfur dioxide that falls to the earth as acid rain, destroying plants, fish, and wildlife” (Nye 96). The burning of fossil fuels is not the only disadvantage of technology but there are other technologies that cause negative effects on our soil, “In the twentieth century alone, the United States lost to erosion topsoil that took 1,000 years to form, and it continues to lose topsoil at a rate of 1.7 billion tons a year” (Nye 98). Here we see the negatives and positives that technology brings to the table, yet the ideas and issues that Nye brings up in his book are only a small percentage of what the real effects of technology are. In Andrew Goudie’s, The Earth Transformed: An Introduction to Human Impacts on the Natural Environment, he talks about all the negatives that the burning of fossil fuel does to the atmosphere and in part creates a large problem for all its inhabitants. For example, “High levels of ozone concentration have several serioius consequences. Humans suffer from eye irritation, respiratory complaints and headaches” (Goudie 114). Andrew Goudie also states that “Rigourous controls on vehicle emissions can greatly reduce the problem” (Goudie 114). I believe that David Nye’s reaction to Goudie’s work would be rather amazed due to the fact that Goudie has numerous supports for his work while Nye has only a significant amount of detail in his work in order to get his point across. The reason for this is because Nye tackles all the questions associated with technology and in this particular part of the book, the ecology and technology. If Nye were to devote this whole section of the book to pure global warming it would be rigorous to take on all the questions that are presented in Technology Matters.
With all these new alternative energies being implemented, are there really jobs out there that deal directly with the green energies sector? Ultimately with the economy in a slump, the amount of green jobs being created isn’t as expected “Sapped by the recession and collapsing oil prices, the fledgling green movement needs big government support to snap back in the short term” (Wolgemuth 18). Since the green movement is labor intensive (18) the amount of workers is going to be a fairly large number. The amount of money is correlated to the number of workers it will create, “$100 billion in green investment would create 2 million jobs, while $100 billion handed out to households (as in the 2008 stimulus package) would create 1.7 million jobs, and $100 billion spent on the oil industry would create only 542,000 jobs” (Wolgemuth 18) according to the Political Economy Research Institute. Putting 2 million Americans who lost their jobs during the recession back to work is a great sign for our economy and our nation. Not will it only decrease the unemployment rate but this movement will insure that the future is an actual future and not just a hefty dream. Those employed will be working and receiving a higher pay than those of the traditional workforce because labor unions are “already are angling for a hand in the green workforce, promising to lift pay” (Wolgemuth 18). The workforce that is needed will be mostly be blue collar workers due to that fact that a “commercial-scale wind turbine has more than 8,000 parts and uses an amount of steel equivalent to 225 midsize cars” (Wolgemuth 19). That means the amount of steel needed will be a significantly large amount which mean it’ll put to work those steel workers. Also the new technologies sprouting up will require training that is crucial to new workers. As classes for solar training are starting to be implemented they are beginning to fill as stated by Tria Case the Bronx Community College's executive dire, “We can't run them enough” (Wolgemuth 19). Now that new green jobs are going to be enforced, older jobs that are ran by coal or fossil fuels will suffer “The part of the economy that's going to be hit the hardest will be the electricity generation, because that's done with coal. If you look at fossil fuels, coal has the most carbon dioxide per Btu [British thermal unit]. So, if you put a tax on carbon dioxide, it's going to be felt the most by the electricity industry” (Wolgemuth 19). Initially the outlook for green technology looks to be a positive one, but there are risks involved with moving a nation towards that goal. It will mean hard times for certain sectors of the economy, but in the end a green movement is inevitable.
With the green movement starting, the effects of global warming due to the release of greenhouse gasses will eventually ease off, and new green technologies will begin to replace those of the past century. All those who invested in the green movement will see a brighter future as solar energy, wind energy, and fuel cells are a reality. The implementation of new green technologies will mean great news for those millions of workers who lost their jobs in the recession that plagued this great nation. Green technology is here and it will continue to be here as long as there are companies like BrightSource who are willing and eager to move to a new era of alternative energy.
Ms. Booker
English 102
11 April 2009
Are Green Jobs really being created?
Since the creation of primates in the world, tools have been essentially to their survival and well-being. These tools could have ranged from a small stick to a large boulder. Although simple, these tools were crucial and viable. Now, fast forward to 2009, people use tools far more complex and sensitive than those of the first primates. A few things that the first primates lacked were the technology and intellectual capacity to build cars and skyscrapers. We as humans had the intellectual prowess to build the first skyscrapers, the first cars, and the first modern day power plants. Although we have created one of the greatest inventions of all time, we have also created one of the most devastating and horrific global warming events ever to date. The permanent scars seem to be more and more prominent as the last few years winded down. Now, not only have talks of implementing green renewable resources into our lives begun, but also the creation of jobs associated with renewable resources have started taking place. Since the beginning of the recession that plagued the United States several years back, millions of Americans have lost their jobs due to economic instability. Now a green movement has started, but will it induce the creation of millions of jobs that will help those ailing Americans get back on their feet?
Over the years, a plague has disrupted the environment’s natural balance and its beauty. This plague is called pollution. Pollution has many effects on the Earth such as global warming. Global warming is the emitting of green house gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and nitrous oxide or as described by Andrew Goudie as “The process by which the Earth may be become warmer because of the role of mechanism such as the green house effect” (Goudie 83). The release of carbon dioxide is partially due to the burning of fossil fuels, “since the start of the industrial revolution humans have been taking stored carbon out of the earth in the form of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas). They burn these fuels releasing Co2 in the process” (Goudie 93). The most common sources that emit greenhouse gasses are from the burning of fossil fuels in our vehicles and factories such as steel mills. The reality in releasing greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere is that the buildup of these gasses creates a thick barrier that traps sunlight within the atmosphere. Thus we have a greenhouse effect which is “A climatic effect caused by permitting incoming solar radiation but inhibiting outgoing radiation” (Goudie 83). The trapped radiation furthers the effects of global warming by melting the polar ice caps, causing increased temperatures, and a rising sea level. Then you ask yourself, what if all of the polar ice caps melted? If all of the ice within the polar ice caps melted the sea level would rise significantly enough to cover large seaside cities. The increasing amount of greenhouse gasses within the last several years has caused a national movement towards green and renewable technologies. Global warming is not just caused by driving our fossil fuel powered vehicles but it is also caused by “the burning of low-quality fuel in the densely populated townships” (Goudie 109). If enough of these greenhouse gasses, or sulfur dioxide are released into the atmosphere acid rain will be produced. Acid rain is precipitation that is unusually acidic causing death amongst “plants, fish, and wildlife” (Nye 96). The last several decades of burning fuel without thinking about the consequences have started a global scare. A scare that has forced a new movement to be induced, this movement involves the creation of alternative energies.
What will happen when the world runs out of fossil fuel deposits? The only viable answer to that is to use and implement renewable resources because we simply just don’t know how much fossil fuel is left and we don’t know when it’s going to end. Adamantly, there is a green movement in the U.S that seeks to use more renewable energies. A renewable energy is a energy generated from natural resources such as sun, wind, and water. The most prominent of all green energies is solar power. Solar energy is used to heat up water to turn turbines and in effect creates electricity, “The reflected sunlight heated the water into steam, which turned a turbine. Voilà , sun-powered, utility-scale electricity” (Eweres 21). Currently solar power is a reality with the company BrightScource, who’s already built their first plant, Ivanpah, near the Nevada border which supplies 140,000 homes with electricity (21). Not is the company only doing well it has also found customers such as Southern California Edison, the utility company that supplies electricity to Los Angeles. The company has agreed to buy enough electricity from BrightSource to power over 850,000 homes. Furthermore, with the recent signing of the stimulus bill, there will be a $60 Billion loan available to companies like BrightSource who are every so diligent working towards a solar powered nation.
Not is there only one source for a green future, but there are many. The next most prominent technology to be implemented is wind technology. The use of wind technology has increased at a significant amount within the last several years. Wind technology consists of a turbine with blades that are lifted when airflow is present. Although wind technology “has the greatest energy producing potential” (Wald 2) that doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t any problems associated with it. Wind technology has the potential to rake in large amounts of energy but currently there are only few models that have the capability to capture about %50 of the energy in the air that passes through them (2). Fuel cells are another example of a renewable technology. Fuel cells consist of an electrolyzer, which breaks up water in to hydrogen and oxygen molecules. The hydrogen molecules then run through the fuel cell to make electricity. The only exhaust that comes out of the exhaust pipes is water. That is why fuel cells are being highly sought after. Since fuel cells are only starting be implemented into our vehicles, they come with a high price tag with the “capital cost in the thousands of dollars per kilowatt of capacity, and the round-trip efficiency through the electrolyzer to the fuel cell and then back into current is less than 50 percent--meaning that for every two kilowatt-hours put in the bank, only one comes back out again” (4). Fuel cells are already a reality in the Honda FCX Clarity which runs entirely on water and only emitting water as an exhaust.
Since these green technologies are only in a developmental stage, there are numerous stake holders. For example, a stake holder would be the government because the government, who supplied loans for companies in the renewable technologies sector, made a large investment in the future. Imagine if the government gave large amounts of money to these growing companies and they did nothing to better our energy crisis. What if none of these companies actually did what they said they were going to do? Simple, the government would in part be angry and nonresponsive to any future bidding for an energy bill that will help get this nation into the future. Another stake holder would be the companies that are developing these alternative energies. They as producers have a goal to meet by developing these crucial technologies that will in part help us become a better nation, be more energy efficient, and work towards a waste free nation. The last and most important stake holders are we the people. We the people are hurting in this bad economy, and from the creation of green jobs we will help more people back on the right track. Like so many other countries that are largely using ethanol based fuel, we as Americans are only using as much as 10% of ethanol in our fuels. With the diminishing fossil fuel deposits in the world, we are only prolonging our skeptical dreams that fossil fuel will carry us into the next 100 years. The truth is we don’t know how much is left. That’s why we as Americans must have an alternative source for energy or we will be left behind as the world moves forward.
Looking at other similar texts, such as David Nye’s, Technology Matters, which was discussed in class we can see that David Nye shares some values with Andrew Goudie. David Nye holds a neutral approach to the topic about technological effects on nature as he does in most of the questions that arise in his book, Technology Matters. From Nye’s point of view he talks about the effects of technology that has negatively impacted nature, “Likewise, burning coal produces not only electricity but also smoke containing sulfur dioxide that falls to the earth as acid rain, destroying plants, fish, and wildlife” (Nye 96). The burning of fossil fuels is not the only disadvantage of technology but there are other technologies that cause negative effects on our soil, “In the twentieth century alone, the United States lost to erosion topsoil that took 1,000 years to form, and it continues to lose topsoil at a rate of 1.7 billion tons a year” (Nye 98). Here we see the negatives and positives that technology brings to the table, yet the ideas and issues that Nye brings up in his book are only a small percentage of what the real effects of technology are. In Andrew Goudie’s, The Earth Transformed: An Introduction to Human Impacts on the Natural Environment, he talks about all the negatives that the burning of fossil fuel does to the atmosphere and in part creates a large problem for all its inhabitants. For example, “High levels of ozone concentration have several serioius consequences. Humans suffer from eye irritation, respiratory complaints and headaches” (Goudie 114). Andrew Goudie also states that “Rigourous controls on vehicle emissions can greatly reduce the problem” (Goudie 114). I believe that David Nye’s reaction to Goudie’s work would be rather amazed due to the fact that Goudie has numerous supports for his work while Nye has only a significant amount of detail in his work in order to get his point across. The reason for this is because Nye tackles all the questions associated with technology and in this particular part of the book, the ecology and technology. If Nye were to devote this whole section of the book to pure global warming it would be rigorous to take on all the questions that are presented in Technology Matters.
With all these new alternative energies being implemented, are there really jobs out there that deal directly with the green energies sector? Ultimately with the economy in a slump, the amount of green jobs being created isn’t as expected “Sapped by the recession and collapsing oil prices, the fledgling green movement needs big government support to snap back in the short term” (Wolgemuth 18). Since the green movement is labor intensive (18) the amount of workers is going to be a fairly large number. The amount of money is correlated to the number of workers it will create, “$100 billion in green investment would create 2 million jobs, while $100 billion handed out to households (as in the 2008 stimulus package) would create 1.7 million jobs, and $100 billion spent on the oil industry would create only 542,000 jobs” (Wolgemuth 18) according to the Political Economy Research Institute. Putting 2 million Americans who lost their jobs during the recession back to work is a great sign for our economy and our nation. Not will it only decrease the unemployment rate but this movement will insure that the future is an actual future and not just a hefty dream. Those employed will be working and receiving a higher pay than those of the traditional workforce because labor unions are “already are angling for a hand in the green workforce, promising to lift pay” (Wolgemuth 18). The workforce that is needed will be mostly be blue collar workers due to that fact that a “commercial-scale wind turbine has more than 8,000 parts and uses an amount of steel equivalent to 225 midsize cars” (Wolgemuth 19). That means the amount of steel needed will be a significantly large amount which mean it’ll put to work those steel workers. Also the new technologies sprouting up will require training that is crucial to new workers. As classes for solar training are starting to be implemented they are beginning to fill as stated by Tria Case the Bronx Community College's executive dire, “We can't run them enough” (Wolgemuth 19). Now that new green jobs are going to be enforced, older jobs that are ran by coal or fossil fuels will suffer “The part of the economy that's going to be hit the hardest will be the electricity generation, because that's done with coal. If you look at fossil fuels, coal has the most carbon dioxide per Btu [British thermal unit]. So, if you put a tax on carbon dioxide, it's going to be felt the most by the electricity industry” (Wolgemuth 19). Initially the outlook for green technology looks to be a positive one, but there are risks involved with moving a nation towards that goal. It will mean hard times for certain sectors of the economy, but in the end a green movement is inevitable.
With the green movement starting, the effects of global warming due to the release of greenhouse gasses will eventually ease off, and new green technologies will begin to replace those of the past century. All those who invested in the green movement will see a brighter future as solar energy, wind energy, and fuel cells are a reality. The implementation of new green technologies will mean great news for those millions of workers who lost their jobs in the recession that plagued this great nation. Green technology is here and it will continue to be here as long as there are companies like BrightSource who are willing and eager to move to a new era of alternative energy.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Assignment #9
Seldman, Neil. Investing in zero waste ... and green jobs. BioCycle v. 50 no. 1 (January 2009) :46
The author, Neil Seldman, the cofounder and president of the Local Institute for Local Self-Reliance, talks about the problems of industrial waste and the severity of the effects that it has on our environment. While some companies just produce waste, others produce waste and seek to transform these wastes into renewable resources such as top soil for agricultural purposes. Evidently most of these companies are willing to work with other organizations to produce a better waste management plan and in the end work towards a zero waste industrial process.
Eweres, Justin. Keeping the Solar Dream Alive. U.S. News & World Report, 146(3) 2009, 21-2
The author, Justin Eweres, reports on a company, BrightSource, which has promising technology that will wean the US’s endless search for renewable resources by building solar power policies in Californian desserts. This alternative energy source is supposed to be comparable to burning fossil fuels. BrightSource which has already constructed their first 400-megawatt solar plant, called Ivanpah, will create enough electricity to power 140,000 homes. Not is this only the future but it seems very promising because of the progress that has been made over the years.
Wald, Matthew L. The Power of Renewables. Scientific American, Vol. 300, Issue 3, March 2009
The author, Matthew L. Wald, informs us that we have less than 7 percent usage of alternative and renewable energies. This statistic alone is staggering since we are heading into a an age where renewable energy is the talk of the town. Now that the price of wind powered and solar energy have declined over the years there is a good opportunity to utilize its renewable capabilities and implement it into our daily lives.
The sources that I have found have given me more hope because I thought that I would fail utterly in my search to find something useful and promising in my research paper, but with these sources I have found them. Also this library search class that we recently took is very very very useful because I had no idea that there was such great resources before, especially on the net. My research questions may be in the this format: Has green renewable technologies really produced green collar jobs in America? I want this to be my topic because I have found many useful sources for this particular topic. I may want to even narrow my search down to be more specific but it is only a matter of time when I find more information that helps support my topic of choice.
The author, Neil Seldman, the cofounder and president of the Local Institute for Local Self-Reliance, talks about the problems of industrial waste and the severity of the effects that it has on our environment. While some companies just produce waste, others produce waste and seek to transform these wastes into renewable resources such as top soil for agricultural purposes. Evidently most of these companies are willing to work with other organizations to produce a better waste management plan and in the end work towards a zero waste industrial process.
Eweres, Justin. Keeping the Solar Dream Alive. U.S. News & World Report, 146(3) 2009, 21-2
The author, Justin Eweres, reports on a company, BrightSource, which has promising technology that will wean the US’s endless search for renewable resources by building solar power policies in Californian desserts. This alternative energy source is supposed to be comparable to burning fossil fuels. BrightSource which has already constructed their first 400-megawatt solar plant, called Ivanpah, will create enough electricity to power 140,000 homes. Not is this only the future but it seems very promising because of the progress that has been made over the years.
Wald, Matthew L. The Power of Renewables. Scientific American, Vol. 300, Issue 3, March 2009
The author, Matthew L. Wald, informs us that we have less than 7 percent usage of alternative and renewable energies. This statistic alone is staggering since we are heading into a an age where renewable energy is the talk of the town. Now that the price of wind powered and solar energy have declined over the years there is a good opportunity to utilize its renewable capabilities and implement it into our daily lives.
The sources that I have found have given me more hope because I thought that I would fail utterly in my search to find something useful and promising in my research paper, but with these sources I have found them. Also this library search class that we recently took is very very very useful because I had no idea that there was such great resources before, especially on the net. My research questions may be in the this format: Has green renewable technologies really produced green collar jobs in America? I want this to be my topic because I have found many useful sources for this particular topic. I may want to even narrow my search down to be more specific but it is only a matter of time when I find more information that helps support my topic of choice.
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