Christopherson1 Josh Christopherson Mrs. Lester Adv. Comp 4 October 2011 Senior Project Research Paper Have you ever wondered what would happen if we ran out of nonrenewable resources?The cities would shut down, all transportation would cease, and the world would be in turmoil.The solution is the more practical resource, solar energy. Solar energy is renewable, clean, andeasily incorporated into most people’s lives. There are, however, some issues with solar energy. Ibelieve these issues are worth exploring to solve the biggest issue in solar energy: the number ofpeople who are unwilling to initiate the change from nonrenewable resources to alternativeenergy, such as solar power. The main issue in solar energy is the majority of people not willing to make the switchfrom oil and coal. Coal and oil companies are trying their best to stifle the success of alternativeenergies such as solar energy (Chapman, Energy Companies, Environmental Groups FollowingColorado Senate Race). If these setbacks keeps up, the companies that produce alternativeenergy products will not be able to advance enough to be considered independent. According toLindsay Chapman, people are unwilling to switch from nonrenewable resources such as oil andcoal to alternative energy such as solar power. The short-term relevance of oil and coal appealsto most people; while the long term benefits of solar energy actually out way the benefits ofnonrenewable resources. Without the cooperation of the rest of the people, becoming self-sufficient will be nearly impossible.
Christopherson2 If we do not make a change from the resources we are using, we will see theconsequences: there will be several negative effects on our society and environment. Forexample, if we do not convert to solar energy, the effects of the pollution on the environmentwill cause many long-term effects such as global warming (Reguly). These effects have alreadybeen witnessed by most of the population. One of the best examples of these effects is themelting of the polar ice caps. This problem will cause our future generations to miss manyopportunities. In addition, there are many speculations on the solutions to this issue. If even half of thepeople in America put solar panels on their rooftops, it would supply 25% of America’s energy(Flavin). In this scenario, the support of the entire country would have to cooperate with oneanother. There has also been many technological breakthroughs in this field of study. A new typeof power plant is under construction in Australia that has very much potential. This new facilitycan generate energy equal to that of a small nuclear power plant (Kage). There is no byproductproduced; therefore, there are no disadvantages from this power plant. Lastly, there is most likely a positive future to this problem in solar energy. With the vastamount of people not willing to make the change, the solutions to the problems will need toexceed the people’s expectations. One new device is a solar dish that absorbs more solar energythan any other known solar panel. This device can amplify the energy absorbed by the sun by1000; this is the most powerful solar amplifier in existence (Gutierrez). This new device is verycost efficient and can be installed in almost any roof or near any house. As you can see, the issue in solar energy does not make the topic a bad decision. Thistopic is still a good choice because there is a good future in solar power. Also, it will be in highdemand because nonrenewable resources are rapidly depleting.
Christopherson3 Works CitedChapman, Lindsay. "Assessing the Future of Energy in the New Year."Finding Dulcinea.N.p., 26 Dec. 2008. Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/Americas/2008/December/ Assessing-the-Future-of-Energy-in-the-New-Year.html>.Chapman, Lindsay. "Energy Compavg-Colorado-Senate-Race.html>.Flavin, Chris. "Renewable Energy Sources Can Meet Americas Energy Demands." Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context.N.p., Jan.-Feb. 2007. Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ ViewpointsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010220275&mode=view>.Gutierrez, David. "Solar Dish Collects, Concentrates Solar Energy by a Factor of 1,000." Natural News.N.p., 29 Oct. 2008. Web. 20 Aug. 2011. <http://www.naturalnews.com/024631_energy_solar_MIT.html>.Kage, Ben. "Solar Tower Project in Australia could represent the future of clean energy." Natural News.N.p., 12 Jan. 2006. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.
Christopherson4 <http://www.naturalnews.com/016709_alternative_energy_solar_tower.html>.Reguly, Eric. "Lets Simplify This Green Jumble. ."Global Issues in Context. N.p., 8 Sept. 2008. Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://find.galegroup.com/gic/ retrieve.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&sort=Relevance&tabID=T006&searchId=R1&docId= A184587573&prodId=GIC¤tPosition=1&userGroupName=cant48040&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&sgHitCountType=None&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28KE%2CNone%2C16%29fund+solar+power%24&inPS=true&searchType=&docId=A184587573&docType=IAC>.