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Ishan Sharma 11/8/13 ENGL 106 Aria Halliday Turn Up the Heat As an aspiring engineer at Purdue University, I am starting to become passionate and thoroughly interested in developing innovative solutions that utilize technology to promote the well-being of our society. One particular issue of interest to me as an engineer is the phenomenon of global warming- with this issue relating to nearly all disciplines of engineering, I researched an article titled Making Solar Energy Economical to gain a better understanding of what solutions are being developed to combat this continuously worsening environmental danger. This article provides an in-depth analysis of solar energy and the various applications it provides for the population of Earth. Specifically, the article exemplifies the significance of solar energy, describes the efficiency of various solar energy technologies, provides explanations on how to make solar energy more economical, and defines various ways to store solar energy. In terms of how solar energy is being used in todays day and age, I agree with the authors main point that it still has yet to become a truly widespread and significant source of renewable energy for the Earth, because as stated in the article, the current numbers for efficiency output are on the lower scale, while prices for models utilizing solar energy are significantly higher compared to other common energy sources. However, I do believe that with time, solar energy has the capability to be, if not a top source for renewable energy, become one of the leading and more

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preferred sources of energy because of its powerful ability to reduce the effects of global warming that most other energy sources contribute to. In the introduction of the article Making Solar Energy Economical, the author incorporates facts about the sun written with a certain vocabulary that strikes the reader, and its diction implies the sun being as the most powerful and irreplaceable resource for energy available to humans and wildlife. Though this is common knowledge, the introduction serves as a catalyst for the reader to reinforce the idea of the true omnipotence of the sun. This correlates with John Swales Move 1: Establishing a Territory aspect of the CARS model. Specifically, the author is Making Topic Generalizations by informing the audience of research and facts that are well established- the prime examples being the opening sentence of the article, stating As a source of energy, nothing matches the sun and [it] provides 10,000 times as much [power] as all the commercial energy that humans use on the planet. This introduction, however, does not follow all the aspects of the CARS model. Move 2, which Swales titles as Establishing a Niche, refers to Counter-claiming, Indicating a Gap, Question-raising, and Continuing a Tradition. Since this articles introduction is primarily factual and based on scientific knowledge that has already been proven, it does not debunk any flaws, clear any misconceptions, or raise any questions about the issue of global warming or the sun. A reason for this results from the fact that this article is focused on scientific evidence and solutions rather than opinion-based issues. If Swales Move 2 were to be applicable, there could have been a combination of the two (i.e. - an opinion of the issue of using solar energy, or similar). Throughout this article, the issue of global warming is analyzed through a perspective by one who is knowledgeable about the science behind this topic which primarily would be discussed in environmental engineering, and seems to be intended for an audience interested in

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the scientific details of global energy consumption and the utilization of natural resources. Thus, a major-specific engineer or an environmental-scientist would most likely be the typical audience for this article. One of the most impacting aspects of this article is the authors highlighting of the true significance of our most powerful natural resource, the sun, by comparing the energy levels of our most common alternatively used sources for energy, such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Through this comparison, the reader is able to identify that the writing style of this article is written in favor of inventing new innovative ways to utilize the sun over any other resource for energy. Because of the complexity and convoluted solutions required for solar energy, this speaks to the reader that engineers are applying as much effort as possible to find new solutions to the problem of global warming, and the community of engineers and scientists do not give up through the endeavors of finding the solution that best meets the worlds needs. The author does, however, include as many drawbacks as possible for the use of solar energy in the article. Including counter-arguments of an issue in any text provides a reader with a broader context of the specific issue, and though the counter-facts do not serve to amplify the writers opinion, it certainly portrays that the writer weighed all the possible consequences of the respective issue. An example of a drawback stated is solars share of the total energy market remains rather small, well below 1 percent of total energy consumption, compared with roughly 85 percent from oil, natural gas, and coal. It is inferable that it is necessary for engineering and science-based projects to analyze a system with as wide of a scope as possible, and as many possible advantages and disadvantages must be considered in order for the final product to be at its best.

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In order to solidify any claims or state facts based on scientific issues that our society faces in our modern era, it is crucial that evidence exists to substantiate the claims being presented. In this specific article, the author includes a myriad of references to certain scientists and articles when citing evidence, facts, or statistics that helps exemplify an idea being conveyed. For example, the author cites Schaller et al. for the idea that Recent experiments have reported intriguing advances in the use of nanocrystals made from the elements lead and selenium. Though having background knowledge of nanocrystals would be beneficial to understanding the context of this fact, the citation from a valid source serves to add on to the credibility of the article as a whole, and portrays that the author has gathered plausible resources in order to convey a specific message about solar energy technology. All authors were cited with their names in the text of the article itself, providing direct availability to the reader of where the information came from. With the authors citations of texts, quotations, and articles, the conversation of solar energy is being continued through this article as the medium, just with bits of information amalgamated into one new article. Information that is gathered up contributes to the continuation of spreading awareness about our environment to audiences that are interested in the issue, and serves to appeal to any other discourse community interested in knowing more about the idea of utilizing solar energy for energy alternatives in hopes to save global warming.

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"Make Solar Energy Economical - Engineering Challenges." Make Solar Energy Economical - Engineering Challenges. National Academy of Engineering, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.