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Breyhauna Johnson
Instructor: Malcolm Campbell
English 1102
January 22, 2014
Topic Proposal: A Green World Awaits
Introduction/Overview
I have been stuying rene!able energy "or a couple o" years no! !ith a "ocus o" solar
panels# My research has mainly been about the implementation o" solar panels "or resiential use
an the economics o" solar panels$ %& systems# I !ent into epth about ho! solar panels !or',
ho! the %& systems operate, etc# (or my in)uiry pro*ect this semester, I+ li'e to "ocus a little
more on rene!able energy as a !hole# ,lthough I have stuie rene!able energy, I !ant to
research the current impact o" rene!able energy globally an the role it may play in the "uture# I
!ill be researching the economics o" rene!able energy no! an the pro*ecte values# I !ill
research the current usage o" rene!able energy an the "uture usage# I !ill e-plain ho! !e as
supporting members o" the .green !orl/ !ill help implement these rene!able energies# I !ill
o this by comparing the rene!able energy sources to the nonrene!able energy sources# I !ill
be avocating "or rene!able energy, but I !ill give both the pros an cons o" rene!able energy
versus nonrene!able energy# I !ill be stuying the on0going controversy o" rene!able energy
an !hy some critics believe it is a horrible iea# 1his !ill provie me !ith the in"ormation I
nee to "orm a report on the current impact o" rene!able energy an the "uture potential it coul
provie#
2ene!able energy is not !iely incorporate into our system o" energy prouction#
,ccoring to the 3#4# Energy In"ormation ,ministration, only about ten percent o" !orl
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energy consumption is "rom rene!able energy sources# Countries li'e Bra5il, China an
6ermany ma'e up most o" this !orlly percentage# 1hese countries have seen the avantages
that rene!able energy prouction brings versus nonrene!able energies an are ta'ing steps to a
cleaner !orl#
I have spo'en to many o" my peers an "aculty members here at 37C Charlotte an at
7C 4tate about this topic# 1his has provie me !ith a lot o" the in"ormation I have about
rene!able energy# I have visite many online sites incluing the EI,#gov, an 2en21#net !hich
provies several status reports about rene!able energy# 1he library has so many boo's about
rene!able energy an speci"ic boo's that compare nonrene!able energy sources to rene!able
ones# 1here is also one speci"ic boo' calle The future for renewable energy: prospects and
directions !hich has provie to be very help"ul !hile researching the "uture potential "or
rene!able energy#
1he concept o" rene!able energy is )uite a large controversy !orl!ie# 4ome critics
believe it may be too e-pensive, !hile others say !e !on+t be able to solely rely on rene!able
sources to provie our energy nees# 2ene!ableenergy!orl#com has articles an lists the most
popular topics that people have tal'e about !hen ebating rene!able energy# 1E8 1al'
provies )uestions, ebates an ieas that people have about rene!able energy#
1heconversation#com has a !hole topic section on rene!able energy !here people can start
conversations an as' )uestions li'e 1E8 1al'#
Initial Inquiry Question(s)
9hy haven+t !e implemente a bigger !orl!ie usage o" rene!able energy resources
"or our energy prouction:
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My Interest in tis Topic
I+m intereste in rene!able energy because I+ li'e to pursue my career !or'ing !ith an
researching it# My "irst interests !ith rene!able energy came in the summer o" 2012 !hen I
complete an engineering research pro*ect on solar homes at 7C 4tate 3niversity# 1his !as a
!ell0pai summer program that taught me about rene!able energy, mainly solar panels$ %&
systems, an mentore me !hile I complete an presente my pro*ect# 1his !as sponsore by
the 7ational 4cience (ounation an I earne a 74( <oung 4cholar certi"icate "or completing
this program# Ever since that summer I+ve !ante to !or' !ith rene!able energy an solar
panels# I !ante to continue my research throughout school an hope to learn so much more
about it through this pro*ect#
I 'no! !hat rene!able energy is an the i""erence bet!een rene!able an
nonrene!able sources# I alreay 'no! that rene!able energy oesn+t ma'e up much o" the
!orl+s energy consumption# I 'no! about several rene!able energy sources an have an iea
about ho! each one !or's, but coul learn more about this# I 'no! some about nonrene!able
resources an the angers o" nonrene!able resources toay# I 'no! some about !here
rene!able energy starte an ho! it has gotten so "ar toay# I hope to learn more in"ormation
about every one o" these )uestions though# I also hope to learn about other countries+ ecisions
on rene!able energy an !hy countries other than the 3#4# =a "irst !orl country> are
implementing it !hile the 3#4# isn+t#
!e"t #teps
I !ill be going to the ,t'ins library on campus to "in other interesting boo's about
rene!able energy# I !ill also be visiting the 1E8 1al' page to loo' at all the conversations an
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ebates that are happening# I !ill also be loo'ing "or spea'ers an various con"erences hel on
rene!able energy# I !ill also be stuying more )uestions I have on rene!able energy li'e: 9hat
e""ects o our current energy sources have in the "uture o" our energy prouction: 8oes current
rene!able energy usage play a role in "uture rene!able energy usage: