Self Analysis

Immediately after receiving the blog assignment in English 101 I had no idea what topic I was going to argue.  I had never fully engaged myself in politics before and I figured I had a daunting task ahead of me.  Not only did I have to present a politically argued topic in my blog, I also had to present both sides of the argument to create an unbiased argument.  After a few days of procrastinating I began to think of possible topics.  With the BP oil spill all over the news this year, I figured a topic concerning energy would work perfectly.  While researching different websites I began to get a basis of knowledge concerning energy and the different arguments political parties had on the topic.  It turns out that many of the arguments I read were extremely biased.  Realizing how these politicians used biased strategies to influence people’s opinions on a subject matter made me think that maybe the key to be unbiased in an argument is to present both extreme right wing viewpoints and extreme left wing viewpoints on my subject.  By doing this I can examine where each side is coming from, but if I limited myself to one political party’s take on the matter of alternative energy I would merely be limiting myself to fully understand the argument about alternative energy and breaking away from fossil fuels.  Once my research began to broaden I believe my blog posts started to hone in on my take about alternative energy and breaking away from our dependence on oil.  I began to effectively voice my opinion without ignoring one side of the argument or leaving necessary information out of my blog to influence readers.  A reader of my blog is not influenced whatsoever by my opinion, but they are thoroughly educated about the topic on alternative energy and breaking away from fossil fuels.  This blog project has allowed me to discover how to be unbiased and argue more completely about a topic.

"Links" Post

http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/

This blog played a key role in my development on the topic of alternative energy.  With its interesting posts and integrated videos it has allowed me to learn different methods of renewable energy in a quick and easy manner.

http://www.altenergy.org/

This website allowed me to further expand my knowledge on alternative energies.  It provided unbiased information about alternative energy.

http://www.nolanchart.com/index.php

This website was extremely useful when I was deciphering the different political viewpoints on energy.  The site breaks up different viewpoints on political matters between liberals, libertarians, centrists, statists, and conservatives.  This site would also be helpful to find many political viewpoints from different political parties on different subject matters.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38490911?par=RSS

This CNBC article provided current unbiased news about energy in the upcoming midterm elections.  It allowed me to get a basis of knowledge about the topic of energy in the upcoming midterm elections.

http://curtrosengren.typepad.com/alternative_energy/

This blog allowed me to get an understanding about what was going on with last year’s politics concerning energy.  It provided me a good basis for my knowledge about energy in the midterm elections.

http://p3bfco.wordpress.com/2010/05/16/let%e2%80%99s-talk-about-this-oil-spill/

This blog was written by a conservative and exposed me to some biased material about the BP oil-spill and some other views on alternative energy.  It was good to get some biased views from a conservative standpoint concerning my subject.

http://cwgpolitics.blogspot.com/

This blog provided some liberal incite on my subject matter.  It also provided a good basis of energy and how it has developed over the past few hundred years.

Creative Ideas That Will Change The Future Of Energy

With the energy crisis at hand a lot of people are creating remarkable devices that can capture energy from things most people would not even think of.  While conducting some research I came across tidal energy.  Basically turbines are put underwater and are propelled by the constant movement of ocean tides.  After seeing this I came across another innovative invention called the VIVACE (Vortex Induced Vibrations for Aquatic Clean Energy).  Developed by Michael Bernitsas and his team, the VIVACE can harness energy from water currents moving slower than 2 knots.  This is remarkable considering the fact that most water turbines need water moving at least 5 knots to operate. 

This invention I believe appeals to both conservative and liberal view points on the subject of alternative energy.  Installing devices like the VIVACE will provide jobs and stimulate the market because new materials will be needed to create VIVACE’s.  Jobs like these can replace jobs lost in the fossil fuel market, if and when the world switches to alternative energy sources.  Also, the VIVACE runs purely on the vibrations in water currents, a plentiful resource that will be around as long as humans are.  This means that non-renewable resources that are being vastly consumed by today’s population will eventually come to an end; leading to the end of large carbon emissions into the atmosphere and other forms of pollution created by the consumption of fossil fuels.

Not one new way of capturing energy will fix the worlds dependence on oil, but creative inventions like this one is what will fix today’s energy crisis. 

"Class-Links" Post

http://healthcared-carolina.blogspot.com/

This blog provides accurate information and keeps me updated on the issues with Obama’s Health Care Bill.  The author and I have similar views on the Health Care Bill and I am intrigued by the fact that the author of this blog desperately wants people to become more educated with the Health Care Bill before they state their opinion.  It bothers me when people try to argue about things they are uneducated about. And it comforts me to know that there is a blog concerned with the issues about uneducated Americans who try to argue for something they know nothing about.  Check this blog out if you want to be an informed arguer.

http://legalpotincalifosho.blogspot.com/

I follow this blog because I am interested about the legalization of pot in California.  The author of this blog provides unbiased information about the issue.  I have learned that both sides of this argument have effective arguments and supportive evidence for their beliefs.  If you are interested in being informed about the issue of pot in California then view this blog.  The author provides a substantial amount of background information so anyone can make educated arguments after reading.

http://mosqueman2010.blogspot.com/

The evaluation of the argument about whether or not the construction of a mosque close to ground zero should be allowed has been an interesting blog.  This blog has questioned some of my ideas about this argument and has provided me with useful information.  Although both sides of the argument are not equally presented, I have found this blog to be informative in all aspects of why the mosque should be constructed. 

Implications Post

Implications of an unresolved problem concerning fossil fuels and alternative energy will be devastating both for the economy and for the environment.  According to an article I read about fossil fuels the world can potentially run out of fossil fuels between 15 and 60 years from now at the present rate of consumption.  This will be economically devastating if the world continues to be dependent on these non-renewable resources.  Currently 28% of the world’s energy comes from coal, 40% of the world’s energy comes from oil, and 20% of the world’s energy comes from natural gas.  Once these run out there is going to be an economic deficiency and I believe the world will go into panic mode.  Most of the world’s automobiles, planes, trains, etc. run on these non-renewable resources and when these resources are gone there will be no more means of transportation.  Also a large part of the world’s power plants will be forced to shut down, causing further economic deficiency.  With the backbone of the world’s economy at a halt the world will not be able to function as it is now.  People will not be able to travel as efficiently, goods and services that were once considered a necessity will become luxuries.  The world will be sent into the dark ages.  So if the world as a whole does not find alternative energy sources quickly then the world is at risk of catastrophe.

A similar implications are true with the environment.  The use of fossil fuels pollutes the earth in more ways than one and if the world continues to use fossil fuels then we will continue to destroy our environment.  Eventually, the destruction of the environment could be so vast that entire ecosystems will be wiped out and the world will be altered forever.  This could lead to economic problems as well.  Tourism may decrease in places where environments, that were once beautiful to tour, are destroyed and those places may lose money because of lack of tourism. 

BP Damage Claims

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/politicalcartoons/ig/Oil-Spill-Cartoons/BP-Damage-Claims.1-Tp.htm

NC Alternative Energy

I was recently conducting some research about recent news involving alternative energy and I came across an interesting article.  Basically I learned that even in the midst of our economic troubles, alternative energy companies in North Carolina are growing rapidly.  According to this year’s census, there has been a 22% increase of alternative energy company employees.  Also, “N.C.’s renewable energy and energy efficiency industries continuing to lead the Southeast and a majority of respondents believe that our state is poised to become a national leader provided North Carolina adopts necessary policies and efforts to promote and expand the industries.”
It is a reassuring feeling to hear that even with recent economic troubles alternative energy is growing.  This is the kind of alteration America needs to wean off of fossil fuels and to become a greener nation.  The fact that these renewable energy companies are growing after the recent economic depression shows the potential these companies have.  Alternative energy companies are vital for our countries future and it feels good to live in the state that may be leading our country in renewable energy.  Hopefully in the near future more states will be recognized on their implementation of alternative energy into the economy.  Actions like these will allow America to lead the world in green technology and guarantee America’s position as the worlds superpower for the next century.