ASSIGNMENT II – The 1 st larger project will be due at the end of the next unit. This is a 8-10 page paper (double spaced, use an appropriate writing style and appropriate citations). The past two units you have familiarized yourself with problems and possible solutions to the energy and transportation infrastructure of the United States. Now I want you to get together with the group you have formed and come up with an actual plan to help us address these problems in a realistic way. You should bring some of the information you’ve already collected from your previous work into this project, since that was all valuable research. However this will not simply be a rewriting of the previous material.

Such a plan should start with a rational discussion of the problem (with appropriate references to prove that there is a problem) and especially the aspects of the problem that the paper wishes to solve. Such a plan may rely on one alternative or a collection of alternatives. There may be several short-term solutions then further long-term solutions. All possible solutions should have real world numbers (with references) that support how they will work.

This week you will do a little research and think about an important issue facing our society. Now that you have read several chapters of the text, you should be starting to get a sense of several important concepts like power, energy and forces. You are hopefully also enjoying the way the author of the text brings up real world issues that pertain to science. Our transportation system (how we move ourselves and goods around) and our energy generating system (how we get power to our homes and businesses) are both based on burning fuels that 1) are non-renewable, 2) could threaten our national security, and 3) are harmful to the environment.

For this assignment, you need to address one part of the problem. The ideas you find this week will be expanded on and added to for your first large project (discussed later). Your work should outline what our current energy sources are and the problems associated with them including those problems mentioned above. You don’t need to think about any alternatives that have been proposed for now, just stick to the major sources of energy we use right now for both transportation and electric power. You should find a few articles in good science sources (such as those suggested for the science writing assignments) that describe current energy sources and their associated problems. After reading the articles you should think about each of the questions below. Although you will not have to turn anything in, nor will you be graded, you may wish to jot down some thoughts in about one or two paragraphs in your own words and record appropriate citations for the sources so you can use them in the first large project. This should fill up 1-2 pages nicely (single-spaced).

During the process of your research you should address the following questions:

– What are the three primary sources of electrical energy generation in the United States, including percentages of power generated by each?

– What are the problems associated with each of these sources, including all relevant numbers, statistics, and values (i.e. tonnage of pollution dumped into the air or how much is left)? Make sure that in your paragraph you reference appropriate sources where you got your figures.

– What is the source of the raw materials used to make our energy, and are there any problems associated with that?

– What is the primary source of transportation energy in the United States?

– What are the problems associated with this source, including all relevant numbers, statistics, and values (i.e. tonnage of pollution dumped into the air or how much is left)? Make sure that in your paragraph you reference appropriate sources where you got your figures.

– What is the source of the raw materials used to make this energy, and are there any problems associated with that?