Source 22: graph of US oil imports
Top 10 US crude oil imports by origin (dollardaze.org, 6/2/07)
Summary:
This is a graph of the top 10 countries that the US imports its oil from and the percentages that each country makes up with regards to the overall oil imports for the US.
Topic:
Category:
Institution- government chart
What is it?
This is a chart that shows the amount of oil imported by the US from the top 10 countries that it gets its oil from. The chart was found on dollardaze.org, but the chart is from the Energy Information Administration.
Author:
EnergyInformation Administration
accessed:
2/26/09
Support:
This is a graph compiled by the Energy Information Administration. In it we can see the top 10 countries that the US imports its oil from. From the chart we can see that Canada is the number one country with Mexico and Saudi Arabia in second and third. It also shows the percentage that each country makes up of the US’s overall oil imports.
Audience and Agenda:
The EIA is a US government organization that provides statistics that were compiled by the United States government about all issues pertaining to energy. EIA.doe.gov gets approximately 409, 000 hits per month. The administration is a government institution so it is funded by tax payers through the Department of Energy.
Usefulness:
This chart shows the percentages that each of the countries make up of the overall imports of foreign oil to the US. It can be used to show that most of the main countries that the US imports oil from are not hostile countries. From this chart we can see that of the top five countries that the US gets its oil from only two are hostile countries making up only about 20% of overall imports. This could make the argument that it could be quite realistic to cut these countries out as trading partners by increasing the use of alternative energy sources or increasing production of domestic oil. It also makes the case that the US is not supporting its enemies as much as the general public might think through the import of oil from hostile countries. This makes the national security argument in favor of alternative energy sources a very revelvant one in that the goal to stop importing oil from hostile countries could be reached quicker than perhaps otherwise thought with increased government investment in alternative energy sources. The money that alternative energy could save from being exported overseas to hostile countries could be used to pay for the initial investment that the government made in alternative energy. In essence it could pay for itself. This would also keep the money free to be invested in the US economy through the promotion of manufacturing alternative energy products.
Works Cited:
EIA.doe.gov demographics:
http://www.quantcast.com/eia.doe.gov#
Official website of EIA:
Source 21: Possible routes for Alaska natural gas pipeline
Possible pipeline routes (emr.gov, 2007)
Summary:
This is a map comparing the two proposed routes for the Alaska natural gas pipeline.
Topic:
Category:
Institutional- government image
What is it?
It is a map from the Yukon Territory’s government website.
Author:
No author given
accessed:
2/27/09
support:
This map shows both of the proposed routes for the distribution of the natural gas reserves in northern Alaska. One route is called the Alaska Highway pipeline project which would bring the pipeline from northern Alaska through Fairbanks and into Canada. The other proposed route is the McKenzie gas project which would bring the pipeline through the Northwest Territories and would not run through Alaska at all.
Audience and Agenda:
emr.gov is a website set up by the government of the Yukon Territories to follow the projects that are being proposed by the department of energy, mines and resources. It is funded by tax payers of the Yukon Territories. The map is used to show the differences between the two proposed pipeline routes. It is not registered with quantcast.com so it is unknown how many hits it gets per month.
Usefulness:
This map shows the distinct differences in the proposed routes for the natural gas pipeline that will bring natural gas from the reserves of northern Alaska and the Yukon and Northwest Territories. It is helpful to see what areas will be affected by each of these proposed routes. In this map we can see what areas will benefit by gaining jobs for their local economies and also what natural habitats will be affected by each of these proposals. This map could be very persuasive for the people of these areas to make up their minds about which of these proposals they would prefer.
Works Cited:
emr.gov home page:
Home page of the government of the Yukon Territories:
Source 20: Image of Masdar City
Masdar City (arabenvironment.net, 2/10/08, Dubai)
Summary:
This is a computer generated rendering of what Masdar City, the world’s first attempt at a completely sustainable and carbon-neutral city, will look like when it is completed.
Topic:
Category:
Journalistic image- alternative
What is it?
It is an image from an online article that was published in the Financial Times.
Artist:
no artist given
accessed:
2/26/09
Support:
In this artist’s rendering, we can see how Masdar city is expected to look on a ideal day. The sun is shining into the many solar panels that line the rooftops of the city. There are no cars or trash anywhere in sight and art and architecture are on display in what looks like a courtyard of the city. This city looks like a true oasis in the desert of the United Arab Emirates.
Audience and Agenda:
This image is being used to promote the idea of the beauty of a completely energy neutral city. It was used in an article from the Financial Times. The Financial Times is a British newspaper. Its website is viewed by approximately 20,400 people per month. It has an international circulation of 432,944. The Masdar City initiative is funded by a joint effort between General Electric’s renewable energy sector and the Abu Dhabi government amongst others.
Usefulness:
This computer-generated image gives an artist’s portrayal of what Masdar City will ideally look like. It shows a clean and pure city with no waste or pollution. It is used to promote the project and portray it as what future cities of the world will look like when they are completely powered by alternative energy sources. The art and architecture add to this futuristic look and make the viewer see an almost utopian vision. This picture makes the city look like a hub of innovation which its creators hope it will be. With this image, we are able to see how the creators envision the city which makes it much more tangible and seem like a much more realistic idea than just reading about it.
Works Cited:
about Financial Times:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Times
http://www.quantcast.com/financial.com
More info about the Masdar City project:
http://jajackson.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=148
http://jajackson.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=150
Source 19: Image of solar power
Portugal solar power plant (APimages.ap.org, 3/28/07, Serpa Portugal)
Summary:
This is an image of the world’s largest solar power plant in Portugal taken by an Associated Press photographer.
Topic:
Category:
Journalistic image- mainstream
What is it?
This is a picture from the Associated Press’s photo archive accessed through the University of Oregon’s online library.
Photographer:
Antonio Carrapato
Accessed:
2/26/09
Support:
This image is of the world’s largest power plant in Portugal. From this picture we can see just how large this power plant is. The solar panels seem to be endless. The sky above it is filled with sunlight showing the vast amount of energy that could be absorbed by the panels. The caption below the pic tells us that this was a $78.5 million project and it was partially funded by General Electric.
Audience and Agenda:
The Associated Press is a non-profit American organization funded by subscriptions from news outlets around the world. The photo library consist of more than 10,000 images. AssociatedPress.com has approximately 11,300 hits per month in the US alone. This image is used to show the huge investment in solar power that is being made through this project in Portugal.
Usefulness:
This picture shows a ideal depiction of solar power. It could be used to show the beauty that a solar future could provide. From this picture we can see how expansive this project is and how much land is being used. It is a good example to show to anyone who might be interested in what a solar power plant looks like. However, by showing an ideal day, it leaves out a potential problem with solar energy. If this picture had been taken on an overcast or dreary day, it would not have the same positive impact on the observers view of solar energy. Taking this picture at night would be a good way to show one of the obstacle of solar power.
Works Cited:
About Associated Press:
Source 18: Image of wind power
Alternative energy stocks: NKG turns a profit of wind power (photobucket.com, Stephanie Grimmet, 4/12/08)
Summary:
This image is used to show the beauty of wind farms and promote a wind powered future.
Topic:
Category:
Photo blog- commentator
What is it?
It is an image found on photobucket.com in support of investment in wind power.
Accessed:
2/24/09
Support:
The picture contains a picturesque portrayal of a wind farm in Japan. It has many wind turbines spinning away in the foreground in front of a beautiful pink sky.
Audience and Agenda:
This picture accompanies an article about renewable energy stocks being on the rise in Japan. It is being used to show the ideal beauty of a wind powered future. This picture was used by the Jutia Group which is a professional equity and research blog aimed at investors. The image was taken from photbucket.com which is a public website where people post photos. The website gets approximately 34.2 million hits per month.
Usefulness:
This picture could be used to persuade people about the beauty of wind farms. The pink sky gives the idea that there is a glowing future on the horizon for wind energy. It is a powerful image because people are drawn to the beauty of sunsets. Images such as these can be used as tools of persuasion because it literally shows the image in a positive light.
Works Cited:
More articles by the blog poster:
http://jutiagroup.com/author/stephanie-grimmett/
About Jutia Group:
http://www.blogtoplist.com/personal-finance/blogdetails-1844.html
slideshow reflection
The silideshow assignment that we did last week was an interesting experience. The focus of my story was found by just asking simple background questions that allowed me to find an intersting characteristic of my subject. I felt that my subject growing up most of his life overseas was a very intersting angle that gave a unique perspective. The problem with this was that I had already shot my pictures when I found out that my subject had many layers that I hadn’t found when I was taking the pictures. I chose him as a subject because he was pitched to me as a good example of a colege slacker’s life, but I found that even slackers have interesting stories to tell. The problem with this was that most of the story that he told was about his inner world and feelings which is difficult to express with simple pictures of someone’s daily routine.
In narrowing the story down I just found the most relevant and intersting things that were said during the interview and tried to put them in the most coherent order possible. I found that in doing my interview a lot of the techniques that we learned in class came in handy such as staying silent for a few extra seconds and also asking open-ended questions. However, I found it difficult to do a person’s life justice with just a two minute slideshow. In general, the soundslides program was very user friendly which was very nice. Next time, I think that it may have been more helpful to do the interview first so that I could find the focus of my story and tailor my pictures to that particular aspect of the subject’s life. Other than that, if I was giving advice to someone about how to do an audio slideshow, I would tell them to shoot lots of portrait type pictures because those types of pics are very versitile in the story telling process and they can be used when the person is speaking about something that is not tangible as a way to fill space. Overall I enjoyed this project much more than the first couple (after the initial weirdness of following someone I didn’t know around with a camera all day wore off). The technology factor is getting easier, which is always the wild card in these projects, so I can actually start focusing more on the techniques that we are being taught and I can start worrying less about catastrophic technology malfunctions.
Source 17: Masdar City: The world’s first renewable energy city
We built this city…on renewable energy (Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society; Apr2008, Vol. 89 Issue 4, p434-434)
Summary:
This is an article from a peer-reviewed academic journal that talks about a city that is being built in the United Arab Emirates that will be completely powered by renewable energy. It gives details of how it will be done and what will be the benefits of this city when it begins to be used in late 2009.
Topic:
Category:
academic
What is it?
This is an article from a peer-reviewed academic journal that was accessed through the University of Oregon’s online library.
Title:
We built this city…on renewable energy
Publication information:
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society; Apr2008, Vol. 89 Issue 4, p434-434
Author:
no author given
Location:
accesssed:
2/19/09
Support:
Abu Dhabi government of United Arab Emirates
a project official
Agence France-Presses
These sources represent, a projection by the United Arabe Emirates governement of what this city will be like, details of the project from people involved and the press agency that put the information together.
Audience and Agenda:
American Meteorological Society. Bulletin is a peer-reviewed academic journal that has a circulation of 11,528. It was created in 1920. It is one of the more widely-read academic journals in that it is not only read by academics. It is funded by subscription revenue and advertising revenue. It is published by the American Meteorological Society. The American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. It has over 14,000 members.
Usefulness:
This article gives an insight into the developement of the world’s first city that will be powered completely by renewable energy. It gives details of how many people will live there, how the people will get around, how they will get their power and much more. This is a very important source in that it shows that a renewable energy city is alredy becoming a realty. This city will serve as an example for the rest of the world. We will be able to learn from what works for them and also what unforseen obstacles may arise. We will discover whether this city will be the prototype for cities of the future or if more research will need to be done in order for a city like this to be successful. It will be very important to keep an eye on the progress made on this project as we move into the future. This article does fail to mention how the city will overcome issues such as energy storage for night time and low wind days.
About AMS:
http://www.ametsoc.org/aboutams/index.html
About the journal:
Source 16: Energy Issues and Energy Priorities
Energy Issues and Energy Priorities (Energy Sources Part B: Economics, Planning & Policy; Jan2008, Vol. 3 Issue 1)
Summary:
This is an article from a peer-reviewed academic journal that addresses the problem of an ever-growing demand for energy worldwide and the economic and environmental concerns that are created by this increased demand.
Topic:
Category:
Academic
What is it?
It is an article from a peer-reviewed academic journal that was accessed through the University of Oregon’s online library.
Title:
Energy Issues and Energy Priorities
Publication Information:
Energy Sources Part B: Economics, Planning & Policy, Jan2008, Vol. 3 Issue 1, p41-49
Author:
Location:
accessed:
2/19/09
Support:
Energy concepts and energy education in chemistry
Energy concepts and risks of alterantive energy resources in Turkey
Energy priorities and new energy strategies
United nations developement program (UNDP)
The first three sources are other papers written by the author that use findings from studies that he was invovled in to make his case about future energy consumption issues. The last source is a United Nations program that did research that was also used for statistical analysis.
Audience and Agenda:
Energy Sources. Part B. Economics, Planning, and Policy is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that has 338 combined yearly subscriptions from institutions. It was established in 2006. It is published by Taylor and Francis Inc. It is funded by subscription revenue and some advertising. Taylor and Francis Inc. is a publically traded company. It publishes over 1000 academic journals each year.
Usefulness:
This document addresses the problem of an increasing worldwide demand for energy due to an ever growing population and the effects that has on the need for future renewable energy sources. It outlines the main issues that are involved in maintaining a balance between the environmental and economic implications of pursuing alternative energy sources. It makes the case that we must finance the energy sector without subsidies to maintain its autonimy while also looking at every aspect of the issue when determining the overall worth of alternative energy sources. This document outlines every aspect of the issue and addresses them thoroughly to paint a full picture of what should be made into priorities for the future promotion of alternativ energy sources. It also explains the issues we will face in the future with regards to the world’s ever-growing energy needs.
Works Cited:
About the publisher:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_and_Francis
About the journal:
Other stuff written by the author:
Source 15: Does it make sense to call on wind power?
International comparisons of energy use and the environment: Does it make sense to call on wind power? (European Environmental Law Review; Jun2006, Vol. 15 Issue 6)
Summary:
This is an article from a peer-reviewed academic journal that establishes a basis for comparing wind energy with fossil fuels in respect to carbon emissions, energy output, economic productivity and other issues that come into play when considering whether wind power can carry the load that fossil fuels have carried in the past with regards to energy needs around the world.
Topic:
Category:
Academic
What is it?
This is an article from a peer-reviewed academic journal that was accessed through the University of Oregon’s online library.
Title:
International comparisons of energy use and environment: Does it make sense to call on wind power?
Publication Information:
European Environmental Law Review; Jun2006, Vol. 15 Issue 6, p162-174
Authors:
Langenkamp, R. Dobie
Zedalis, Rex J.
Location:
Accessed:
2/18/09
Support:
International Energy Agency
American Academy for the Advancement of Science
Energy Information Administration
These sources represent institutions that provide statistical information about international comparisons of wind power productivity to fossil fuels.
Audience and Agenda:
The European Energy and Environmental Law Review was established in 1990. It has approximately 445 subscriptions from varying institutions per year. It is funded by subscription revenue and some advertising. It is published by Kluwer Law International. The publisher is a publically traded company that has annual revenues of $3.4 billion a year. The article is intended to inform the public of the facts focusing on the feasibility of wind energy as an alternative energy source. Its main agenda is to make the case that further investigation into this matter needs to be a priority.
Usefulness:
This article is intended to separate fact from fiction with regards to wind energy. It is meant to address some of the problems that must be solved in order to make wind energy a viable alternative to fossil fuels. It states some benefits of wind energy such as lower carbon emissions and its infinite supply, but it also encourages people to be cautious about rushing into building wind farms stating some issues that must be addressed such as intigration into the electric power grid and the fluctuations in power outputs due to the varying supply of wind at a given time. It also addresses the safety hazards that wind turbines can pose to planes and local eco-systems. Overall it is very thorough and the claims are backed up by sufficient statistical data. The final assessment is that more investigated is needed into this subject.
Works Cited:
Publication info from Ulrich’s
About the publisher:
Source 14: Drilling rigs to renewables
A framework for alternative energy developement: Shifting from drilling rigs to renewables (Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review; 2008, Vol.35 Issue 2)
Summary:
This is an article from a peer-reviewed academic journal that proposes a solution to an argument made by some people who want renewable energy, but do not want the plants in their own backyards. It makes the case to start transitioning obsolete drilling rigs into alternative energy plant sites.
Topic:
Category:
Academic
What is it?
An article from a peer-reviewed journal found on the University of Oregon’s library website.
Title:
A framework for alternative energy developement: Shifting from drilling rigs to renewables
Publication Information:
Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review; 2008, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p321-348
Author:
Timothy Holahan
Location:
Accessed:
2/18/09
Support:
Rigs to reefs program
The national fishing enhancement act
The article uses the provisions from existing programs and builds upon it to make the case for altering it in order to make the oil rigs into alternative energy producers instead of ocean reefs.
Audience and Agenda:
The Boston College environmental affairs law review was estblished in 1971. It has a circulation of around 800. It is published by the Boston College, school of law. The author is trying to promote his agenda to change obsolete drilling rigs into renewable energy hubs. It is funded by subscriptions and Boston College.
Usefulness:
This source was created to provide a solution to one of the obstacles hindering renewable energy; people want it, but not in their own backyards. The article uses an old piece of legislation that has some flaws and seeks to alter it in order to make it a more viable option for the use of obsolete oil rigs. It is reaching out to oil companies and law making bodies in order to promote this solution. It states all of the benefits to both oil companies and the nation as a whole that this proposal could provide. It gives ways in which this could become a viable economic opportunity. However, it does not speak of the problem of transmitting the energy that is created on the rigs to the masses. It mostly addresses the problem from a political standpoint. It also does not give specific energy sources that could be used in this process or specifics on the engineering of the rigs. It is a good example of innovative thinking and problem solving with regards to public opinion issues that face alternative energy farms.
Works Cited:
Publication info from Ulrich’s
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Recent
- The Answer to My Alternative Energy Question
- Source 30: Interview with a renewable energy specialist
- Source 29: Green jobs in Michigan
- Source 28: Solar Radiation Monitoring Lab (interview)
- Source 27: Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline ad
- Source 26: Obama’s real challenge with alternative energy
- Source 25: New solar technology
- Source 24: T. Boone Pickens’ plan
- Source 23: alternative energy for low-income housing grants (interview)
- Source 22: graph of US oil imports
- Source 21: Possible routes for Alaska natural gas pipeline
- Source 20: Image of Masdar City
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