Research Prospectus

For my research project, I'm going to choose a topic under the umbrella of alternative energy. The bulk of our energy currently comes from fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and nuclear sources). All of these seem nice at first, but once you dig into the topic you find out how bad they really are. Yes, they are cheap, readily available and the use of them provides many jobs. But, they are very hazardous to the environment and all have a finite amount, we are using them faster than mother nature is producing them. Which means later on down the road, they will be no longer available. Also, with that the earth will be more polluted and may have already permanently lost many forms of plants or animals by the time they do run out. Therefore, I believe a new cleaner, safer and more efficient form of energy production should be utilized if we want to have a healthy and safe planet in the long term future. Which is why I'm choosing this topic.

Throughout this research assignment I will focus on two research questions. The first being: What can finding/utilizing alternative sources of energy do for the planet/environment (what are the consequences of not finding/utilizing an alternate sources of energy)? Then, the second: how will this effect human beings everyday lives?

After digging into the topic a little more, I now think that I will focus in more on solar energy as a source of alternative energy. I will touch on some others but since solar is the starting point of nearly all the other forms, it will be the main focus. Then, also without the sun (which produces solar energy) all other sources of energy would shortly thereafter cease to be viable also. My final goals of this project is to provide not only myself with more knowledge and awareness of the topic, but also to others as well.