As you might surmise from the title of this post, I have a better idea now of what the topic of my project will be. There has scarcely been a day in the past few years that the topics of energy and sources of fuel have not been in the news. Beginning with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the resulting gas shortages that followed, people were reminded that fossil fuels are not a renewable resource. Gas prices were well over $3.25 a gallon for regular unleaded in Maryland. More people began to consider a somewhat obvious concept: once it [fossil fuels] are gone, they are gone.
Now, I do not wish to be an alarmist here. The goal of this blog is not to put fear in the heart of every person who reads it. I would rather this blog be an introduction for people to the topic of local initiatives to promote alternative fuels
This article serves as a good introduction to the topic of alternative fuels in general in the sense that it paints a very accurate picture of the situation at hand. I feel that alternative fuels such as biodiesel and E85 (Ethanol) have been portrayed as some sort of savior that will permit our country to be totally non-dependent on foreign sources of fossil fuel. This is absolutely not the case. In fact, the contrary is true: it will take many, many years before alternative fuels are a viable and sustainable alternative to fossil fuel. The idea that these alternative fuels are some sort of savior causes them to possibly dismiss the very idea because they have not caught on. This, as you may guess, does not a conducive learning environment make. If people think that alternative fuels will never be viable, then they are not going to want to try to learn about them.
I realize that this may make the topic of this blog and my project irrelevant. As I mentioned before, the goal of this blog is to serve as an introduction to the topic and to merely get people talking about the topic. I believe that talking about alternative fuels is the first step to learning more about them. The percentage of people using alternative fuels may be small now, but this will not always be the case.
Each post will have a section at the end called "Something to think about." This section will contain a question, or questions that are meant to keep the readers thinking about the topic. A question may reiterate something mentioned, or may pose the next logical question in regards to the topic at hand. Any reader may post a response to any question and pose one of his or her own.
~MA (Matt Anderson)
Something to think about:
1) What is "biodiesel" and what is it made of?
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2 comments:
Excellent concept for a blog! I appreciate that you're to not trying to "put fear in the heart of every person who reads it." Your practical and informative approach encourages me to continue reading. This is a topic that I know very little about and I appreciate that your blog is not too intimidating for someone with my level of knowledge on the topic. Alternative fuels will become more important to society as time goes on and your blog is an excellent way to spread the word!
I agree with the previous comment. This is definantly an easy blog to read and something I am interested in myself. Alternative fuels are going to become more prevalent with the rising price of gas, meaning people will need to start learning their options. Thanks for telling us what they are. Good job!
Erica
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