Hi everybody,
It was great to meet you all on Thursday evening and to get started with the CI class.
Welcome to each one of you!
I hope this class will be something you look forward to each week; a place to share your thoughts and ideas and to have fun using English.
Our topic for next week is Energy Sources.
I hope the topic is broad enough that everyone will be able to find something you're interested in researching!
Like we said in class, anything you want to talk about is okay: whether it's related to energy sources or not; next week we'll start with the presentations on energy sources, and then we'll take all others. If we can't finish all the presentations in 2 hours, we'll just continue with them the next week.
Some possible research directions for this week's topic include:
Nonrenewable energy sources (the ones we're using up and can't make more of):
Why does our society make such great use of these energy sources?
What are the benefits of using these?
How do we get energy from these sources?
How are these sources developed and produced, and what problems do their production cause?
What are the consequences of using these sources?
Renewable energy sources (the ones we can easily replenish!):
How are we using these?
What new inventions are being created to harness the energy from these sources?
What are the benefits or consequences of the production and use of these sources?
Why doesn't our society make more use of these energy sources?
Possible presentation ideas:
Here is a brief brainstorm of possible presentation ideas. These are just examples, feel free to research one or to create your own depending on your interests and time!:
*We all use air conditioners, refrigerators, fans, and computers. Where does our (Yilan County) electricity come from?
Descriptions of communities or individuals who are successfully making use of renewable energy sources.
For example:
* An island in Scotland that is powered exclusively by wind
* A neighbor who drives a solar-battery-powered car
How we harness energy from the various sources:
For example:
* How geothermal power is produced
* How tidal power is generated and harnessed
The advantages and disadvantages of producing and using a certain energy source
For example:
* Wind power: pros and cons
* Biofuels :pros and cons
Lots of other topics that delve into various aspects of Energy:
*Fusion: why it could save us and will we ever be able to use it?
*How coal mining affects communities involved in mining.
*Garbage-to-energy: creating energy from waste.
*Tar sands: why extracting oil from tar sands is big business, and what the environmental costs of such operations actually are.
Recent disasters and the effects on humans and the environment, such as:
* the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (a.k.a. BP oil spill or Gulf of Mexico oil spill)
Recent controversies, such as:
* the Keystone XL oil pipeline
These are just some ideas to get you started!
I'll write more soon and give you some good links for places to find more information. Until then, please feel free to write to me with any questions you may have.
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