Six-Point Critical Analysis of Current Event
My blog posting is available online at:
1. Exploratory "As a global society, we consumed over twice as much energy in 2015 than we did in 1973" (Mutiti, 4). This is a problem for our world as we know it because the burning of coal and other gases discharges carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and causes global warming. That is why “How Georgia Became A Surprising Bright Spot In The U.S. Solar Industry” is a very important ongoing story to follow “Dalton added a new industry to its manufacturing mix: the largest solar panel assembly plant in the Western hemisphere, a $150 million investment.” (Hsu, 2). This kind of investment is no small deal and from this we see an effort from Georgia to diversify its portfolio of energy used in the state. This is all without laws passed to add more renewable power plants. One of the hardest things for politicians and people is for people to accept the idea of renewable resources “Like most states in the Southeast, Georgia doesn't have the kind of state-level mandates” (Hsu, 3). This project makes Georgia one of the biggest producers of renewable resources now without making it mandatory.
2. Diagnostic “Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, Hanwha showed up in Dalton in early 2018, says Mayor Dennis Mock” (Hsu, 7) Mayor Mock explains how South Korean company saw potential Trump's upcoming terrifies “this is the most attractive place to assemble panels for use in the U.S. market” (Hsu, 10) where they quickly began productions for their solar plant. Not only this but Georgia was a great fit for solar plants geographically making this a perfect fit for both companies “We have to have access to 100% renewable energy for our facilities. If we're unable to achieve that, we won't locate in that region” (Hsu, 13). Keeping the quote in mind from the choice of having the plant be in Georgia we can see how it was a perfect fit geographically with ample opportunity for sunlight thus plenty of electricity.
3. Cause and Effect If Georgia keeps expanding its energy avenues to renewables that can cause other states residents and politicians to become open to the possibility of renewable resources. Walton EMC, a massive energy company, previously “relied on coal for almost half of its energy production… with the solar projects coming online for Facebook, renewables will jump to somewhere between 15% and 20%” (Hsu, 18). When massive energy companies like Walton EMC start adding different avenues of garnering revenue other companies can start to take notice and copy a similar model. From a company showing it is possible to make money in ways that were previously pushed back upon, people start begging to become familiar with a concept and be more accepting of that idea now. This kind of change allows for other companies to follow in EMC’s footsteps in the path for renewable resources.
4. Priority The most important issue is that a state is taking measures to add more renewable energy circulating in the city which is always a good thing. If someone lives in an area where Mountaintop Removal is practiced they have “significantly higher levels of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and chronic lung disease” (5:53) while this may just be talking about MTR this quote from Michael Hendryx illustrates the very point living next to places that use renewable resources are very dangerous for residents not even including the fumes discharged when burned. That is why from an example like this we can change all that matters is the approach from saying global warming is going to kill everyone to renewable resources could lower the electricity bill as shown by Georgia.
5. Application This article and the solar panel boom found in Georgia directly affects my life as Texas is one of the sunniest states in the United States “we get roughly 50% of the available sun during the winter and 75% during the summer (Bannin, 3). Due to this we can potentially start to see politicians and companies look at Georgia as a blueprint and follow suit. Probe for relationships and connect theory to practice. (How does this apply to you? How is this related to culture as we have studied so far?)
6. Critical “How solar grew in Georgia despite lack of mandates on renewable energy” really did affirm the idea that we do not need mandates to change our energy sources from nonrenewable to renewable resources. This was shown to me in “he says people in the area don't really think about where their electricity comes from… I want it the cheapest” (Hsu, 34-35). This quote highlights how if we want people to support renewable resources make renewable resources as beneficial as possible for that individual. Most people are worried about themselves and it's hard to think outside of our own perspective. Making people care about something that they cant see directly benefiting them doesn't work, that is why companies need to make these changes as appealing to the person to garner support. Along with this I had always viewed solar energy as something that is expensive and time consuming to set up a plant but “You can build a large power plant ... within a year” (Hsu, 29) changes everything as the positive effects for peoples electricity bill can be felt right away. As if it takes less time invested to make a plant costs less money and is more publicly accepted making the idea of solar panels more appealing as an option for renewable energy for the future.
Work Cited Hendryx, Michael. “The Shocking Danger of Mountaintop Removal -- and Why It Must End.” Michael Hendryx: The Shocking Danger of Mountaintop Removal -- and Why It Must End | TED Talk, TED, 2017, www.ted.com/talks/michael_hendryx_the_shocking_danger_of_mountaintop_removal_and_why_it_must_end. Hsu, A., & Kelly, M. L. (2019, June 24). How solar grew in Georgia despite lack of mandates on renewable energy. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2019/06/24/733795962/how-georgia-became-a-surprising-bright-spot-in-the-u-s-solar-industry Bannin, Nick. “Kxan Austin Weather: List: Sunniest US Cities, How Austin Ranks.” LIST: Sunniest US Cities, How Austin Ranks, KAWN, 2023, www.kxan.com/weather/weather-blog/list-sunniest-u-s-cities-how-austin-ranks/. Mutiti, S., Mutiti, C., Manoylov, K., VandeVoort, A., & Bennett, D. (2018). Introduction to environmental science (3rd ed.). Biological Science Open Textbooks. University System of Georgia. Energy, Government of Iceland, 2016, www.government.is/topics/business-and-industry/energy/.
My blog posting is available online at:
1. Exploratory "As a global society, we consumed over twice as much energy in 2015 than we did in 1973" (Mutiti, 4). This is a problem for our world as we know it because the burning of coal and other gases discharges carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and causes global warming. That is why “How Georgia Became A Surprising Bright Spot In The U.S. Solar Industry” is a very important ongoing story to follow “Dalton added a new industry to its manufacturing mix: the largest solar panel assembly plant in the Western hemisphere, a $150 million investment.” (Hsu, 2). This kind of investment is no small deal and from this we see an effort from Georgia to diversify its portfolio of energy used in the state. This is all without laws passed to add more renewable power plants. One of the hardest things for politicians and people is for people to accept the idea of renewable resources “Like most states in the Southeast, Georgia doesn't have the kind of state-level mandates” (Hsu, 3). This project makes Georgia one of the biggest producers of renewable resources now without making it mandatory.
2. Diagnostic “Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, Hanwha showed up in Dalton in early 2018, says Mayor Dennis Mock” (Hsu, 7) Mayor Mock explains how South Korean company saw potential Trump's upcoming terrifies “this is the most attractive place to assemble panels for use in the U.S. market” (Hsu, 10) where they quickly began productions for their solar plant. Not only this but Georgia was a great fit for solar plants geographically making this a perfect fit for both companies “We have to have access to 100% renewable energy for our facilities. If we're unable to achieve that, we won't locate in that region” (Hsu, 13). Keeping the quote in mind from the choice of having the plant be in Georgia we can see how it was a perfect fit geographically with ample opportunity for sunlight thus plenty of electricity.
3. Cause and Effect If Georgia keeps expanding its energy avenues to renewables that can cause other states residents and politicians to become open to the possibility of renewable resources. Walton EMC, a massive energy company, previously “relied on coal for almost half of its energy production… with the solar projects coming online for Facebook, renewables will jump to somewhere between 15% and 20%” (Hsu, 18). When massive energy companies like Walton EMC start adding different avenues of garnering revenue other companies can start to take notice and copy a similar model. From a company showing it is possible to make money in ways that were previously pushed back upon, people start begging to become familiar with a concept and be more accepting of that idea now. This kind of change allows for other companies to follow in EMC’s footsteps in the path for renewable resources.
4. Priority The most important issue is that a state is taking measures to add more renewable energy circulating in the city which is always a good thing. If someone lives in an area where Mountaintop Removal is practiced they have “significantly higher levels of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and chronic lung disease” (5:53) while this may just be talking about MTR this quote from Michael Hendryx illustrates the very point living next to places that use renewable resources are very dangerous for residents not even including the fumes discharged when burned. That is why from an example like this we can change all that matters is the approach from saying global warming is going to kill everyone to renewable resources could lower the electricity bill as shown by Georgia.
5. Application This article and the solar panel boom found in Georgia directly affects my life as Texas is one of the sunniest states in the United States “we get roughly 50% of the available sun during the winter and 75% during the summer (Bannin, 3). Due to this we can potentially start to see politicians and companies look at Georgia as a blueprint and follow suit. Probe for relationships and connect theory to practice. (How does this apply to you? How is this related to culture as we have studied so far?)
6. Critical “How solar grew in Georgia despite lack of mandates on renewable energy” really did affirm the idea that we do not need mandates to change our energy sources from nonrenewable to renewable resources. This was shown to me in “he says people in the area don't really think about where their electricity comes from… I want it the cheapest” (Hsu, 34-35). This quote highlights how if we want people to support renewable resources make renewable resources as beneficial as possible for that individual. Most people are worried about themselves and it's hard to think outside of our own perspective. Making people care about something that they cant see directly benefiting them doesn't work, that is why companies need to make these changes as appealing to the person to garner support. Along with this I had always viewed solar energy as something that is expensive and time consuming to set up a plant but “You can build a large power plant ... within a year” (Hsu, 29) changes everything as the positive effects for peoples electricity bill can be felt right away. As if it takes less time invested to make a plant costs less money and is more publicly accepted making the idea of solar panels more appealing as an option for renewable energy for the future.
Work Cited Hendryx, Michael. “The Shocking Danger of Mountaintop Removal -- and Why It Must End.” Michael Hendryx: The Shocking Danger of Mountaintop Removal -- and Why It Must End | TED Talk, TED, 2017, www.ted.com/talks/michael_hendryx_the_shocking_danger_of_mountaintop_removal_and_why_it_must_end. Hsu, A., & Kelly, M. L. (2019, June 24). How solar grew in Georgia despite lack of mandates on renewable energy. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2019/06/24/733795962/how-georgia-became-a-surprising-bright-spot-in-the-u-s-solar-industry Bannin, Nick. “Kxan Austin Weather: List: Sunniest US Cities, How Austin Ranks.” LIST: Sunniest US Cities, How Austin Ranks, KAWN, 2023, www.kxan.com/weather/weather-blog/list-sunniest-u-s-cities-how-austin-ranks/. Mutiti, S., Mutiti, C., Manoylov, K., VandeVoort, A., & Bennett, D. (2018). Introduction to environmental science (3rd ed.). Biological Science Open Textbooks. University System of Georgia. Energy, Government of Iceland, 2016, www.government.is/topics/business-and-industry/energy/.
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