It will be interesting to see what the company does about this, while the mouse may be the companies icon, there are some real business ethics involved.  The first being that Allwine’s wife has performed Minnie Mouse alongside him for the past twenty years. 

Just an example of the type of work he and his wife have done to keep the character classic, and modern.  Also, the villain is particularly awesome in this one. 

Overall, it was a very enjoyable course.  Not what I was expecting, but now that I think about, I wasnt sure what to expect from the class.  The idea of having two teachers with different talents was a good one.  I found it interesting that both were able to work as a team to teach this course.  It also made the course more interesting, it wasnt easy to get bored, because each time I was about to, the lesson ended, and a new project was started with a different teacher.

It is a beautiful Friday afternoon.  I am sitting in my back yard underneath a tree.  My dog continues to nudge his frisbee closer and closer as I try to write this.  For once, I am finding it easy to just sit down and write.  This is something I feel I have gained through this course.  Before this class, the only way I could write anything I felt would be worth reading was to let it come to me.  Then collect my thoughts on paper a little while before it is due, and piece each sentence together like a giant puzzle.  Writing a research paper, I quickly learned that with some papers, particularly research papers, my favorite method just doesn’t work. 

Jay Zabel English Comp. II Ms. Terrell April 23rd 2009 Solar Power-A Cloudy Future

As far as energy supply is concerned, our nation has reached a stand still. Using our current resources, oil and coal we should be all set for the next few years. However, the resources we rely on to provide us with energy are quickly running out. For as long as energy has been utilized, people have been exploring alternatives to use when our current resources run out. The time has finally come for us, particularly the younger generation, to find our nations next major energy source. However, the use of solar energy may not be the best alternative for us to rely on. Our nation’s interest in solar power goes back hundreds of years. The earliest experiments date back to the late 1860’s, when an American man named August Mouchet was given money to support his work discovering a new energy source. Eventually, Mouchet created a steam engine that ran entirely off of the energy produced by the suns rays (Research institute for sustainable energy). Later on, in 1883, a man named Charles Fritz created the world’s first solar cell. Fritz’s invention would eventually become an integral part of solar power systems, today, his invention is known as photovoltaic cells (Solarhome.org). Since the idea was first discovered, Americans have been fascinated with the suns potential, and have been curious as to how they can utilize the energy provided by the sun. However, while we can certainly benefit from the use of solar power, it is not likely that it will be our next primary source of energy. While I had never heavily researched this topic before, I feel like the concern of finding alternative energy has become a part of my family’s history by now. Aside from making his opinions heard on the radio in the early 1960’s. Phillip J. Hamle spent much of his adult life doing what he could to fix this problem, and others pertaining to the environment. After retiring from radio, he served on the Wallingford Trash to Energy plant. Most of his work was done for a town he had never lived in, but cared about, as if it had been his home his entire life. He was a radio personality, an environmental activist, but most importantly, he was my grandfather. I didn’t often have the chance to talk with him about his work studying alternative sources of energy. However, his influence throughout my childhood is what inspired me to pick this topic over all others. Our countries interest in finding alternative forms of energy is easy to see. “Windmills and solar panel arrays have become symbols of America’s growing interest in alternative energy”. States Matthew Wald, an accomplished writer for The New York Times. Wald began writing for The Times in 1976, and since then, has written several articles on alternative forms of energy. Mr. Wald is entirely right, about solar energy. In the past few years; America’s interest in the use of solar energy and others has grown greatly. However, while it may be the favorite among many Americans, there are many flaws and disadvantages that come along with using solar power. The greatest and most pressing of concerns revolving around the use of solar energy has to do with the amount of money it will cost to get started, and keep running. The sun has the capabilities to provide us with a certain amount of energy, enough to run a house, a business, or even an entire community for a few hours a day. However, compared to the fuel that we rely on now, solar energy is an incredibly expensive form of energy to harness. Before adding the prices for installation, a battery bank, and inverter, the price of a solar panel to provide some energy for one house can cost around $16,000 (www.Howstuffworks.com). This is a problem under any circumstances, but in our economy, now may not be the best time to make that critical initial investment. The financial burden solar power causes has a large number of factors. The majority of these problems center on the technology, the limitations set by our government, and our own fear of change. Despite having been around for at least thirty years, the idea of solar power is still a relatively new concept. As a result, there is very minimal competition for the companies that manufacture the technology necessary. This is only one of many reasons affecting the high price of using solar energy. Tim Hunt, of Renewable Energy World.com, argues that the rules of competition apply to this circumstance, as it does any. “Competition in markets can lead to many benefits for consumers. Conversely, monopolies are considered, almost by definition, to be bad for consumers” (Hunt). As of now, solar energy is a low competition market, and this is affecting us, the consumer, greatly. The companies that do produce this technology know that they can take advantage of this fact, and charge the public a premium price for their solar energy systems. A lack of competition is severely hindering the rate people are adopting solar power as a legitimate alternative. However, this cannot be the case for long; “A battle among competing approaches is expected over the next few years.” (Wald). In any industry, there is competition, and as more people begin to realize the benefits of solar power, the competition to sell the technology will increase. With that, the price will decrease dramatically. Not enough however, that every family in America will be able to afford to purchase and install a set of photovoltaic cells, on their rooftop. Another factor that continually causes the prices of using solar energy to skyrocket is our government. It is a well-known fact that the cheapest way to accomplish most anything, is to do it yourself. The problem lies in that our government does not currently allow house owners to install solar energy systems themselves. As a result, those who do want to take advantage of solar energy must pay a premium fee to have the system installed properly. It costs between three and nine thousand dollars to install a solar energy system (Solarpowerauthority.com). That, added to the amount it costs to buy one, can amount to a rather large fortune. For many possible buyers, paying to have these systems installed is the deal breaker here. One last important topic that doesn’t improve financial matters is the fact that the resources we depend on for energy now are far less expensive than utilizing solar power: “Wind and solar power are generally more expensive than the fossil fuels they are meant to supplant” (Wald). According to Mr. Wald’s article, by 2015, energy from the sun could cost three times the amount of coal. At this time last year; the price of coal was nearly ninety dollars a ton (USA Today). This estimated price to utilize solar power is not including buying the equipment necessary, or the cost of installing the system. Making separation from coal worse is that fact that we have depended on this energy for so long. “We have become addicted to fossil fuel energy concentrates the way a child becomes addicted to candy” (jc-solarhomes.com). Coal has certainly proven itself to be a very effective resource for providing energy. However, eventually, our nation will have to find an alternative to rely on as much as we have on coal. While the advantages to using solar power are great, both the environmental and financial costs are just not worth the power the sun can provide. Knowing this fact, it can be hard choosing to use the more expensive alternative. What makes it even more difficult is that we have depended on oil and coal as a source of energy for many years. The hardest thing to do, and the most important, will be giving up on oil and coal, and embracing the future of energy that continues to loom closer than we think. There is one way that solar power may be able to increase its limited power. Multiple organizations, led by NASA, are investigating getting solar power from outer space. However, this solution is far off in the future. Recently, The Economist, a magazine focusing on important matters in the world, wrote an article on this alternative. In the article (Pg. 16-18, Dec 08.), the process in which solar power can be achieved from space is explained. Two mirrors will be positioned in space to catch sunlight, where a pair of secondary mirrors focuses that energy onto the photovoltaic panels. Once reflected, the photovoltaic panels turn the sunlight into electricity, starting a microwave transmission antenna, on the ground; a receiver captures that energy and converts it to electricity. According to the article, these solar cells would be illuminated all day, every day, no matter what. The Economist states that these particular solar panels will create up to five times more electricity than regular photovoltaic cells. Also praising the benefits of space solar power is the Peak Energy website: “The sun is more intense in earth orbit than on the surface of the Earth.” Because the sun is more intense in space than anywhere else, it provides much more energy. However, like most of these alternatives, there is a major financial problem involved. According to the National Security Space Office, it would cost between eight and ten billion dollars to get this idea off the ground. Along with that, it would also take the efforts of several national offices, including NASA, and the Federal Aviation Administration, an organization that monitors the use of airspace, to make this happen. However, if the scientists involved can find a way to make this work, it would mean a lot of progress in finding our next major source of energy: “Space solar power can provide large quantities of energy to each and every person on Earth with very little environmental impact” (National Space Society). The reason to use it is there, now, our country is in desperate need of the resources and for technology to catch up with our plans. While the benefits are great, and obtaining solar power from space could be a very effective alternative, The Economist states that space solar power is still an idea many years ahead of its time. Despite this fact, the article does find a way to end on a rather optimistic note: “If today’s gloomy economic conditions make SSP seem even more outlandish, it is worth remembering that America’s commercial-aviation industry was born in the midst of the Depression”. It will take many years, millions of dollars, and the resources of multiple different scientists to make this a reality, but when you think about what our country has already accomplished, the idea of space solar power does not seem so far off. However, as The Economists article points out: “What you believe matters less then what you actually do”. Space Solar Power shows promise in its early stages, but it will take more then that to make it a reality. The controversies surrounding the decision to use solar power are astounding. There are financial, governmental, and problems of the environment to worry about. All of these contribute to the bottom line. Our country cannot rely entirely on solar power. At first glance, we imagine the sun can provide us with an endless amount of energy. However, there is a limit to the amount of energy the sun can provide us with per day: “Solar installations produce electricity only about 10 hours a day maximum and the price is a lot higher than almost any other form of electricity” (Wald). Utilizing that power would mean that no matter what, we would have a certain amount of power provided for us each day. However, the amount of energy the sun can provide us with is not enough to run all of our lives off of; especially with the amount of electricity we use every day. According to Energy Refuge, an environmental site, the average solar power system can run a typical 1,500 foot homes lights for six hours a day, its computer for three hours a day, and its washing machine for one load a day. This is enough energy to certainly help, but not enough for anyone to rely on as a sole source of energy. The problems go further than even that; the sun is of course an unpredictable variable. Relying on this alternative, some parts of the world may not receive as much energy as others. Also, there is no true guarantee that the sun will shine everyday. A simple cloudy day in a low light area could cause a rather large energy crisis if we are caught off guard, and without a sufficient amount of sunlight saved within the energy system. An entirely different, but still important controversy has to do with our environment, and how much space is left in our world. Fellow Times writer Peter Maloney has commented on this: “Solar power projects are running into mounting opposition and not from hard-nosed, coal-fired naysayers, but from environmentalists”. Solar power is a massive process, and because of this fact, it tends to take up more space than it should. Simplified, the process is one in which photovoltaic cells are placed in areas that receive large amounts of sunlight. These cells, (also known as solar panels) collect sunlight and store it to be converted into energy by boiling water underneath the cells. The boiling water then creates energy (Howstuffworks.com). While it may seem like a relatively simple process, it takes a lot of time, money, and in this case, space. To find out just how much space, a group of concerned scientists did the math to find out just how much space solar power takes up: “Assuming the average US solar resource of 1800 kW-hr/m2-year [how much the sun shines] and a PV system efficiency of 10%, one square meter of PV would generate about 180 kW-hours per year. Therefore you would need about 48.7 million square meters or 48.7 square kilometers. That’s 18.8 square miles” (New Science Blogs.com). While this is only an estimate, it is still a stunning number showing just how much land one solar power plant can take up. Many more solar power plants like this are being planned across the country, and the result, could use up hundreds, possibly thousands of miles of land. The problem arises in the fact that our world is constantly shrinking. The acres of unexplored land that defined our country’s early days are a thing of the past, and our generation has been set to the task of working with what we have left. As if one problem with the environment weren’t enough opposition to solar power, according to the times, space is not the only environmental problem solar power is facing. The issue of the environment is particularly prominent in Southern California, where large solar panels are being built in order to harness solar energy. Maloney’s article for the times explores this situation further: “One of the reasons why environmentalists are so concerned about solar installations in California is that there is a new law in that state that calls for 20% of its energy to come from renewable resources by 2010” (PeachyGreen.com). While the states intentions to take advantage of alternative sources of energy are great, the strict time limit has Californians rushing to find the space necessary. Much of the space planned to be utilized is home to the local wildlife. The problem with all these solar panels is that they are being built where the sun is at its brightest, but also, where many of the state’s native animals live: “It is also home to the Mojave ground squirrel, the desert tortoise and the burrowing owl, and to human residents who describe themselves as desert survivors and who are unhappy about the proliferation of solar projects planned for their home turf” (Maloney). If our country were to build these large solar plants as planned, we would be evicting these animals from their homes, many of which have been around since long before us. Given the wrong actions, these animals’ habitats can be destroyed: “Remote solar arrays destroy all native resources on site, and have indirect and irreversible impacts on surrounding wildernesses,” states Mr. Terry Ferwin, the chairmen of The Sierra Clubs California chapter, an organization dedicated to helping the environment. If built in the wrong place, the large amounts of solar power structures could have a major effect on our environment. If taken far enough, this problem could even interrupt native animal’s migration routes and ways of life (Maloney). If we must build solar panels, our country should be concerned about where they are being built. Not doing so will disrupt the lives of millions of living creatures. With the current economic recession, and our environment in trouble, our nation is not quite ready to take advantage of solar power. However, even after the recession has ended, solar power does not produce enough energy to justify the cost of using it as our main source of energy. Many believe that solar power is the future of energy. Sadly, this is not the case. While the advantages to using solar power are great, as can be seen, both the environmental and financial costs are just not worth the power the sun can provide. While solar energy may not be the energy of the future, it can still be used to make a contribution to our world’s energy supply: “We will continue to rely on a variety of sources, with the mix depending on price and environmental rules” (Wald). Much like oil and coal have been able to co-exist, so too, can solar power and the true energy of the future. The need to find that energy is still great, and while it will be a few years before coal and gas fuels run out, it certainly does help that we plan for the future. According to world meters, a website known for its up to date statistics, there are currently 190,207,216,515-kilowatt hours of sunlight striking the earth today. Our nation is far from being able to take advantage and rely entirely on the energy being provided by the sun. However, solar power can certainly detract from the bottom line. Switching to alternative forms of energy is a decision that millions of people can benefit from, now and for many years to come, and the opportunity to start benefiting is quickly approaching. Right now, it is just a matter of finding the right alternative to put our trust in. Finding that alternative is a process, which has been jumpstarted with the election of President Obama. A key stance on his road to the White House was his concern of finding alternative energy. Just in time for earth day, the president has announced plans to create the nations first program letting offshore projects generate electricity from both the wind and the ocean (Yahoo News). As I write this, the country has once again plunged into the development and exploration of these alternatives. According to our countries president, what is being called “A new era of energy exploration in America” is unfolding before us. With that, a glimmer of hope continues to make its presence known. Like solar power, each of these alternatives have issues and controversies all their own, some of them are being worked on, some are unknown as of yet. However, we will never know about them if we do not extend our knowledge and test the boundaries of each alternative. The key is to know each alternatives flaws, and do whatever we can to fix them.

Day 1- A team of five.  Betsy, Javier, Evan, Jay, and someone named Pete who we are now beginning to question the existence of.  During the first meeting, we talked about ideas for our own variation of Clue.  Many ideas were thrown around the first day, including ideas for a graveyard, a travel through television, a car themed board game, and finally, a version of Clue occurring at a mall.  After we settled on the idea of a mall, we started talking about characters, locations, and weapons.  After that, we discussed how different, or alike our game of Clue should be.  As a group, we decided to make it more traditional.  For Day 2 we hope to have these decided on.

Day 2- The variables of this game are finalized.  Everything is starting to come together.

Location: MALL
PLACES/Spaces–
Food court
Build-a-bear
Pet Store
Dicks Sporting Goods
Parking Lot
Empty Lot where Circut City used to be
Rainforest Cafe

Weapons—
Frying Pan
Bear Heart
Car
Bar
Gun or Gulf clubs
Spork
Leash

Players–
Mall Security
Teenage shoplifter
Emo Kid
Santa Clause impersonator
Tan-Abercrombie and Fitch Model with an XS shirt on
Goth Kid w. Mommy issues
Fast Food Junkie
Parapeligic
The KING (from BK)
Chick with the UGG boots

The day ended with 7 locations, 7 weapons, and ten characters.  We decided we need to eliminate or combine some people to make this game work.  This task would have to wait for Day 3.

Day 3-Because we only had a few people, today was housekeeping day for us.  We looked at what else we had to do (a lot!) and talked about whose talents were suited to do what.  Eventually, we decided that because he is an art major, Javier would make the all important game board.  Both Jay and Betsey volunteered to take notes, and record it in Inform 7.  We also decided who would make the cards for the game.  After discussing the game more, we then discussed a time and place to meet up and play the actual game. 

We didn’t get much done today, hopefully we will be able to make up for it on Day 4.

Day 4-Today we finally got to play clue.  Up until now, none of us were quite sure of what we were up against.  The majority of our group watched, while Betsy played the game against people from the other groups.  The game was interesting, and certainly unique.  A game of both chance and skill, that plays out much like a murder mystery theater play.  Having seen it, the group was that much better prepared to recreate it.  Day 5 would be the day everything comes together.

Day 5- Still no Pete, a conclusion has been drawn that he has withdrawn from the course, and that we should move on without him.  Today, our list of characters were looked at again and finalized.  Most of our original ideas made it to the final cut.  The kid, and the paraplegic were combined into one character; we also got rid of the girl.  It is an incredibly varied group of oddities, however, they all somehow fit into the theme of a local mall.  Once we had decided on characters, we discussed the pieces to the game, and how they would work.  Evan proposed the idea of having miniature cardboard cutouts represent the playable characters.  Jay proposed the idea of posting googled pictures of the characters on the cardboard, adding personality.  After our characters decided on, we found pictures appropriate to the characters.

Final list of characters

The Burger King

Santa Claus Impersonator

Fast Food Junkie

Parapeligic

Abercrombie and Fitch Model

Shoplifter

Security Guard

 All have the opportunity to commit this crime, it is the players job to find out who done it.

GDD Template

New Media Communication

1. Title-Mall Mystery Madness

Section I—Game Overview

1.  Concept-Our game is based on a famous Parker Brothers game, Clue.  This game isn’t so much an entirely different game, as it is a re-imagining of the timeless classic.

2.  Feature Set- While we remain faithful to the original game play.  The Ballers of New Media’s version of Clue takes place in a mall, with a quirky cast of characters. 

3.  Genre- This game belongs in the mystery genre, but it has some elements of strategy, and chance. 

4.  Target Audience-There are some elements of this game that may be seen as inappropriate to many a parent.  Being that the game deals with the murder, and the characters are meant for a more mature audience, this certainly is not considered a family game.  Ages 10 and up

1. Provide lots of detail about rules in this section].  As with any game, this game has rules.

To form a consistent pace, each player must guess one person, one place, and one weapon whenever they land in a room. 

1. 1. Scope and Required Assets-  There are several pieces needed to play this game.

Weapons-A variety of weapon replicas, including-

Frying Pan
Bear Heart
Car
Bar
Golf clubs
A spork
Leash

Also included are the pieces used to play the game, cards featuring the suspects, places in the game, and the weapons, and a die.

Section II—Game Play and Mechanics

1.  Gameplay- When the game begins, three cards are randomly chosen from a three piles.  During a players turn, a die is rolled.  When a player lands in a room, that player is allowed to guess who did it, where, and with what.  If any other player has one of the cards mentioned, they show the player that card.  Each player keeps a list of suspects, crossing them off as they find out more about the crime.  As the game ends, players become closer and closer to getting the right answer.  When someone guesses all three cards correctly, that person wins. 

Food court
Build-a-bear
Pet Store
Dicks Sporting Goods
Parking Lot
Empty Lot where Circut City used to be
Rainforest Cafe

Section III—Story, Setting, and Character

1. Story and Narrative

 Murder at the Mall!!!

1. 1. We eventually agreed that there was no better place than what we selected to get a great, diverse group of loony culprits.
   2. Characters

The characters are the patrons and employees of the mall, all of them had the chance and the means to commit the crime.

The Burger King-The terrifying Burger King.  This silent mascot has terrorized children since the 1970’s.  Recently seen in a series of odd commercials for his favorite restaurant. 

Fast Food Junkie- Frequently seen hanging around with The Burger King.  Perhaps they are in cohorts with each other?  When he is not with the Burger King, he can normally be found in The Rainforest Café.

Parapeligic-Somewhat depressed, but still enjoying life and doing whatever he wants.  He spends much of his time at the pet store in the mall, the employees are concerned he has the intent to someday steal one of the puppies in the store. 

Abercrombie and Fitch Model- He owns a shirt, but for some reason never wears it.  This character spends much of his time in the oddest of places, the malls Build a Bear store. 

Shoplifter- He hasn’t been caught quite yet, but everyone knows of his crimes.  He spends most of his time in the dicks sporting goods store. 

Security Guard- The malls finest.  The Security Guard spends his life patrolling the mall, making sure that everything runs smoothly, though given what just happened, he really doesn’t do a very good job of it.  He spends much of his time in the malls parking lot.

Next movies to see, Star Trek next week, UP a little after that, and Harry Potter in mid July. 

Dont want to sound like a geek or anything, but all three should be pretty awesome/epic.

This piece is about an effort to set up photovoltaic cells in space.  This is an idea that has beed around for a while, in various works of science fiction.  Just now, scientists are beginning to realize that it can be a reality. 

There is one way that solar power may be able to increase its limited power.  However, this solution is far into the future.  Multiple organizations are investigating getting solar power from outer space.  Recently, The Economist wrote an article on this alternative.  The process is relatively simple.  Two mirrors will be positioned in space to catch sunlight, where a pair of secondary mirrors focuses that energy onto the photovoltaic panels.  Once reflected, the photovoltaic panels turn the sunlight into electricity, starting a microwave transmission antenna, on the ground, a receiver captures that energy and converts it to electricity.  “These solar cells would be illuminated all day, everyday, no matter what.  Because of this, The Economist states that these particular solar panels will create up over five times more electricity.  However, like most of these alternatives, there is a major finance problem.  According to the National Security Space Office, it would cost between eight and ten billion dollars to get this off the ground.  Along with that, it would take the efforts of several national offices. 

Here is the essay I have been working on that evolved from a hypertext.  It is only about half way done. 

Jay Zabel

English Comp. II

Ms.

April 5^th 2009

The Energy of the Future-Soon, But Not Now

As far as energy supply is concerned, our nation has reached a stand still.  While we may be all set for the next few years, the resources we rely on to provide us with safe, reliable energy are quickly running out.  The time has come for us, particularly the younger generation, to find our nations next major energy source.  For this research paper I have meticulously investigated the different opinions of the experts on this topic.  Through my research, I have found that solar energy is our best bet to provide us with the energy of tomorrow.  Like any alternative, it does have its drawbacks and flaws, and there are many varied opinions on the topic.  However, in the past few years, solar power has proven to be the safest and most reliable resource to provide us with a seemingly unending supply of energy.  Because it is an expensive process, the middle of an economic recession may not be the best time to adopt solar energy.  However, that doesn’t mean our country can’t consider this alternative, and plan for the future.  Through this research paper, I hope to prove that solar power is not the best choice today, but how in the near future, it will be.   

Solar power is not an entirely new concept.  For years, businesses, families, and entire communities have been using the power of the sun to keep running.  For the most part, the sun has proven to be pretty reliable for these brave pioneers who placed their trust in the elements.  The benefits to solar energy are numerous and great.  However, there are just as many concerns and disadvantages.

The greatest and most pressing of these concerns has to do with the finances involved.  The sun has the capabilities, and has proven to be a very reliable energy source.  However, compared to the fuel that we rely on now, solar energy is an incredibly expensive form of energy to harness.  This is a problem under any circumstances, but in our economy, now may not be the best time to make that critical initial investment.  The financial burden solar power causes has a large amount of factors.  The majority of these centers on the technology, problems with the government, and our own fear of change. 

            Despite having been around for at least twenty years, the idea of solar power is still a relatively new one.  As a result, there is very minimal competition for the companies that manufacture the technology necessary.  The companies that do produce this technology know that they can charge a greater price then they should be.  A lack of competition is severely hindering the rate people are adopting solar power as a legitimate alternative.  However, this cannot be the case for long.  In any industry, there is competition, and as more people begin to realize the benefits of solar power, the competition to sell it will increase.  With that, the price will decrease dramatically.     

            Another factor that continually causes the prices of using solar energy to skyrocket is our government.  It is an established fact that the cheapest way to accomplish most anything, is to do it yourself.  The problem lies in that our government will not allow house owners to install solar energy systems themselves.  As a result, those who do want to take advantage of solar energy must pay a premium fee to have the system installed properly.   It costs between three and nine thousand dollars to install a solar power energy system that, added to the amount it costs to buy one, can amount to a small fortune.  Like the problems tied to a lack of competition, this too can be solved.  Eventually, the government will realize that this solar power is the way of the future, and will hopefully become more lenient on those trying to embrace it.   

            One last important topic that doesn’t improve matters is the fact that the resources we depend on for energy now are far less expensive than utilizing solar power.  “Wind and solar power are generally more expensive than the fossil fuels they are meant to supplant”, Says Matthew Wald, a journalist for The New York Times.  Mr. Wald is right, because of the constantly fluctuating prices of coal we can never be quite sure, however, under analysis; the price of coal very seldom surpasses the price of using solar power.  Knowing this fact, it can be hard to opt to use the more expensive alternative.  What makes it even more difficult is the fact that we have depended on oil and coal as a source of energy for many years.  The hardest thing to do, and the most important, will be giving up on these energy sources, and embracing the future of energy that continues to loom closer and closer.       

According to worldometers, a website dedicated to providing up to date statistics, there are 153,710,850,822 kilowatt hours of solar energy striking the earth at this very moment, and that number is rising constantly.  Our country has found a way to harness the power, and if we utilized it, our current energy crisis would be solved forever. While installing a solar energy system may be a hassle now, many of the factors contributing to the financial burden are simply variables that promise to subside eventually.  Ultimately, this will make it easier for consumers to afford this critical change. A few years from now, when the recession has ended, and we can handle the financial struggle better, the utilization of solar power may prove to be the right alternative.  What needs to be realized here however is that eventually, no matter the price, we will need to adjust to a new form of energy.  We may as well start as soon as financially possible.  Lucky for us, the planning can start today.  Through careful planning, our country can and will be ready to utilize solar power as soon as possible.  With the current economic recession, our nation can not afford to make the crucial switch to the usage of solar energy.  However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t plan for the future.  The technology is available; it is just a matter of the public getting behind it, and the doubters behind it, but most of all, having the money to do so.