Mr. Mime used Reflect!

I rather like the direction I ended up going with my research paper. Originally I started out with a public policy paper focused on implementing alternative energy in the United States, which is ultimately what I ended up with, but it ended up being much more specific and directed than I originally expected. I think by focusing on oil specifically, rather than “fossil fuels”, really helped my proposal seem more realistic. It would be nearly impossible for a country to stop using fossil fuels completely all in one swift move, but what I think my argument does well is propose solutions that could actually happen and possibly work if more research were put into them. I also think the decision to relate oil spills with a need for energy change was a good move. If this paper was really attempting to persuade people, I think having drawn that connection would attract an audience that may not be concerned with or believe in global warming, which is usually the driving force behind proponents of clean energy. Something I think I could have done better would have been including hybrid/plug-in cars in my proposal. As it stands, the paper only addresses how new energy could be created to replace oil. However, oil use is largely attributed to transportation purposes, and most vehicles on the road today require gas to operate. If I went back and included a section of my proposal where, for example, subsidies were provided to car dealerships to lower the costs of hybrid/plug-ins, and tariffs were placed on gas and poor mileage imported vehicles, then the overall argument would have been stronger and more realistic. I also think I did well in trying to use a balanced mix of my own ideas, while still incorporating plenty of data and statistics from outside sources to back them up. I don’t feel like the paper comes off as relying heavily on other sources.