Climate Change: Final Post

              Throughout the semester, my group covered the current hot issue which is climate change and focused specifically on biomass fuels. We did a research on whether biomass fuels such as wood pellets are really a ‘green’ energy and if wood pellets are the next best green alternative energy. During the research process, we discovered that wood pellets are not the ‘green’ source of energy it claimed to be. Wood pellets, which are made through a process that turns waste from wood manufacturing (for flooring, construction and other purposes) into tiny compressed pieces.  These small pieces, or pellets, are then, in turn, burned as fuel to create energy (either heat or electricity). At first glance, wood pellets seem to be a more environment friendly energy source than fossil fuels such as coal. However, wood pellets actually caused more harms than benefits to the environment because of its production and transportation processes involved. In our last blog post, we concluded that the world’s communities need to reconsider about the usage of wood pellets globally and whether it is worth for the technology and resources devoted to this not-so-green energy. Besides that, we also think that the usage of wood pellets should stay domestic and be regulated to prevent deforestation and further harm to the environment.

            After we decided the topic for our blog posts, we divided the work within ourselves so that every member got to work on areas they are best at. For example, Zarine who has more knowledge on biomass fuels specializes in doing research about what are wood pellets and how wood pellets function as source of energy and also the production of wood pellets. Anne and Jody organize and compile the information we collected while also try to analyze and applied the theory we learned in class into the blog entries. I was assigned the task to do the introduction and summary of the topic which were wood pellets and the effects of wood pellets on environment. I did my research on the topic by looking at several articles such as news articles from The Guardian and The New York Times and also scholarly articles by scientists who did and published their research on the impact of wood pellets on environment. Besides that, I also gathered information from government organization’s website such as United States Environmental Protection Agency about effects and causes of climate change. I think that working as a group had influenced my approach by influencing me to become more open minded and accepting towards other people’s ideas. For example, my approach in a group changed and became more acceptance of the difference of ideas between group members. I recognized that my own ideas were not necessarily the best and I need to listen to other people’s opinions too.

            I learned many things from doing this project throughout the semester. For example, I learned more information about biomass fuels especially wood pellets. I had no knowledge about wood pellets previously and now I know more about it through this project. I learned to be more environmental conscious and be more aware of the energy we use in daily life. Moreover, I gained the skills of doing research through this project. For instance, I learned to look and analyze critically at the articles such as where did it came from and who was the author for the articles. I also learned to cite the sources correctly using APA format and how to apply the theories we learned in class into this project. Working in a group had also taught me many things such as the importance of cooperation between people. Cooperation between group members is important to ensure that the blog posts are up on time and also fulfilled the requirements for the posts. Besides that, I also learned how to communicate effectively with my group members and how to present my own ideas to them. The most important thing that I gained from this project is to look and learn from other people’s strengths and also try to accept their weaknesses.