Renewable Energy Technologies, by Zack Benedetto

4 Responses to "Renewable Energy Technologies, by Zack Benedetto"

Noah Steinberg says:

May 9, 2014 at 5:11 pm

I think there was a very clear and enjoyable flow to this slidecast. While today’s world is so concerned with smoke stacks and sending pollutants into the environment, I think it’s really interesting how not too long ago, they were the clear sign of progress in the Industrial Revolution. It really emphasizes the fact that the values/culture determine our view of technologies and can easily change over time. I enjoyed how this slidecast emphasized Kransburg’s law on how technologies are neither good, bad, nor neutral. There are significant benefits to all energy sources. I believe as technology advances, renewable energies such as solar energy will be more efficient and therefore increase in popularity as the primary energy source. I appreciated the clear audio and the overall argument presenting support for not one side of the argument of renewable technology and overall enjoyed this slidecast.

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Eric Martocci says:

May 10, 2014 at 8:00 pm

This presentation gave a nice overview or renewable energies. While doing the research for my presentation on solar energy I looked at a lot of material on renewables. It is clear that we need to get away from our dependence on fossil fuels and advance the abilities of renewables. I don’t know if there is any one resource that will be able to supply the worlds need because they all seem to have some kind of constraint. Solar is only practical where there is a lot of sun, hydro needs a water source, and wind is limited to certain locations. I believe the future will need a combination of all of these technologies as a replacement for fossil fuels.
Societies view on what is good or bad will have an effect on what technologies win out. People don’t want to see giant wind farms out there windows, or live below the dams needed for hydroelectric. Others don’t want the huge arrays of solar panels needed to generate electricity. The fact of which technology is actually better or more efficient may not matter. The presentation had a nice flow to it and the audio was very good. I really enjoyed it.

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Mike Fogarty says:

May 12, 2014 at 11:06 am

I found your slidecast to be very interesting. I especially like how you showed some historical context on what happened during the 1970s and how the EPA was created as a result of conflicts that were occurring in the Middle East at the time. I commend you for being able to talk about the different forms of renewable energy in detail in within the 20-slide format. It’s interesting that homes that have solar panels installed, if they collect more energy than they use, they are able to sell to back to the grid. In addition, I had no idea that scientists were trying to create biofuel from the mid-1900s. Also, I really enjoyed the slide about the algae building and how that could be a possible new form of an LEED certified building that could be used more often. In addition to the practical function of providing shade and creating energy, it gives the building a unique look. In terms of the execution of your slidecast, I thought your pictures, in terms of your script, were very good. Your voice was clear and concise, and there was no crackling. Overall, I really liked your slidecast a lot. Good job.

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Brandon Smith says:

May 12, 2014 at 11:41 am

Half of my Introduction to Engineering class last semester was about fossil fuels and renewable energy, but I think I learned just as much from your slidecast as I did from that class. I was very impressed. I didn’t know that algae could be used as a natural solar panel. You talked a lot about Kranzberg’s first law, but all the references to it were clearly explained and relevant.
One of the only things that could have been improved was the topic transition. Not every slide felt like it flowed naturally from the preceding one, but this is very minor. With only 20 seconds per slide, and only 20 slides, you didn’t really have time to smoothly transition and fit in all the information you did. Overall, I’d say you did an excellent job with this. I certainly enjoyed it.

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