SolarWorld’s approach to alternative sources of power

Final Individual Topic Memo For the final memo, you will need to pick a topic that you are interested in (and that has not been picked by anyone else in the class) and investigate a variety of aspects of your chosen topic by yourself. Once you have a topic, you can let your TA know and he will reserve that topic for you and prevent others from choosing it. Please choose a specific topic rather than a general area of interest (e.g. cap wind project as opposed to renewable energy). It should involve a human/environment issue or problem, and be something you are interested in learning more about. You will need to perform some individual research on the topic to answer the relevant questions outlined below. Please cite sources as and when you use them. Pay attention not to plagiarize the work of others. You must finalize your topic by with the TA. The rough outline of your essay is due on 21-Oct. This should include the nature of the human-environment action, what aspects of this problem you are planning to explore, recommendations of further actions or policies, and a sketch of the benefits and costs of the recommendations proposed. This rough outline should only be one page long and will allow us to know if you are on track for the final memo. It will also help you to make sure any big questions about your research can be answered early on. The rough outline is worth 5% of the total 15% assigned to this assignment. You will need to turn in a hard copy of your final individual memo on 30-Nov as well as an electronic copy on OnCourse via Turnitin. Your memo should answer the following questions: – What is the nature of the human-environment interaction? – Who are the stakeholders involved? – What should be done, and why? – What are the benefits and costs of implementing a policy change? – What are the repercussions? – How are the benefits and costs spread among the stakeholders (think through from both sides of the issue on this, benefits for one stakeholder may incur costs for another)? – Will the expected outcome produce the desired results? – If not, are there other policy changes that would lead to more optimal outcomes? You will be addressing your memo to a policy maker to implement your proposed change. You should format your memo using 1.5 line spacing, 12 point font. You will have 4 pages of space to address your chosen topic. Please look at the resource packet in OnCourse concerning how to use the IU library for research and how to write well. Please have a look at this presentation to learn more about what you should think about while creating your solution to the problem. Memo presentation: http://www.ewc-popcomm.org//pdf/8_Writing_a_Decision_Memo_and_Giving_a_Policy_Briefing/Policy_memorandum.pdf You can also format your memo based on resources found here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/590/1/ Additionally, Google can be a useful tool for finding examples of environmental policy memos concerning structure, content, and formatting. The actual memo accounts for 10% of your overall grade and I would start working on it sooner rather than later. You will be graded on the following aspects: 1. Content of your memo 2. Are all the questions answered 3. How thoroughly you answer each of the questions 4. Whether you explain the assumptions of your chosen policy recommendation 5. Whether you have explained the benefits and costs of the recommendations to different stakeholders 6. How well your memo is written (no spelling and grammatical errors) 7. Format of the memo If you have questions about topic choice or want to explore ideas please come by to talk to the instructor or TA. Have fun. Here are those links: Memo presentation: http://www.ewc-popcomm.org//pdf/8_Writing_a_Decision_Memo_and_Giving_a_Policy_Briefing/Policy_memorandum.pdf http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/590/1/ https://www2.humboldt.edu/engineering/resources/technical-communication/memos Here is the link to SolarWorld's website http://www.solarworld-usa.com/why-choose-solarworld/bankability