In an article in Scientific American, Zweibel, Mason and Fthenakis (2008) describe the problems of using fossil fuels to meet the nation's energy needs. The authors provide a plan for switching to the use of solar power by the year 2050. The article includes information on the technologies, infrastructure and financial incentives that are needed for converting to solar power.
A key point in the article is the importance of increasing public awareness. According to Zweibel, et al. (2008), people need to learn about the benefits of using solar power as an alternative to fossil fuels (p. 73). Once Americans understand the value of solar power in overcoming such problems as pollution and dependence on foreign oil, they will become more willing to participate in making the switch. As claimed in the article, visionary thinkers have a role to play in helping American citizens, as well as their leaders, become aware of the potentials of solar energy (Zweibel, et al., 2008, p. 73).
In doing this assignment, the most challenging thing that I found in paraphrasing the key idea was figuring out how to change the authors' words into my own words. It was also challenging to try to capture all of the main ideas presented by the authors. The most challenging thing about using APA citation was learning how to use it in the first place. There are various details involved in using the APA format to cite magazine articles and multiple authors. I had to read the information carefully in order to be sure that I cited the material correctly.
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