Why Not Water? Investing in Fuel Cell Technology

By Mr. Hodgson

Nuclear disaster in Japan. A massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.The impact of global warming on animals and habitats. Rising gas and oilprices. Recent newspaper headlines indicate a growing concern with issuesaround energy sources and the environment as the world’s governments andpeople attempt to figure out how to address these problems. While somealternative energy ideas are gaining ground – such as solar panels for homes,hybrid-electric engines for cars and even wind farms for electricity – therehas not been enough progress to make significant change. One idea that isgaining interest among researchers and scientists is the process of usingwater as a way to create energy. Hydrogen fuel cell technology has greatpotential for changing the way we power the planet while also cutting downon our impact on climate change.Hydrogen fuel cell technology, which taps into the molecular structureof water to create power, is not a new concept. In fact, the idea of the fuelcell concept was first introduced to the world in the 1800s by a Britishscientist named Sir William Grove. Although Grove was able to show thatenergy could be produced by splitting apart the atoms of water, the conceptdid not gain any ground because the combustible engine had taken over theworld. Fuel cell technology works in a variety of ways, but the most basicelement is that it acts somewhat like a traditional battery, but it is moreefficient and more powerful. The fuel cell device constantly creates power,as opposed to batteries, which store energy for later use. Essentially, themost popular kind of fuel cell uses the hydrogen taken from water (which istwo parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, or H2O) and “ionizes” thehydrogen, which gives is an electrical charge. The fuel cell then taps intothat charge to generate a small amount of power. The best part about the fuelcell idea is that there is no pollution given off from the conversion processand if water can be used as the main supply of power, there is potentially anunlimited amount of resources.When it comes to concerns over the fragile state of our planet andsolving our world’s growing energy needs, the use of fuel cells may be oneof the answers. Imagine if we could completely move away from fossil fuelssuch as gas and oil? We would no longer have to be digging deep into planet,running the risk of accidents. We would no longer need to worry about thecost of gasoline to run our cars and trucks. And the reduction of carbon

Comment:

I am using these recentevents to capture the attention of thereader. I am purposely being verydramatic.

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Here, I am acknowledgingthat there are other alternatives. But Iwant to make sure the reader knows mytopic is the “best” alternative.

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This is my topic sentence orthesis statement for my essay. Notice howit comes at the end of my introductoryparagraph. This allows me to then leadthe reader into the body of my essay.

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I give a little historicalbackground to my topic

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I simplified the process herefor our audience. The process is actuallymore complicated than this.

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Here, I try to use “loadedwords” to generate support. I want thereader to feel like our planet is in bigtrouble.