Energy Sources: Web Sites

Anyone can put anything on the Internet. You need to evaluate each web page you look at.

• Responsibility: Who is responsible for the web site?

   

  • URLs: What is the address (Uniform Resource Locator) of the site?

     

    • Top Level Domains: What is the domain (.edu, .org, .gov, etc.)?

       

    • .EDU: If it's a .edu page, is it a personal page or an official page?

       

  • About Us: What information can you find about the organization or authors?

     

• Authority: How do you know that the authors know what they're talking about? What credentials do they have?

   

• Purpose: What are the authors trying to do?

   

• Documentation: Are there references, notes, bibliographies, or other citations of information sources?

   

• Updates: When was the information on the site posted? When was the last time it was checked?

   

After considering these factors, if you're still not sure, ask a professor or a librarian.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is an applied energy laboratory and uses a comprehensive, integrated, and deliberate approach to clean energy research and development. This approach might best be called "deliberate science". This video shows how NREL is "deliberately focused toward helping the nation reach its clean energy goals."