thesis statement for energy crisis

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Understanding the Importance of an Energy Crisis.

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Renewable energy as an alternative to fossil fuel use: a legal framework for advancing low carbon energy transition in nigeria.

Ogechi Judith Njokuji , The University of Western Ontario Follow

Master of Laws

Steyn, Elizabeth A.

2nd Supervisor

Nicholls, Christopher C.

Co-Supervisor

This thesis posits that small-scale renewable electricity is no longer merely an option for Nigeria, but a necessity in order to achieve the desired energy transition. The research also shows how the Nigerian electricity sector can be reformed through three mechanisms namely: decentralization, deregulation and a low carbon foot print. It proposes legal and institutional reforms to cure the intermittent availability problems inherent in renewable energy sources. This is achieved by drawing a comparative lesson from the Ontarian and South Australian electricity models. This thesis adopts a historical, analytical and interdisciplinary approach to conclude that there is need for a mandatory restructured platform which substitutes the national approach to electricity matters for a state-based approach solely based on injecting the prominent renewable energy sources in Nigeria (solar, wind and hydro) into the grid.

Summary for Lay Audience

Electrical energy involves the flow of electrons generated from either renewable or conventional energy sources. Renewable sources include: solar; wind; hydro power; wave; tidal; and geothermal. Conventional energy sources include fossil fuels –oil, natural gas, coal– as well as nuclear power. The Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry utilizes fossil fuels, which are emitting sources, and this has led to serious negative consequences for the environment and the economy.

The three main electricity sector activities are: generation (producing power in generating plants); transmission (the bulk transfer of electricity over long distances from the power station where it was produced, using transmission lines); and distribution (transferring the transmitted electricity from the substation to end users).

This thesis shows how a safe transition can be made in the Nigerian power sector from over dependence on conventional energy generation sources to cleaner sources through the use of smaller grid outlets in underserved and un-served areas. Nigeria does not have nuclear capacity, thus nuclear power does not pose an option. The proposed transition is illustrated through two forms of small-scale electricity generation: grid connected mini grids -attached to the main grid- or off-grid outlets -developed in areas far from the grid.

In developing a unique model for Nigeria, the thesis considered two prominent jurisdictions that have recorded strategic success in the energy sector, namely, Ontario and South Australia. A comparison reveals that adopting a smaller unit perspective addresses the problem of inadequate access to electricity, while also mitigating the environmental problems associated with overdependence on conventional energy sources. It concludes that instead of striving to provide electricity for the entire nation through a single grid, diversification should be encouraged. This can be achieved by incorporating renewable energy sources in the power sector, increasing the resilience of the existing grid through laws that encourage technological investments and establishing five new grids in addition to the existing grid. However, all these outcomes require deep changes to the legal framework presently in force. This thesis therefore analyzes the existing Nigerian legislative framework and proposes several amendments to it that will enable the above practical outcomes to take shape.

Recommended Citation

Njokuji, Ogechi Judith, "Renewable Energy as an Alternative to Fossil Fuel Use: A Legal Framework for Advancing Low Carbon Energy Transition in Nigeria" (2019). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository . 6651. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/6651

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Developing Strong Thesis Statements

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The thesis statement or main claim must be debatable

An argumentative or persuasive piece of writing must begin with a debatable thesis or claim. In other words, the thesis must be something that people could reasonably have differing opinions on. If your thesis is something that is generally agreed upon or accepted as fact then there is no reason to try to persuade people.

Example of a non-debatable thesis statement:

This thesis statement is not debatable. First, the word pollution implies that something is bad or negative in some way. Furthermore, all studies agree that pollution is a problem; they simply disagree on the impact it will have or the scope of the problem. No one could reasonably argue that pollution is unambiguously good.

Example of a debatable thesis statement:

This is an example of a debatable thesis because reasonable people could disagree with it. Some people might think that this is how we should spend the nation's money. Others might feel that we should be spending more money on education. Still others could argue that corporations, not the government, should be paying to limit pollution.

Another example of a debatable thesis statement:

In this example there is also room for disagreement between rational individuals. Some citizens might think focusing on recycling programs rather than private automobiles is the most effective strategy.

The thesis needs to be narrow

Although the scope of your paper might seem overwhelming at the start, generally the narrower the thesis the more effective your argument will be. Your thesis or claim must be supported by evidence. The broader your claim is, the more evidence you will need to convince readers that your position is right.

Example of a thesis that is too broad:

There are several reasons this statement is too broad to argue. First, what is included in the category "drugs"? Is the author talking about illegal drug use, recreational drug use (which might include alcohol and cigarettes), or all uses of medication in general? Second, in what ways are drugs detrimental? Is drug use causing deaths (and is the author equating deaths from overdoses and deaths from drug related violence)? Is drug use changing the moral climate or causing the economy to decline? Finally, what does the author mean by "society"? Is the author referring only to America or to the global population? Does the author make any distinction between the effects on children and adults? There are just too many questions that the claim leaves open. The author could not cover all of the topics listed above, yet the generality of the claim leaves all of these possibilities open to debate.

Example of a narrow or focused thesis:

In this example the topic of drugs has been narrowed down to illegal drugs and the detriment has been narrowed down to gang violence. This is a much more manageable topic.

We could narrow each debatable thesis from the previous examples in the following way:

Narrowed debatable thesis 1:

This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just the amount of money used but also how the money could actually help to control pollution.

Narrowed debatable thesis 2:

This thesis narrows the scope of the argument by specifying not just what the focus of a national anti-pollution campaign should be but also why this is the appropriate focus.

Qualifiers such as " typically ," " generally ," " usually ," or " on average " also help to limit the scope of your claim by allowing for the almost inevitable exception to the rule.

Types of claims

Claims typically fall into one of four categories. Thinking about how you want to approach your topic, or, in other words, what type of claim you want to make, is one way to focus your thesis on one particular aspect of your broader topic.

Claims of fact or definition: These claims argue about what the definition of something is or whether something is a settled fact. Example:

Claims of cause and effect: These claims argue that one person, thing, or event caused another thing or event to occur. Example:

Claims about value: These are claims made of what something is worth, whether we value it or not, how we would rate or categorize something. Example:

Claims about solutions or policies: These are claims that argue for or against a certain solution or policy approach to a problem. Example:

Which type of claim is right for your argument? Which type of thesis or claim you use for your argument will depend on your position and knowledge of the topic, your audience, and the context of your paper. You might want to think about where you imagine your audience to be on this topic and pinpoint where you think the biggest difference in viewpoints might be. Even if you start with one type of claim you probably will be using several within the paper. Regardless of the type of claim you choose to utilize it is key to identify the controversy or debate you are addressing and to define your position early on in the paper.

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On the campus at commencement, eisgruber praises class of 2024 for energy and initiative.

Princeton’s Commencement moved in 2021, from the front lawn of Nassau Hall to its new home in the more spacious surroundings of Princeton Stadium. But the tradition of exiting through FitzRandolph Gate remains: An hour after seniors recessed from the ceremony, the line at the gateway was still about 50 grads deep, with a corresponding crowd of family members outside, ready to snap photos. 

Eudan Mojados ’24, waiting his turn, reflected on the four years that brought him to this point. Enduring the remote-learning fall and socially-distanced spring of freshman year, he said, made him appreciate the experience of learning alongside his classmates. “Having that face-to-face casual conversation, or just your weekly study sessions with your friends, it’s a lot easier,” he said. 

As Princeton conferred 1,297 bachelor’s degrees and 609 graduate degrees on Tuesday, the experience of learning together — and applying what you’ve learned — was a common theme across festivities.

“I hope that as you move forward in your chosen professions that you approach different opinions and perspectives not as a threat — but as an opportunity to learn,” Choudhury said. “And I hope that you, like me, take advantage of the fact that you may achieve even more than you dreamed possible by finding opportunities to work with those with whom you may disagree — even where those disagreements are significant.”

On the more irreverent occasion of Class Day, actor Sam Waterston, best known for his longtime role on TV’s  Law & Order , told the Class of 2024, “It’s kind of crazy that the first thing the world wants to do is to tell you, in a graduation speech, how to think and what to do! I’m not going to try.” Instead, he turned his focus to play, noting that “play’s the thing that makes life interesting.”

At Commencement, valedictorian Genrietta Churbanova ’24 recalled her inquisitive youth, when she asked so many questions that her sixth grade history teacher decided to limit her to three questions per class; she evaded the rule by slipping written questions to her friends and letting them ask. “No such high-stakes note passing is necessary at Princeton,” she said, gratefully. 

Churbanova told her classmates that the best way to pay their education forward was to continue the pursuit of knowledge. “Wherever you are and whatever you do, do not stop learning,” she said, “for when we stop learning, we stagnate. Remember that those around you always have something to teach you.”

On the morning of Commencement,  The Daily Princetonian  reported  that the University was holding the degrees of two graduating seniors because of disciplinary investigations related to  the disruption of Eisgruber’s speech to alumni  at Reunions. “The ongoing disciplinary investigation concerning disruptions at Richardson Auditorium on Saturday involves more than two students; not all are seniors,” University spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill told PAW via email, adding that “when seniors are involved in alleged disciplinary violations soon before Commencement, their degrees are held pending the conclusion of a disciplinary investigation.”

At Commencement, a few dozen graduates stood and turned their backs to Eisgruber in silent protest during his address, while a handful from the graduate student section walked out. At least three groups of spectators draped flags or banners with pro-Palestinian slogans from the stadium’s upper tier. 

Eisgruber, continuing without interruption, spoke about how grateful he was for how this year’s graduates restored campus life after the pandemic gap. “Your energy and initiative were essential in the wake of a pandemic that, in addition to robbing us of so many other things, eroded the norms and habits of social activity,” he said. “You came to Princeton, and you breathed new life into our community.”

“My wish for you is that you lean into life after Princeton and into your community, wherever you are, with the same dazzling energy and imagination you’ve shown while you were here.” 

2024 Dean’s Early Career Research Awards

By Aubrey Christofersen

The Annual Dean’s Early Career Research Awards have been announced. Now in their second year, the awards are supported through a fund created by an anonymous donor in 2022. They recognize faculty who, at the time of renewal as assistant professor, have shown outstanding accomplishment and promise in their research. The winners of the 2024 awards are Assistant Professors Lin Bian and Ryan Jobson.

“Lin and Ryan have each demonstrated innovation and excellence in the early years of their faculty career,” said Amanda Woodward, Dean of the Division of the Social Sciences and William S. Gray Distinguished Service Professor. “All candidates for this year’s awards were very strong, and I thank the faculty selection committee for their work. I extend my gratitude to the anonymous donor who created this fund which allows us to further invest in our community of scholars.”

Lin Bian Assistant Professor of Psychology

Lin Bian’s research examines the development of social cognition, with an emphasis on children’s reasoning about social categories. In this vein, she has pursued two major lines of research: One line of work focuses on the acquisition and consequences of stereotypes about social groups for children’s interests and motivation. The other line of work focuses on infants’ and toddlers’ sociomoral expectations, especially as how they apply to behaviors within vs. across group boundaries.

Before joining the University of Chicago, Bian was the Evalyn Edwards Milman Assistant Professor at Cornell University. She earned her B.S. in Psychology from Zhejiang University and her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, completing her postdoctoral straining at Stanford University.

Ryan Jobson Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Ryan Cecil Jobson is an anthropologist and social critic of the Caribbean and the Americas. His research and teaching engage issues of energy and extractivism, states and sovereignty, climate and crisis, race and capital.

His first book manuscript,  The Petro-State Masquerade , is a historical ethnography of fossil fuel industries and postcolonial state building in Trinidad and Tobago. Excavating more than a century of commercial oil, gas, and petrochemical development, Jobson theorizes how the tenuous relationship between hydrocarbons and political power—enshrined in the hyphenated form of the petro-state—is upheld through a “masquerade of permanence” sustained by speculative offshore and deepwater extraction. Meanwhile, working class Trinbagonians play a mas of their own—in the form of strikes, protests, and the Carnival road march—to stage direct democratic alternatives to the fossil economy.

Jobson is at work on two subsequent projects: A collection of essays on climate change and the receding horizon of habitability in the Caribbean and a manuscript on anthropological theory and method in an era of climate extinction.

Faculty who served on the selection committee were: Leslie Kay, Professor of Psychology; Alan Kolata, the Bernard E. and Ellen C. Sunny Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology; Eugene Raikhel, Associate Professor of Comparative Human Development, and Alex Shaw, Associate Professor of Psychology.

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