Google Wins Again in a Science/Engineering Library

It is somewhat exasperating when you give a lecture to science/engineering students about the use of the primary journal literature and how to search bibliographic databases to find papers on a topic and then find out that they just report web sites.  They seem to love searching Google and just don't want to apply their information seeking skills to searching library databases.  For many years I have taught to a sophomore level class in environmental engineering who are assigned a descriptive paper. Below are the topics that were assigned this semester.  I do feel that most of them were too broad and that in the future a more specific topic be given which would compel students to find journal articles.

Group #          Topic for Paper

1                      Hydroelectric Energy - what the technology is, how it is used, the costs, the problems/benefits with the technology and present a real-world case study.

2                      Electromagnetic Radiation from Mobile Phones - source, nature of the problem, environmental/health implications and ways to address the situation.

3                      Highway Traffic Noise Barriers - what they are, how they are constructed, costs, and the environmental benefit.

4                      Collapse of the World Trade Center Buildings - nature of the environmental problem, health implications and ways that the Government is addressing the problem.

5                      Greenhouse Gas Emissions - source, nature of the problem, environmental/health implications and ways to address the situation.

6                      Bioremediation – what the technology is, how it is used, the costs, the problems/benefits with the technology and present a real-world case study.

7                      Wind Energy - what the technology is, how it is used, the costs, the problems/benefits with the technology and present a real-world case study.

8                      Solar Energy - what the technology is, how it is used, the costs, the problems/benefits with the technology and present a real-world case study.

9                      Geothermal Energy - what the technology is, how it is used, the costs, the problems/benefits with the technology and present a real-world case study.

10                    Illegal Selling/Use of Pesticides - nature of the problem, explanation of pesticides and pesticide  regulations, environmental/health implications and ways to address the situation.