Fear-Addressing Environmental Issues

In the persuasive essay “Let There Be Dark” by Paul Bogard, the author addresses the issue of light pollution being a serious problem worldwide and offers some ideas on how people can reverse this epidemic. Bogard uses all three persuasive strategies, logos, pathos and ethos. The use of these strategies within his writing help to strengthen his argument. He uses pathos by evoking several emotions throughout his paper and telling the audience that the Earth’s ecology would collapse if darkness continues to disappear. This makes the audience really think about what our future would be like if we continued to let light pollution happen. Another strategy he uses is logos and the use of facts. He explains that organizations around the world are voicing

In his essay titled “Climate of Denial”, Al Gore, a well known environmental advocate and former vice president, verifies the reality of climate change and global warming. The piece is an attack on corrupt companies and news outlets that attempt to persuade the public that global warming is not a critical issue. Gore also earnestly conveys our environment’s current state and offers possible solutions that would increase awareness about global warming and begin to revert the planet back to a healthier, more sustainable state. The overarching purpose of Gore’s work is to call attention to the widespread climate change that is occurring. However, he also focuses on the corruption and bias within the media, and their attempts to conceal the truth about global warming. Writing to those who are conflicted about who to believe, he makes a valid argument that defends the beliefs of he and his fellow activists and encourages others to become more active in the climate change issue.

As a kid who has cared about nature his entire life, and an avid modern environmentalist for four years and counting, this issue has been at the center of my psyche for quite some time. I have seen public perspective on this issue change before my eyes. From the original rejection of Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth movie on “global warming” to personally marching alongside 300,000 people in our nation's capital to raise awareness on climate change. However, despite all of these avenues the issue is still spoken about as this distant idea that eventually will be a disaster. Many politicians and news networks speak of the need for slow implementation of policies and programs to right our environmental wrongs. The best way to paraphrase the common narrative of this issue would be to say, climate change is going to happen down the road, it will probably be bad and trying to fix it in the near future would be a good idea. That weak call to action shoves climate change onto the long to-do list of the leaders of our world. Not only does it not create the urgency needed to actually curb the effects of our environmental ignorance, but it does not accurately describe the threat of a changing climate. Treating this like a political issue will not allow for the rigorous changes needed to address such a problem in the timely manner that is required.

In Brian Parham’s article “There Are Multiple Threats to the Earth’s Environment,” published by The Bridge website on November 18, 2012, Parham claims that Earth’s environment is threatened by a wide variety of issues. Parham 's "There Are Multiple Threats to the Earth 's Environment" is an effective argument due to the strong uses of ethos and pathos, despite the weak use of logos.

The problem that the pro- global warming theorists have created is that of social standing and little else. While there may be scientific backing to support some of the theory, the media presents the problem with great sensationalism. Global warming and energy conservation has thus become a trend and losses some of its validity through this. The scare tactics used by the media to “promote awareness” are just that, a linguistic ploy to gain favor. “Awareness of this global threat reinforced public concern and environmental problems and thereby provided environmental activists, scientists, and policy makers with new momentum in their efforts to promote environmental protection.” (McCright, 2000) This statement draws line to the potential benefits that would be received if the pro-global warming theorists were to draw enough attention to the issue. Driven by social empowerment and conviction to environmental protection, these activists misrepresent the actual threat and paint it as being much more

As The World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Stay In Denial, by Derrick Jensen and Stephanie McMillan, is a graphic novel about the state of our environment. They use cartoons and abundant sarcasm to convey the message that the attempts people are making to save the environment are not enough to do any real good. Their message challenges both those of Edward O. Wilson and the University of Connecticut in that Jensen and McMillan’s ideas are much more radical and suggest that the ideas posed by Wilson and UConn, such as the importance of recycling and sustainability efforts, are ineffective at saving the environment. We must resolve the challenges posed by Jensen and McMillan so that all of the ideas put forth in the sources may work together rather than against each other. In order to do this we must accept that some of the ideas given by Jensen and McMillan may be too extreme to do any real good and that the ideas suggested by Wilson and UConn, though slightly ineffective, are nonetheless important steps in saving the environment. Taken alone, none of their ideas will save the environment; instead it is necessary to combine the ideas of Wilson, UConn, and Jensen and McMillan in order to create a more realistic plan to save the planet.

Environmental documentarian, Bridget Besaw, combines both photography and film to advocate wilderness preservation and food sustainability. She creates “visual stories that serve as a rousting, yet romantic reminder of our collective instinct to care for the planet” (Besaw, 2015). Besaw’s photography captures a range of environmental issues from “threats to Maine’s wilderness, loss of working farmland in New England, restoration of crucial salmon habitat in the North Pacific, wilderness preservation in South America, and sustainable fisheries initiatives throughout the world” (Besaw, 2015). Besaw uses photography so others get “a closer understanding of and relationship to their own bodies and the planet that provides them with life. So for

People cannot think clearly when they are afraid. As numerous studies have shown, fear is the enemy of reason. It distorts emotions and perceptions, and often leads to poor decisions. Within a society motivated by fear, it leads to a solicitous of paranoia, hysteria, manipulation, and a lack of productivity. For people who have suffered trauma, fear messages can sometimes trigger uncontrollable flight-or-fight responses with dangerous consequences. Yet over time, many interlocking aspects of our society have become increasingly advanced at conversing messages and information that produce fear reactions. Advertising, political ads, news coverage, literature and social media all send the constant message that people should be afraid.

I would remind the concept ‘Visual rhetoric’, which is defined as “study and the production of the visual representation of space, environment, ecology, and nature in photographs, paintings, television, film, video games, computer media, and other forms of image-based media to construct or challenge “seeing” of nature or what constitutes an environmental problem” (Cox & Pezzullo, p. 74). Laurie Allmann’s Anticipating Rhythm video talks about how the art and popular culture do use in environmental issues, how they are interpreted as visual rhetoric to the public. I was sympathized that tell the small story first and then expand on state and globe with telling authentic and true story be accompanied with visual arts or sounds as complementary truth, because telling general environmental issues cannot make attentions and interests regardless of people who are interested in the nature.

Environmental issues such as climate change affect life on Earth every day. As Leonardo DiCaprio discusses in his speech during the Paris Agreement for Climate Change Signing at the United Nations, the only way to diminish global warming, one of the most critical issues of this generation, is to take unprecedented action. By informing the audience with an effective strategy, DiCaprio persuades the delegates to make the right decision that will mold the future. His evidence compliments the coherent use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Climate change is a universal matter that can either persist, or be put to an end.

The following paper will base on my chosen articles on our climate. I will provide a summary of each article. I will also compare and contrast the risk perceptions that are presented in each article I will identify any environmental stressors that are related to the environmental risk. It will be concluded with a discussion of my own risk perception of the issue. By the end of the paper you will be familiar with different affects that the environment has on us and risks that we take every day just breathing.

Upon reading the first part of COF, it made me realize what a widespread epidemic widespread panic can be. We fear so much in this country, and not just safety issues. We fear offending people by being too PC, we fear litigation, and that perpetuates warning labels which foster even more fear. Fear is what gets politicians elected, and fear can even be a hobby to adrenaline junkies.

Instead, energy shifts and the development of light weight cars are a transformation already in motion. This is important in the context of a climate change related issue. Apathy, despair and disinterest begin to rise when negative language to do with climate action is focused upon too strongly (Stokes 2015). It is commonly found that ‘nonthreatening imagery and icons that link to individual’s everyday emotions and concerns in the context of [climate change] tend to be the most engaging’ (O’Neill & Nichloson-Cole 2009,

As debates surrounding climate change have grown in recent times, especially with Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, many environmentalists have evidently viewed his deed as a call to action. In today’s world, environmental change has been glossed over simply for the fact that some disagree upon its existence. In turn, other well known figures have taken matters into their own hands; as a strong believer in climate change himself, famous actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio gave a powerful speech in front of the United Nations (UN) Climate summit. Through use of the rhetorical triangle, the three appeals, the patterns of development, and SOAPSTone, DiCaprio presents his speech effectively to his audience.

The vividness of presentation is one way to raise the level of salience of an issue. A story that is presented with graphic detail can cause the public perception of the issue involved to greatly increase. If a story is sensationalized by the media, the audience will unconsciously attach themselves to that particular topic. A story that shows graphic details and pictures of the events of that story cause people to feel as if they were a part of that event. For example, pictures of the crash of Flight 800 stick in the audience’s mind. This leads the audience to believe that the crash of Flight 800 is an essential story that we must learn more about. The problem with this is that the audience sometimes focuses too heavily on the story to see the issue at hand. This can negatively affect the media’s agenda setting power because the story is too detailed for the audience to see the issue behind the story (Baran 302).