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Light Pollution In Let There Be Dark By Paul Bogard

Decent Essays

Paul Bogard, a professor of creative nonfiction and environmental literature, in his work entitled, “Let There Be Dark” discusses the effects associated of light pollution. Bogard’s purpose is to display the harmful effects on humans and the ecosystems surrounding them due to the increase of light at night and how to solve them. He utilizes pathos, ethos, and logos in order to portray to readers the urgency and negative effects caused by light pollution. Bogard begins his work by utilizing the technique pathos to connect with his audience. In his first sentence he recalls a personal memory,”At my family’s cabin on Minnesota Lake, I knew woods so dark that my hands disappeared before my eyes. I knew night skies in which meteors left smoky trails across sugary spreads of stars.” The use of a personal account creates a parallel memory for the audience to relate to on an emotional level, this is important so when he presents his claim the audience can understand the deep and meaningful emotions behind it. He continues this paragraph by bring up a personal concern,”But now, when 8 of 10 children born in the United States will never know a sky dark enough for the Milky Way, I worry we are rapidly losing night’s natural darkness before realizing its worth.” By stating this Bogard is trying to make the reader think about their children and the possibility of them never experience the true natural beauty in which their parents have witnessed. This allows Bogard to relate his claim

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