The Dihydrogen Monoxide Hoax

In the article, "Protect our Drinking Water," published by Scientific American in 2014, it is argued that that current standard of the United State's drinking water is abhorrently low. Through the use of logos, powerful diction, and pathos, the authors convincingly stir the audience of American residents into the belief that the government must take further action in order to protect the well being of its citizens. Perhaps the strongest literary device used throughout the piece was the clear logos, as the addition of facts and statistics served to give the article an increased credibility. By providing the audience with irrefutable statistics, the reader is informed of the full extent of the damage that unclean water does.

Despite being the most prevalent component of acid rain and one of the major accelerators in the corrosion and rusting of many metals, water is absolutely harmless. Yet, since the hoax became popularized by 14-year-old junior high student Jason Zohner in 1996, many have believed water to be a dangerous substance that should be banned, just because of the liquid’s formal name. (Glassman) The DHMO hoax is not a rare occurrence, however. It is part of a phenomenon called Chemophobia, “a reflexive rejection of modern synthetic chemicals.” (Kennedy) Chemophobia is a reactionary, baseless fear that has the unique ability to flourish in America because it has the foundation to; with very little easily-accessible information on chemistry for the average American to absorb and the majority of said information being incredibly negative towards the science, chemophobia has damaged American life. Despite infiltrating our health and food choices, scientific experts have failed in successfully combating the rampant presence of unqualified conspiracy theorists spreading horrendous

Also depicted in this paper is the type of cancers caused by each chemical and other related health problems associated with each chemical. Finally, the role of government agencies such as FDA, EPA and OSHA in preventing excessive amount or zero amounts of toxic chemicals from entering the environment will be discussed. The last paragraphs will enumerate the inferred conclusion from my research on Agent Orange, DDT and Benzene.

Also depicted in this paper is the type of cancers caused by each chemical and other related health problems associated with each chemical. Finally, the role of government agencies such as FDA, EPA and OSHA in preventing excessive amount or zero amounts of toxic chemicals from entering the environment will be discussed. The last paragraphs will enumerate the inferred conclusion from my research on Agent Orange, DDT and Benzene.

My review and analysis focused on the following sources: 1) peer review scientific journal, 2) popular articles including magazine and newspaper commentaries, 3) water right contracts, 4) legal cases including case law, and 5) various environmental assessments. Whenever possible I site source, papers, and evidence.

In the essay it states that fluoride in water is a “dangerous poison” and “toxic” (Higgs para.3). She uses these words to explain the effects of fluoride and creates the reader to have fear. She also uses appeals to pathos by explaining that by drinking the water one can increase hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is when the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone. The essay says that hypothyroidism can lead to “depression, fatigue, weight gain, muscle and joint pains, increased cholesterol levels and heart disease” (as qtd. in Higgs par.5). The author uses human health and the problems that can arise from drinking water with fluoride to evoke the readers

Conclusion: Though we identified one statement that is questionable, the speaker does use compelling evidence to support the claim that bottled water contributes to

But like everything else this can also have it’s draw backs. Because there is so much information out there that is not credible, the problem is how do we know which one is and which one is not. I am glad that I have found out that the wikipedia site is not a reliable source because this is one of the first ones that pops up after we input what we want to find out. This

When doing research, one must always be sure that the information they are finding is reliable. Reliable sources might look more professionally designed than the unreliable ones.

For my research evaluating the psychology and science behind drinking recycled water, I reviewed Collignon’s speech to understand a viewpoint of opponents against the use of supplementing the drinking water supply with pure recycled water. In his speeches, Collignon presents four major reasons why he believes recycled drinking water is high risk and why it should be used as a last resort. He states that it is a “bad option for the environment not only because of the waste but the energy consumption as well, it is needless money spent, he does not believe that adequate monitoring and testing exists to ensure safety, and it is a bad option for people’s health because of the increased risk. Although he states that his stance is not one

“A common misconception is that all man-made chemicals are harmful, and all natural chemicals are good for us. However, many natural chemicals are just as harmful to human health, if not more so” (Lorch). Dorea Reeser provides a different perspective to counteract the harmful effects of manmade chemicals. Dorea Reeser upholds a Ph. D. in environmental chemistry at the University of Toronto. She researches and studies the chemical reactions at water surfaces, and how the chemical and physical properties influence these reactions and the release of important trace gases into the troposphere.

Three causes of the 1984 Bhopal Chemical Plant disaster in India were long-term financial difficulties, poor safety management and inadequate emergency plans. The disaster occurred when water entered a methyl isocyanate (MIC) storage tank, which led to a runaway reaction and then discharged toxic MIC vapour into the atmosphere. The leak caused the deaths of more than 2,000 people and injured about 200,000 locals in the surrounding shanty towns (Kletz 2009, p. 338).

B. Main Point 2: While fluoridation of drinking water seemed like a good idea back in 1945, new scientific evidence seems to state otherwise.

A. Detection of carbon monoxide can be difficult due to it not having any odor, color or taste, but there are ways to help you detect this silent killer.

In Lawrence Buell’s essay, “Toxic Discourse”, one of the key ingredients to the narrative of environmental toxins in the United States is the element of burden of proof. This element pertains to the idea that not sufficient evidence is provided in order to prove that toxins lead to the health deterioration of the exposed population. For example, Buell states, “almost every claim that a risk is present, almost every attribution of cause, [has] been vigorously contested…[i]t is notoriously hard to demonstrate environmental causation of illness, given the limitation of preexisting research bases...” (660). While Buell 's version of toxic discourse includes the element of burden of proof, this element is absent in Hayao Miyazaki’s