Shale Fracking Comparison Essay Two articles concerning Shale drilling and the environmental impact will be compared and contrasted in this essay. Is Shale Fracking safe or is it dangerous? “Shale Drilling Is a Disaster Waiting to Happen” written by Don Carns Jr. presents the idea that shale drilling is dangerous and that it is threatening the environment; while, in contrast “Unfounded Fears about Shale Gas Obscure Facts” written by Scott Cline suggests that in fact Carns Jr. has his facts about shale fracking wrong and that there is no danger to the people or the environment. In writing their respective articles both authors use the following persuasive techniques: ethos, logos, and pathos; however, Cline due to his knowledge of the
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wrote a persuading article; however, there are weak aspects of his article that could be written better and help him persuade more readers. Carns Jr. Article is a claim based on facts. Most of these facts are easily correlated with logos because the facts that are given would seem like logical issues of shale fracking, like “Drilling requires casing and grout, which can fail, especially when subjected to 10,000- 15,000 PSI.” (538). However, when using logos there must be a strong sense of ethos to back up his claims. Carns Jr. does not indicate that he has any formal knowledge or experience in the area of fracking. He is a concerned resident, to the area that he claims is being negatively affected; but, he presents almost no source of ethos except when he refers to one EPA report: “The EPA now admits fracking near Pavillion, Wyo., has contaminated their groundwater.”(539). This lack of ethos creates credibility issues which in turn create doubts in the readers. In addition, this article lacks the use of pathos which makes the reader feel distant from the author. Carns Jr. should have engaged the readers with more details on how shale fracking was endangering people with environmental issues like “heavy trucks supplying the drill sites travel rural roads not designed to handle such loads.”(539). This is an example of how citizens are negatively impacted and how fracking damages the community which would have created a personal touch to the article. Additional usage of ethos and adding pathos would have created a stronger article for Mr. Carns
wrote a persuading article; however, there are weak aspects of his article that could be written better and help him persuade more readers. Carns Jr. Article is a claim based on facts. Most of these facts are easily correlated with logos because the facts that are given would seem like logical issues of shale fracking, like “Drilling requires casing and grout, which can fail, especially when subjected to 10,000- 15,000 PSI.” (538). However, when using logos there must be a strong sense of ethos to back up his claims. Carns Jr. does not indicate that he has any formal knowledge or experience in the area of fracking. He is a concerned resident, to the area that he claims is being negatively affected; but, he presents almost no source of ethos except when he refers to one EPA report: “The EPA now admits fracking near Pavillion, Wyo., has contaminated their groundwater.”(539). This lack of ethos creates credibility issues which in turn create doubts in the readers. In addition, this article lacks the use of pathos which makes the reader feel distant from the author. Carns Jr. should have engaged the readers with more details on how shale fracking was endangering people with environmental issues like “heavy trucks supplying the drill sites travel rural roads not designed to handle such loads.”(539). This is an example of how citizens are negatively impacted and how fracking damages the community which would have created a personal touch to the article. Additional usage of ethos and adding pathos would have created a stronger article for Mr. Carns