In Julia Whitty’s “Diet for a Warm Planet,” she discusses the issue of global warming. Whitty identifies controversial causes of global warming. She discusses the lack of interest America has for the environment. She also states several solutions to reduce the carbon footprint which focuses on what Whitty calls a fossil fuel diet. Whitty’s main argument is, “Since America is responsible for 22 percent of annual emissions, I suggest we set a target of shrinking our personal carbon footprint by 22 percent, or 9,606 pounds” (721).…
In this essay, I argue that individuals do have obligations to reduce our own personal contributions to climate change. To begin, I will present my current view based on “The Perfect Moral Storm” by Gardner and three moral obligation assumptions to support my argument. Then I will introduce objections to the three assumptions from “It’s Not My Fault: Global Warming and Individual Obligations” written by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and analyze his threshold perspective on climate change. Finally, I will provide two different responses to Sinnott-Armstrong’s objections and view, one is his flaws in his threshold model and second is to present a better representation of climate change through an accumulation model.…
The world itself is ever changing. Two authors by the names of Pamela Paul and Michael Pollan would agree upon this statement and would add that not only is it changing but it’s direction is one that would cause much harm. Pamela Paul writes an exceptional essay, Green if Not Clean where she discuss that the cleaning supplies that we use to maintain our homes clean can overtime be not only harmful to the environment but to our own health. As for Michael Pollan discuss in more depth in his essay Why Bother that in order for things to change in our lives, we must take action. Both authors use their own ideas that triggers an array of emotions towards their audience.…
When Grasses Turn Dormant and When Cattle Are not Ruminant As one of the forms of writing art, rhetoric usage relies on different genres and emotional appeals to communicate with the audiences and to achieve the goal of persuasion. Successful and effective application of rhetoric skills in an article will make it shine. This paper will focus on the rhetorical choices that Michael Pollan made when he crafts his arguments. To be more specific, this paper will shed light on what rhetoric methods did Michael Pollan use such as various rhetoric appeals, facts, images, word choices, and narratives so as to persuade the audiences to buy his arguments. In general, this paper can be divided into two parts.…
The American paradox or the science around food? In Michael’s Pollan essay “The American Paradox”, he depicts what he sees as mistakes in the way Americans think about, produce and eat their food. Pollan’s notion because as he stated no people on earth worry more about the health consequences of their food choices than we Americans do because we are becoming a nation with people with an unhealthy obsession with health. Happiness and nutrition are two different ideologies that should never be correlated to each other. Moreover the definition of the American paradox can be defined as the unhealthy population preoccupied with nutrition and the idea of eating healthy.…
Moreover, there is a consensus that future impacts may be much larger if individuals and society fail to learn how to alter their behavior (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2007; Stern, 2007). Taken together, these considerations…
In Pollan’s essay “The American Paradox”, he defines the American Paradox and discusses how to fix the American diet. He explains how too many unhealthy Americans are preoccupied and obsessed with nutrition facts and the idea of eating healthy. He also mentions that the food industry, nutrition science, and journalism are the parties that have been the cause of this confusion about eating healthy. He thinks that worrying about nutrition facts and living a so called “healthy” lifestyle is the wrong way Americans think about eating today. I agree with Pollan’s argument because focusing on nutrition facts and dietary foods can mislead the consumer and create some health problems.…
Being environmentally conscious has been the focus of many people for several years, and by judging how much the media has begun to cover such a topic, it will be the concern of more and more people as time passes. Since this planet is the only one we have to live on so far, we need to take care of it the best we possibly can before it’s too late to fix our mistakes. To start, each person will need to see the reason behind taking care of our planet, which is that global warming is a legitimate issue, and every single person on the planet can either make a positive or negative impact on it. Each of the essays I evaluated spoke of different issues regarding or touching on global warming that I had not previously thought too much about, and effectively…
As the Department of Energy states in its booklet recently published in 2009, Energy Savers Booklet: Tips on SavingEnergy & Money at Home, we as people should “start making small changes today” (EnergySavers). With this booklet they are allowing Americans to have the freedom to make their ownchoices while giving recommendations on ways to conserve energy and help for futuregenerations to come. Things such as driving sensibly to not waste gasoline through poor choiceslike aggressive driving and turning off computers and anything electric when not being used are discussed in this booklet (Energy Savers). These few examples are small changes that could inreality change the world. Instead of forcing the issue upon the people, giving them small changesthat can easily be done and not change their entire lifestyle will make the population morewilling to change and less reluctant to green practices.…
Afterall new ways and approaches to decreasing global warming need to be taken in wise ways . Life would be so much better if there are new environment efficient products to prevent climate change and its causes. Starting today as you read about the causes humans as had on this earth try to be resourceful have empathy for our downhill going earth. Be mindful of the lives that could be saved and protected by the way we treat and respect our environment. Consider the earth valuable like your life and the way you live and adapt to new…
Love Your Mother (Earth) The world is changing in a deadly way and if we do not act now, it may be too late to save it. Global climate change is a real problem and needs to be addressed in a truthful manner, by government officials, by educators, and by the media. It is easy to see the effects human interaction has on environmental events and the climate with extreme events happening at a rate never seen before.…
“I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend,” (Robert Redford). In the article, “Why Bother”, the author, Michael Pollan, discusses the importance of saving the environment and how it will not be easy to achieve. He believes that as a society we need to, “find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world,” (Michael Pollan).…
Other people realize that it is important to take action, and try to stop global warming. People think of driving less, choosing energy-efficient appliances, and promoting renewable energy to stop global warming. In Michael Pollan’s essay, “Why Bother?”…
Al Gore’s book Truth to Power explains a climate crisis. The author explains how one problem can affect another, thus causing a domino effect on different places of the world. He explains how a climatic problem can affect millions of people, livestock, and businesses. Al Gore really makes the reader think once he or she begins reading his book, it helps the reader to be more aware of the conditions around him or her, and understand that his or her choices can harm another without even knowing it. He states three resounding questions for the reader:…
It is practically impossible to end climate change on your own, because if it was easy it would be done. But what these ‘why bother’ thinkers are…