In Mother Jones’ article, “America’s Real Criminal Element: Lead”, author Kevin Drum attempts to explain and persuade to his readers what he believes is the main cause for the rise and fall of crime rates seen across the nation. Drum uses Greek Philosopher Aristotle’s method of persuasion, Ethos, to gain credibility among his audience. Though Drum targets a variety of viewers who read news reports from this left-wing political magazine, he seems to draw focus on ecologists, particularly the ecologists who study the direct impact humans have on their environment and vice versa.
It is an ecologist’s job to inspect and regulate standards of buildings, businesses, agencies, and other environmental organizations. They seek to protect the environment …show more content…
He gives several possible theories to counter-argue his own, which builds rapport with his audience because he is viewing the matter in an objective point of view. Theories such as increase crackdown of small crimes, economics, prison expansion, guns and gun control laws, family, race, number of active police officers, etc., all attempted to be labeled as the main cause for the rise and fall of crime. He describes the possibility of their effects but later debunks the theories because of their lack of actual evidence. Of 122 known field tests of crime-fighting strategies, researcher and statistician Jim Manzi discovered that only 20 percent yielded positive results of the strategies actually working, and none of those results were replicated to be tested for reliability (Drum 14). Ecologists value the importance of reliability when drawing conclusions from any form of research. Because these theories are inconsistent, ecologists can trust Drum’s next statement, that lead is the real …show more content…
Nevin’s tediously long paper that was published in 1999 concluded that there was a pattern between the descending crime rates and the discontinued use of leaded gasoline. Nevin collected worldwide crime and lead data in different countries and found the same exact correlation each time, never finding a country that didn’t have the same correlation. Drum also cites psychologists and neurologists who explain the effects of lead in the human brain. Childhood lead exposure is linked to permanent lowering of IQ, increasing odds of ADHD, and the impairment of parts of the brain responsible for executive functions such as controlling emotions like anger and impulsivity, which he defines “the profile of a violent young offender” (Drum 41). This validates the global repercussions of lead on human behavior, which would be of much interest to ecologists because it shows that the lead in our environment has a direct effect on our well-being and it is worth getting rid
It is an ecologist’s job to inspect and regulate standards of buildings, businesses, agencies, and other environmental organizations. They seek to protect the environment …show more content…
He gives several possible theories to counter-argue his own, which builds rapport with his audience because he is viewing the matter in an objective point of view. Theories such as increase crackdown of small crimes, economics, prison expansion, guns and gun control laws, family, race, number of active police officers, etc., all attempted to be labeled as the main cause for the rise and fall of crime. He describes the possibility of their effects but later debunks the theories because of their lack of actual evidence. Of 122 known field tests of crime-fighting strategies, researcher and statistician Jim Manzi discovered that only 20 percent yielded positive results of the strategies actually working, and none of those results were replicated to be tested for reliability (Drum 14). Ecologists value the importance of reliability when drawing conclusions from any form of research. Because these theories are inconsistent, ecologists can trust Drum’s next statement, that lead is the real …show more content…
Nevin’s tediously long paper that was published in 1999 concluded that there was a pattern between the descending crime rates and the discontinued use of leaded gasoline. Nevin collected worldwide crime and lead data in different countries and found the same exact correlation each time, never finding a country that didn’t have the same correlation. Drum also cites psychologists and neurologists who explain the effects of lead in the human brain. Childhood lead exposure is linked to permanent lowering of IQ, increasing odds of ADHD, and the impairment of parts of the brain responsible for executive functions such as controlling emotions like anger and impulsivity, which he defines “the profile of a violent young offender” (Drum 41). This validates the global repercussions of lead on human behavior, which would be of much interest to ecologists because it shows that the lead in our environment has a direct effect on our well-being and it is worth getting rid