Linnea Saukko's How To Poison The Earth

Linnea Saukko, author of “How to Poison the Earth,” made a big impact on the way people thought of the environment with her essay. Saukko got a degree in geology and worked for the Environmental Protection Agency to try to help the present issues. Her goal is to inform people about the harmful things happening to the earth. However, she takes a different approach than most would. She exaggerates her point with the use of satire and irony. By looking at this essay through the different methods she uses, her purpose and style become clearer. This essay demonstrates Saukko’s concern with the harmful toxins in the environment using satire, irony, and other strategies to validate her point. Saukko shows her concern for the environment by using satire in her essay. Satire is the use of humor or exaggeration to expose people’s wrongdoings. She criticizes many different people in the essay with this strategy without clearly stating whom she is criticizing. For example, she criticizes chemical plants for using deep-well injections so they can “ensure that the earth is poisoned all the way to the core” (Saukko 265). By saying this, she tells readers what happens to the earth because of these …show more content…
She writes about how pollution happens, targeting the people that make it happen. She criticizes places like nuclear power plants, the federal government, and other places that cause or do not do anything to stop pollution. In a way, she also criticizes all citizens in the United States. She does this indirectly, because she does not ever come out and say any person’s name or place besides the FDA. By not saying anything specific, she tells people that if they are not trying to solve the issue, they are a part of the problem. Saukko wants everyone to know the problems and help to keep the environment clean. That is why she does not target specific people in her essay, but she makes it known that many people and places are a