“Tarmageddon”, an essay authored by Andrew Nikiforuk, demonstrates how the tar sands have negatively impacted Canada both economically and environmentally. The environmental factors are elaborated by explaining Canada’s contribution to green house emissions and acid rain when they were once a global leader against such pollutions. Nikiforuk compares Canada as being second worst for climate change next to Saudi Arabia since they started using bitumen. He highlights the politics surrounding the issues and includes the impact of the tar sands on public policy by stating that Canada no longer has a policy on climate change and have abandoned their targets. He goes on to include Prime Minister Stephen Harpers contribution to the corruption that branch out from the province of Alberta and his personal connection as “the son of an imperial oil executive” (AR.189).
…show more content…
Nikiforuk uses rhetorical strategies to argue a point and persuade the audience, non-scholarly individuals, to his claim. There are many methods used to achieve this. Starting in the introduction Canada is glorified for what it used to be known for, then that image is quickly contrasted with the now dark and damaged (or destabilized) country because of the developing tar sands. This introduction, which uses pathos (a quality that evokes pity or sadness) by using strong words to induce negative emotions, quickly gives the reader a sense of uneasiness with the tar sands even without yet having heard any of the facts. The use of pathos is seen throughout the article in the form of language choice and imagery to sway the reader to the author’s desired side.(give some pathos examples). Imagery is also used to appeal to the imagination of the reader so they can connect more easily with the facts being
Nikiforuk uses rhetorical strategies to argue a point and persuade the audience, non-scholarly individuals, to his claim. There are many methods used to achieve this. Starting in the introduction Canada is glorified for what it used to be known for, then that image is quickly contrasted with the now dark and damaged (or destabilized) country because of the developing tar sands. This introduction, which uses pathos (a quality that evokes pity or sadness) by using strong words to induce negative emotions, quickly gives the reader a sense of uneasiness with the tar sands even without yet having heard any of the facts. The use of pathos is seen throughout the article in the form of language choice and imagery to sway the reader to the author’s desired side.(give some pathos examples). Imagery is also used to appeal to the imagination of the reader so they can connect more easily with the facts being