Assignment #5

The Drowning Arctic Coastal Plain
Recently in political debates, and even local debates, gas prices and oil drilling has popped up to enforce controversy. Oil drilling has become a day-to-day routine for America since our gas prices are rising so much. A September issue "When will we realize we can't drill our way to cheap gas?" by Marty Essen has been marked powerful. Essen's article was very influential and has many back-ups to what he informs us. The audience is oil users, and the readers of the Buffalo News. And his over-all message is drilling oil in sacred environmental areas will not help the gas prices, but only destroy the world. The vast and beautiful land of Alaska and the ANWR should not be harmed and be taken advantage of.
Essen uses ethos to make points regarding to the Exxon Valdez oil spill a couple years ago. Not only did it harm the animals on land and sea, but it also cost millions of wasteful dollars to clean up. We could be using that money and put it somewhere where we really need it, like our national debt, for example. Even the oil tyrant, Exxon Valdez, can make mistakes that are drastic enough to cause Americans and our animals in a world of hurt. Also, he brings in President Bush and how he "manipulate Americans into supporting an energy policy that will lead to even greater oil industry profits". Essen shows Bush's unpopularity and how his administration is in the wrong mindset.
On another note, Essen uses the Gwich'in Athabascan Indians to back up his information. The Indians call the coastal plain the "sacred place where life begins". Indians are more in tune with the earth and know about its depths and its wonders. Harming this land will be a slap in the face for the Indians. The Indians say that a lot of the animals and birds are born or migrate in the oil drilling area. If this rate keeps on going, we won't have any birthing grounds or migrating fields for them to live in. Therefore, we will lose a lot of animals and the endangered species list will increase. ANWR should be treated with respect and be left alone.
Essen uses pathos to create an emotional appeal to reel his readers in. He quotes "the most patriotic thing an American can do is support freedom-from fossil fuels". There he questions our patriotism and makes us feel guilty if we do not support freedom from fossil fuels. In my opinion, I would be deeply affected by that quote since I am an American and I am free. I would want to support his quote and support the environment.
He also informs us about his personal experience when he went to visit Prudhoe Bay, a notorious oil field. He said "a sickening brown haze told us we were nearing Prudhoe Bay". That in there makes readers disgusted and appalled at his depiction of the Bay. We should not want our beautiful Alaskan wildlife and environment looked like that. Nevertheless, being dug up by construction workers to scrap up some oil for cars and other industrial objects. With that, he also brings in the wildlife affected by oil drilling. "We encountered caribou, songbirds, raptors, waterfowl, Arctic ground squirrels, lemmings, grizzly bears, and both red and Arctic fox". This citation indicates that there are multiple amounts of different animals living there that are being hurt by the oil drilling. To all the environmentalists and animal-lovers reading that, they would feel guilty and hurt by what is happening to them.
Lastly, he knocks it all down with logos. In one instance, he meets a driver pulling a huge boat. He claims he is bringing it to the Bay to water-ski. Clearly, Essen knows that is not the case. Later, the driver winks and says with his eyes "actually, we're bringing the boat up to do the oil exploration we weren't supposed to be doing". Essen used his logic to realize that anyone using a big boat like the driver would only be using it for oil drilling, and nothing of water-skiing. It shows how dishonesty and lying is used in every-day life from an average bloke, to the Bush Administration. Any American will use any tactic to get ahead in life and try and take their own oil to make gas cheaper. Also, when Essen and his wife were getting a tour of the oil field, the associates offered their guests to take a swim in the water. The couple looked at the "black guck alongshore-obvious remnants of a spill-and decided to stay dry". This could be one of the most influential topics to why we should stop oil drilling. The ocean is used in many different ways. Whether its oil spilling or oil drilling, we need to keep our world beautiful.
In conclusion, Marty Essen uses ethos, pathos, and logos to stop oil drilling in Alaskan regions. It affects wildlife, the Indians, and our economy, most of all. "Because oil prices are set on a global market, we can't drill our way to cheap gas", so why do it in the first place? Oil drilling achieves nothing, and hurts everything. At this rate, how will our world be in twenty years for our children to deal with? Essen's viewpoints are to the point and legitimate to persuade any oil user or Buffalo News reader.

Assignment #4

While searching through the library, I found many interesting sites regarding air pollution with children. One peer-reviewed journal was with the New England Journal of Medicine. It's called Air Pollution and Health-The Good and Bad. It is informative in ways of children and the air pollution in the United States. This journal coincides with the The Children's Health Study. Their research has shown that children in urban areas have a harder time breathing and have defects in their lungs, compared to children in rural areas with clean, fresh, countryside air. "Such matter, which can be breathed deeply into the lungs, includes sulfates, nitrates, acids, metals, and carbon particles with various chemicals adsorbed onto their surfaces" states the Children's Health Study.
I chose this article due to its plentiful information and accurate data. With the library resources the librarian taught us, it showed me how to narrow my sources and make my choices more accurate and narrowed down. Therefore, this journal was one of the first choices I saw and I chose it. I learned from the library session that the online library can be very useful and I can narrow it down to get the results I want. If we did not use the library instruction session and the SMART tutorial, I would have never known I could search research like that. It was very useful and I will use it more often.

Assignment #3

The commercial I saw was one of the Alltel commercials. The speaker is Chad, the symbol for Alltel. His competitors are people who represent, Cingular, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile. They are accompanying a family in a RV on their vacation. The message from Chad is to make everyone switch from their current plan to Alltel's plan.

The audience is cell phone users all throughout America. In today's society and economy, practically everyone has a cell phone. This commercial is important due to the fact that a lot of people are planning to either change companies, or simply get a new plan. It is appealing to everyone. Also, Chad and T-Mobile wants everyone to think that their company is designed especially for them and everyone can relate. Whether you're in a RV with your family, or you're a wizard having "family time" (previous commercial). Their company can be used on the road, and can talk with any body who does not have Alltel. Alltel stresses "My Circle" because of family. With a family plan, that is more people to use their product and more revenue they take in. It makes each member of the family in the same service.

In ethos, Chad is the spokesperson for Alltel. He personifies Alltel as everyone liking him and him always having the best ideas. In this case, it seems like he would have a lot of authority because he always has an answer for everything. Chad and Alltel call themselves "America's Largest Network", and how they can keep you connected around the nation. With a name like this, it makes us feel that we can trust him and the network. This is one way why everyone would want to change to Alltel or like their plan.

In pathos, humor is taken over. When Chad takes down his opponents with sly comments and is able to beat them in any situation, people are amiable and think it is funny. Once the family hears Chad's resources and his plan, they kick the other companies off the bus and leaves them in the desert. The other competitors get flustered and upset how Chad always seems to shut them out in front of their audience and cannot pursuade people as easily when Chad is there. It is humorous how no matter who they try and get people to come to their company, Chad pops up and knocks them down once again. People gravitate towards someone who is entertaining and funny. That is what Chad has in this commercial.

In logos, all of Alltel's commercials are very logical. No matter what different situation they all are in, it portrays humor but also gives America it's facts. Chad talks about in "my circle" that you can call up to five, ten, or even twenty people from any different network for free. With these facts, he is pursuading the people in the RV how useful and better his service is than the others. Unlimited text messaging, and they're flexible plan has logistics that no one can deny. That is why the family kicked the rest of the cell-phone providers off the RV. Chad and Alltel makes the RV that no one compares to Alltel.

I feel this is a convincing, yet annoying, commercial. They use all different types of persuasion. And no matter what type of situation all five cell phone companies are in, Chad always prevails in his commercials. Yet they establish they're reputation by calling out its competitors. They always use good targets to jab at T-Mobile, Sprint, Cingular, and Verizon. It is annoying because on every channel, on every commercial time, you will most likely always see one of Alltel's commercials. But maybe repetition is what gets it through their heads and makes Alltel so popular?