We are a community of writers from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville. Throughout our English 101 class, we have discussed climate change and other environmental issues. To finish off our fun-filled semester, we gather here for one last hoorah to discuss our opinions on a variety of environmental issues.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
The Teens Don't Want a Wasteland
The Teens Don't Want a Wasteland
When I was growing up i didn't think much past my own little world. My mind was mostly consumed with what was going on that weekend or what my mom was going to make for dinner. One of the best things about being young is that you can depend on those who are older than you. With the issue of global warming on the other hand, that might not be the case. With climate change looking to effect the next generation, should the youth be taking the initiative to save their planet? Now this idea just might sound crazy. How can you expect the youth to take on a problem that most adults aren't even willing to address? That's it exactly though, the youth doesn't seem to have a choice. It is the future of THEIR world that is at stake. If no one else is willing to take on this problem, it is really up to them. This process has already been started. An organization called Kids Against Global Warming is a perfect representation of just how powerful the youth can be. Their motto "Live as if our future matters" is expressing how the future of the youth is being neglected. They are leading community marches all over the country, filing lawsuits, and sharing stories from young people across the globe. The video below shows the founder of this organization, Alec Loorz, who started all of this at the age of 12. His extreme passion and overwhelming dedication to the issue of global warming is nothing less than remarkable.
video courtesy of YouTube
You don't have to be an Alec Loorz to make a difference for the planet! Many young kids are doing things in their own community. An organization, Young Voices For The Planet, shows young people all over the world making differences where they live. If you visit their website http://youngvoicesonclimatechange.com/ you can see numerous videos showing kids who are reducing their carbon footprint. It really is inspiring to see people younger than myself making such a big impact. With the issue of global warming being neglected by this generation, it is now upon the youth to save this planet. The next generation isn't blind to what is happening though. With organizations like Kids Against Global Warming and Young Voices On Climate Change there is already a community of young people fighting for this cause. No the teens really don't want to live in a wasteland, and they're ready to make sure it doesn't happen.
works cited Kids vs. Global Warming. Earth Island Institute, 2009. Web. 28 November 2013. Cherry, Lynne. Young Voices For The Planet. Young Voices On Climate Change. Web. 28 November 2013.
Your blog post was extremely interesting! It is a really interesting idea that someone so young can make a huge difference. You effectively use your appeals to connect to the audience and show why your point is valid and why we need to do something as young people. Your appeal to ethos is really strong and clear from your very first paragraph. When you use a story from when you were younger, you really connect to the audience. You make the article connect to a younger generation (us), so by using this article to show how the young generation is changing the world, you show that we, college students, definitely can change the world. You also have a strong appeal to pathos in your blog. The emotional appeal occurs all throughout the blog. Especially in your second paragraph. You say that kids do not have a choice, which invokes a sense of fear for this generation and regret that nothing has been done. It connects to the audience on an emotional level. If I would change anything, I would change your language to include the target audience. For example, using the pronouns "we, us, etc". Other than that, I think your blog is very effective and persuasive in getting the audience on board with this!
Starting off, I love this title. It caught my eye because I had no clue how the title could connect to the topic, which made me want to read it. Mary Beth’s persuasive purpose is to explain and prove her question. I like how she ended her first paragraph with the question. Strongest rhetorical strategy Mary Beth uses would, in my opinion, be logos. The video really appeals to logos. Alec Loorz clearly states his claims and used evidence. The video was well used. I think it made me remember and keep thinking about the post even after I was done reading it. Also her appeal to pathos was used well. I think it would stimulate more of the youth’s emotions, but since that is what her purpose is to do with this post it works out perfectly. Her use of pathos with “That's it exactly though, the youth doesn't seem to have a choice. It is the future of THEIR world that is at stake. If no one else is willing to take on this problem, it is really up to them” was highly effective because it made me feel responsible and in charge of taking action. Mary Beth successfully accomplished her purpose. She proved and answered her question in the first paragraph. An improvement I would make on this post would be a little more quotes and in-text citation to have a little more evidence backing the claims and information presented.
Your blog post was extremely interesting! It is a really interesting idea that someone so young can make a huge difference. You effectively use your appeals to connect to the audience and show why your point is valid and why we need to do something as young people.
ReplyDeleteYour appeal to ethos is really strong and clear from your very first paragraph. When you use a story from when you were younger, you really connect to the audience. You make the article connect to a younger generation (us), so by using this article to show how the young generation is changing the world, you show that we, college students, definitely can change the world.
You also have a strong appeal to pathos in your blog. The emotional appeal occurs all throughout the blog. Especially in your second paragraph. You say that kids do not have a choice, which invokes a sense of fear for this generation and regret that nothing has been done. It connects to the audience on an emotional level.
If I would change anything, I would change your language to include the target audience. For example, using the pronouns "we, us, etc". Other than that, I think your blog is very effective and persuasive in getting the audience on board with this!
Starting off, I love this title. It caught my eye because I had no clue how the title could connect to the topic, which made me want to read it. Mary Beth’s persuasive purpose is to explain and prove her question. I like how she ended her first paragraph with the question. Strongest rhetorical strategy Mary Beth uses would, in my opinion, be logos. The video really appeals to logos. Alec Loorz clearly states his claims and used evidence. The video was well used. I think it made me remember and keep thinking about the post even after I was done reading it. Also her appeal to pathos was used well. I think it would stimulate more of the youth’s emotions, but since that is what her purpose is to do with this post it works out perfectly. Her use of pathos with “That's it exactly though, the youth doesn't seem to have a choice. It is the future of THEIR world that is at stake. If no one else is willing to take on this problem, it is really up to them” was highly effective because it made me feel responsible and in charge of taking action. Mary Beth successfully accomplished her purpose. She proved and answered her question in the first paragraph. An improvement I would make on this post would be a little more quotes and in-text citation to have a little more evidence backing the claims and information presented.
ReplyDelete