In recent years, the human population has been subjected to what is thought to be an environmental consequence of climate change.
Many people believe that climate change or global warming exclusively refers to environmental issues such as rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and higher temperatures. Climate change is defined as a shift in the regular pattern of weather and related changes that occur in seas, land surfaces, and ice sheets throughout time (Union of Concerned Scientists, n.d).
The exact effect of climate change cannot be determined, but the result of climate changes can cause catastrophes such as droughts and hurricanes.
There are several causes of climate change both physical causes and human causes. Natural causes include continental drift, volcanoes, ocean currents, and the earth tilting. On the other hand, the human cause of climate change includes greenhouse gases and their sources. Human factors have been found to have a massive contribution to climate change compared to natural sources.
According to NASA (2014), climate scientists agree that the primary cause of the current level of the global warming trend is the human contribution to the expansion of the greenhouse effect.
NASA’s Gavin Schmidt a climate scientist claims that human population is responsible for 96-97% of the current level of global warming making people be the dominant factors for global warming since 1950 (Nuccitelli, 2014). The primary human activity that can be blamed for the increase in human contribution towards climate change is industrialization process. Countries that have large industries and economies have been found to be the leading emitters of greenhouse gases. For instance, China boasts one of the largest economies. As a result, China has overtaken the EU and the US as the world leader in the production of CO2 emissions. Currently, China is responsible for 10 percent of the total greenhouse gases produced in the atmosphere by the world (Pidcock, 2016).
Human contributes to climate change through several activities that they are engaged in which result in the production of greenhouse gases.
The greenhouse gases are the principal causes of rapid climate change in the world (Union of Concerned Scientists, n.d). The only producers of these greenhouse gases are human activities. Therefore, the human population is solely responsible for the rapid climate changes being experienced.
Specific Example
Several human activities result in the production of greenhouse gases such as the conversion of forest land to other uses and the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels contribute to the largest percentage of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Combustion of fossil fuels produces energy that is utilized by production industries in both developed and developing countries. However, these fuels also produced carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide gases which are harmful to the atmosphere. For example, according to Riley (2017), just 100 companies are the primary sources of more than 70 percent of the world’s greenhouse emissions. Therefore, when these gases are released into the atmosphere, they form greenhouse gases which destroy the ozone layer resulting in lots of penetration of the sunlight hence making the earth surface to heat up. Therefore, the continued dependence on fossil fuel for energy by the human population produces gases that disrupt the ozone layer leading to climate change.
Scope of the Problem
The problem of climate change is a global issue and should be studied from the global perspective so that it can be managed effectively. The United State is a leading economy in the world. Therefore, it is important to use data from the country because it will help in determining the extent which human activities contribute to greenhouse levels in the atmosphere. The effects of climate change such as drought and hurricanes are a major disaster, and they affect every individual in the environment (Union of Concerned Scientists, n.d). Therefore, government agencies such as NASA and Environment Protection Agency have to understand how humans contribute to global warming so that they can devise ways of managing the problem.
Evidence
The aim of the article is to get the reader to be engrossed in the information being provided. Therefore, the first evidence that would be presented in the paper is the connection between climate change and human population. Creating a relationship between the two makes the reader be attracted to reading the article because the issue of climate change features consistently on the News. Consequently, statistics about the general effects of global warming to the environment and how it affects humans can be provided early in the article to appeal to the emotions of the reader making the reader more interested in the information available in the report. Another evidence that would be provided early in the article is the data about the various contributors to climate change (Canadell, & Raupach, 2008). Comparing the human contribution to climate change and the other contributors of climate change appeals to the logic of the reader hence the user will start to reason critically on how human can reduce their contribution to global warming and climate change.
Visual Support
Several images and graphics will be used in the article to increase the ethos of the paper. First, the article will use a picture showing the radiation process between the sun and the earth surface. The image will be important in showing the reader how various gases in the atmosphere regulate the amount of sunlight touching the surface of the land and the changes that occur when greenhouse gases are released into the air. Such an image can be obtained from NASA website.
Secondly, the image of industries and other human activities that burn fossil fuels to produce greenhouse gases will be used in the paper. The use of this picture will visually show the reader some of the key activities that produced greenhouse gases hence it will be able to appeal to the reader’s logic to start minimizing on activities highlighted by the image. Such an image can be found in an environmental journal and new paper items.
Lastly, the article will use the image of some known examples of climate change effects such as hurricane disasters. Hurricanes are among the most common form of climate change implications (Canadell, & Raupach, 2008). Using an image of an environment that has been destroyed by the storm will appeal to the emotions of the reader hence the reader will be convinced of the need to reduce human activities that contribute to climate change.
Narrative
As a student and a person, I had the chance to experience on multiple occasions how human being contributes to climate change through greenhouse emissions. The usual means of transport to school is the school bus. However, many individuals including me have on several occasions decided to come to school using our cars. Most of these cars use fuel oils which are part of fossil fuels hence it ends up producing greenhouse gases. Considering the number of students coming to school with their cars, the level of emissions being produced is very high. These levels could have been reduced if every student agrees to use the school bus as a means of transport to school. Furthermore, many other individuals choose to use their cars for transportation within the country instead of using public means of transport such as the trains. Thus, we intentionally, decide to burn fossil fuel and produce greenhouse gases that lead to climate change.
Framing an Argument: Reducing Plastic Waste in SFU Teaching Labs
Strategies
In the article reducing plastic waste in SFU teaching labs, the author first strategy is to create a sense of responsibility to the reader. The author provides statistical data about plastic waste in the United States. The data shows that the United States contributed 30.7 million tons of plastic waste in 2007 alone. Additionally, the author states ways in which plastic waste can be managed in the environment and states the advantages and disadvantages of several ways of disposing plastic waste. These strategies used by the writer have the same effect on the reader which is responsibility (Aulakh, 2009). By citing the United States Environmental Protection Agency as the source of the data used the author can show credibility earlier in the text hence the reader can be more intrigued by the article.
Problem Description & Thesis
The writer's description of the problems begins with a general view of the problem before narrowing it down to the particular area that the article wants to address. First, the article talks about plastic waste in the United States and names several means that can be used to manage the problem. The author then narrows the focus on the problem to science laboratory using SFU labs. The thesis of the article is the need to find new and better methods of dealing with the issue of plastic waste.
Use of Examples
The author uses examples to describe the extent of the problem and how several factors play a significant role in the process of developing the problem. For instance, the writer uses the example of pipette tips to show how things which are considered insignificant can be contributing to the bigger issue of plastic waste in the environment. Consequently, the writer uses examples to show some efforts that have been put in place to help in reducing the amount of plastic waste generated in the science laboratory.
Scope of the Problem
The problem of plastic waste management is a global issue, and it affects the environment and the people living in the around. The scope of this research problem is limited to the science lab in Simon Fraser University (SFU) Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. The use of plastic pipette tips is a global phenomenon in scientific labs. However, few labs practice recycling of used pipettes tips to reduce cost and as a means of managing wastes. The fear of contaminated results makes it difficult for pipette to be reused especially in result based labs (Aulakh, 2009). The problem affects the students, their professor and every individual living in the surrounding environment because the contamination coming from the plastic waste will interfere with the ecological system of the area.
Personal Narrative
The author of this article uses personal narrative to shade light on several ways in which plastic waste material are accumulated in labs. The personal story of the author enables the reader to realize ways in which they too might be contributing to the accumulation of plastic waste in the environment. The aim of this narration is to educate other users of the pipette on how to reduce their reliance on the tool and try other tools so as to lessen the amount of plastic waste generated by the labs (Aulakh, 2009). The narrative also, suggests to the reader other instruments that can be used instead of the pipettes which are friendlier to the environment than the pipette tip that cannot be recycled.
Images/Graphics
The use of pictures and graphics in the articles is to enforce the general argument of the text. In the article, reducing plastic waste in SFU teaching labs, the images are used to show the main contributors to plastic waste in that particular environment. The graphics also show these pipette tips are used and then discarded generating plastic waste in the labs. Furthermore, the images show some recommendations on the use of pipette tips. In this case, the images are used to the logic of the reader.
Level of Research
Evaluating the level of research in this article requires the analysis of the evidence presented by the author. For instance, the statistical data provided by the writer has to be proved to have come from a reliable and credible source. Consequently, the arguments fronted by the author have to be supported by reliable and sufficient evidence from other research or scholarly articles. For example, when arguing about labor and monetary cost the author should state how each is incurred.
Ethos of the Writer
The author’s ethos can be described by the personal narrative which is related to the problem of plastic waste management hence it appeals to credibility. Furthermore, the author provides evidence for arguments presented by citing sources which have authority in that field. For example, the author acknowledges the United States Environmental Protection Agency for the data about plastic collections in the United States. The use of such authoritative source enables the author to borrow their credibility and present it to the reader as their own.
Framing an Argument: Designer Edward Tufte Compare & Contrast Analysis
Strategies
In the article “The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching out Corrupts Within” the author first strategy is to familiarize the reader of the article with the concept of discussion. The author then informs the reader about what the article will be focusing on which in this case is the comparison between PowerPoint with alternative methods of presentation. Also, the author informs the reader techniques that have been used in the article to get the information being provided (Tufte, 2006). The writer presents several important questions about the topic that can help the reader in understanding and analysis of the paper.
Problem Description & Thesis
The author first, provides the reader with a narrative from IBM president about his experience with the PowerPoint presentation. The author describes how people have become reliant to PowerPoint presentations as a standard method of creating their presentation both in government and corporate organizations (Tufte, 2006). The thesis of this article is that PowerPoint, unlike other presentation tools, reduces the analytical quality of acute presentation of evidence.
Use of Examples
The article uses examples to provide support for the argument presented by the author. For instance, the author gives an example of a PowerPoint slide from a statistics course which shows an incomplete cliché. The use of the example by the author was meant to substantiate the writer’s claim that PowerPoint slide presents impoverished, imprecise statements and slogans which are abrupt and thinly argued (Tufte, 2006). Furthermore, the examples are used as evidence to illustrate how the problem being discussed occurs.
Scope of the Problem
The use of PowerPoint is extensive in a majority of presentation in the electronic world. The extent of this article is to address all issues that are related to the use of PowerPoint slides for the presentation of vital information. The article also aims at providing solutions to the problems identified by suggesting alternative presentation techniques that are much more effective than PowerPoint. Every individual who uses PowerPoint for their presentation will be affected by this article (Tufte, 2006). However, the primary target of this article is corporate organizations and government institutions.
Personal Narrative
The author of this text does not provide his personal story. However, the writer uses a personal narrative from the IBM president Louis Gerstner. The narrative by IBM president used by the author provides insights at some of the major problems associated with PowerPoint that business organizations might face. The use of the narration from the director of one of the leading companies in technology was aimed at appeal to the reader’s logic so that they can critically think and reflect on the experience of IBM President (Tufte, 2006). The use of this narration gives credibility to the argument presented by the author because the source of the narration is an authoritative figure in the field.
Images/Graphics
The use of images in this article is aimed at appealing to the emotions of the reader while complimenting the arguments made in the text. For instance, the argument raised by the writer about is the lack of content and breaking of narrative in PowerPoint slides is complimented by an image of a bottle with the word PowerPoint Phluff written on it. The implications of the picture are to show the disorganization caused by the use of PowerPoint. Also, the shape of the bottle appeals to the emotions of the reader because it looks like a medicine bottle to get rid of PowerPoint sickness.
Level of Research
The standard of research in this paper can be determined by analyzing the evidence provided by the writer. The method used in collecting the data presented can also be used to evaluate the level of research. In this case, the data was collected using the scientific method of random sampling of 32 non-PowerPoint presentations and 10 case studies plus a collection of 200 PowerPoint slides. The use of scientific method to collect data and analyze it makes the research to be credible and appeal to the logic of most of the readers. Furthermore, the author provides evidence to support his arguments from reliable, credible and authoritative sources hence making the text to have sufficient reliable information.
Ethos of the Writer
The personal narrative provided by the author provides a basis for the arguments raised in the article hence the reader find the article to be credible and reliable. The source of the personal narrative provided in the article is an authoritative figure in the topic and the technology field hence readers of this article tend to understand and find the information credible easily. Lastly, the use of scientific method to gather information used and supplementing it with evidence from other reliable sources such as NASA enables the writer to use their credibility to provide more credibility to the article.
References
Aulakh, S. (2009). Reducing Plastic Waste in SFU Teaching Labs.
Canadell, J. G., & Raupach, M. R. (2008). Managing forests for climate change mitigation. science, 320(5882), 1456-1457.
NASA. (2014). What Is Climate Change? Retrieved from: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change-k4.html
Nuccitelli, D. (2014). The 97% v the 3% – just how much global warming are humans causing? | Dana Nuccitelli. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2014/sep/15/97-vs-3-how-much-global-warming-are-humans-causing
Pidcock, R. (2016). China is responsible for 10% of human influence on climate change, study says | Carbon Brief. Carbon Brief. Retrieved from: https://www.carbonbrief.org/china-is-responsible-for-10-of-human-influence-on-climate-change-study-says
Riley, T. (2017). Just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions, study says. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/10/100-fossil-fuel-companies-investors-responsible-71-global-emissions-cdp-study-climate-change
Tufte, E. R. (2006). Beautiful evidence. New York.
Union of Concerned Scientists. (n.d). How Do We Know that Humans Are the Major Cause of Global Warming? Retrieved from: http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/science/human-contribution-to-gw-faq.html#.WWO-M1FRXIU
