Climate change, like the economy, is a huge problem that everyone. It is the biggest
problem in the world because if the climate makes a rapid change, the entire planet will be
destroyed, and problems that we think are big will become very small. There is a popular
misconception that climate change is not occurring, but it is occurring and at an alarming rate.
Two of the biggest contributors to climate change are the growing population and advances in
technology and science. Because of the growing population, more pressure is put on the earth
for food, water, and natural resources. The progression of technology and science contributes to
climate change because the more technology that is being used, the more the planet becomes
polluted. In the book, An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore, Gore discusses global warming, the
effects of global warming, and some possible solution to global warming, like riding a bike
instead driving, using energy efficient heating and cooling in homes, and recycling, to help slow
the process of global warming. He uses allusion and appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos to get
the point across that global warming is a clear and present danger, and that people must act now
to save the environment. Gore alludes to historical events because he wants the audience to
make the comparison between something that happened in history and global warming. He
makes an appeal to ethos because he uses charts, graphs, and statistics, and a lot of the
information he learned about global warming from scientists. The quote: “We are witnessing a
collision between our civilization and the earth” makes his appeal to logos because this is a direct
result of global warming. Finally, he makes an appeal to pathos when talk about how the polar
bears are struggling to survive and how future generation will be affected by global warming
because of the choices made by people now.
In An Inconvenient Truth, Gore alludes to the signing of the Declaration of
Independence, women’s suffrage, and the end of segregation. The purpose of such allusions is to
show that some of the greatest moments in history entailed going against the grain to make
changes, and that it took a lot of hard work and more than just one person to make the change.
Global warming is one these historical events, that calls for all people to beat all odds to
overcome the climate change. When people think of all the triumphs made in history, they will
think of global warming as another obstacle that needs to be overcome. After forming a new
nation, giving women the right to vote, and recognizing that all men are created equal, people
will think of something like riding a bike and recycling as something that can be done to solve a
major problem. Recycling did not help end segregation, but marching and peacefully protesting
were some of the things that helped end segregation, and that was hard to do. Recycling is easy
and it can help solve the biggest problem that the world faces.
“We are witnessing a collision between our civilization and the earth” is an appeal to
logos because global warming is a direct result of this collision. Because the government
decided that the economy is more important that the environment, the environment is suffering.
But if the environment is destroyed, will the economy still be more important than the
environment? If the planet is destroyed, there will not be a place for the economy or the
government to exist. Civilization will no longer matter because what good is civilization when
there is no planet to have it on? Earth is our only home. When things get really bad here, we
can’t just pick up and leave and go to another planet and start over again.
Next, Gore makes an appeal to ethos using charts, statistics, graphs, and information that
he learned about climate change from scientists. When something is being discussed or
presented it is always best to present it using data and facts because these things are more
definite and believable. If he made the claim that temperature of the planet has made a dramatic
increase in the last 1,000 years, and he does not have any proof or anything that indicates a rise
in temperature, then people would not believe him. They would think that he was just stating
something that he believed is happening rather than something that is really happening and the
proof that it is really happening. Scientists who study the climate are a credible source for
information regarding the climate changes because they have been studying changes in the
climate, and they could pinpoint changes in temperature, the things that are causing the
temperature to change and why the temperature is changing.
Lastly, Gore makes an appeal to pathos by talking about how the polar bears are
struggling to survive and how people today are taking for granted the planet that might not be
here for future generations. Because of global warming the polar icecaps are melting leaving
little to no ice for the polar bears. The polar bears swim up to sixty miles just to find ice. A lot
of them have drowned because they can’t find ice, so they are left to swim for miles, and
eventually they get tired, and they can’t swim anymore. This is an appeal to pathos because it
sad to think of any living thing suffering because it can’t find anywhere to go. Because people
are taking the planet for granted, it may not be here for future generations. The choices that we
make today have a huge impact on tomorrow. Because we decided not to save the environment
today, the people of future generations will suffer tomorrow. No one wants to image the
hardships that their children will face in the future because they did not take any precaution to
secure a future for their children. Saving the earth for future generations is as important as
keeping the future generation healthy. People must do both.
In short, Al Gore uses appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos and allusion to get people to
understand that climate change is happening, and it is not good, and that something must be done
to slow down the process of climate change. He offers solutions to help save the environment
like recycling and controlling the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that are made. He
mentions that they way people live and the environment are on a collision course with one
another, and our lifestyle is winning, but because we are more in favor of the way we live, we are
destroying the only place that we call home. And as a direct result of our lifestyle, future
generations will suffer unless some change is made to the way we live.
An Inconvenient Truth
Al Gore
Loreal Jordan
02/24/09