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William Lenart
Professor Raman
CAS 137H
1st October 2014
Rhetorical Analysis Essay
The issue of climate change has become a popular topic in the world we live
in today. Focusing on the Northeast Region of the United States, average annual
temperatures have been rising by two degrees Fahrenheit since the year 1970 and
heavy precipitation events have been increasing in both magnitude and frequency
as well. Scientists project that these climate trends will only continue, putting the
Northeast Region and other regions affected by climate change in danger. The World
Wide Fund for Nature, formally known as World Wildlife Fund, uses an interesting
advertisement scheme with the incentive to raise awareness on climate change and
draw attention to the problem from otherwise unlikely viewers. Using a picture of a
man with a fish face in place of his regular face, the WWF conveys the message “stop
climate change before it changes you.” This image containing dark lighting and a
spotlight on a mutated man with the face of a fish can be extremely effective in
drawing attention. The message conveyed can make one ask oneself, “Could this
really happen?” With this question in mind, the ad will encourage the viewers to
learn more about the dangers of climate change and how such dangers can affect
our world.
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The World Wide Fund for Nature is the world’s largest independent
conservation organization, working in more than one hundred different countries
and supporting thousands of conservation and environmental projects. With more
than five million supporters worldwide, the WWF is a highly respected organization
with the mission to “stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to
build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature." Founded in the year
1961, the WWF has been effectively working towards this mission by starting
notable programs and campaigns like the Debt-for-Nature Swap and Earth Hour.
The Debt-for-Nature Swap concept was conceived in 1984 by Thomas
Lovejoy, a former director of the WWF, and was first used in Bolivia during 1987. In
more detail, this is a concept of financial transactions where a portion of a
developing nation’s debt can be forgotten in exchange for investments in
environmental conservation measures. Earth Hour is a worldwide movement for the
planet that is held annually on the last Saturday in the month of March. It
encourages people, families, businesses, and communities to turn off non-essential
lights for at least one hour on that Saturday. Earth Hour encourages energy
efficiency as well as helping build effective energy conservation habits. Learning
some of the efforts proposed by the WWF helps the audience of the fish face
advertisement to understand clearly the reputation and credibility that the WWF
holds.
Displayed at the bottom of the advertisement is the WWF logo. The logo used
for WWF originated from a panda named Chi Chi, famous for being the only panda
residing in the Western World in 1958. The panda logo with the letters “WWF”
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written below simply represents the WWF by showing that they want to save all
living species on our planet by keeping the natural environment safe and habitable.
Out of the top fifty most well known logos of all time, the WWF’s logo ranks twenty
fourth out of fifty. This statistic means that many people viewing this advertisement
will understand, as well as appreciate, the credibility behind the WWF and trust
their advertisement along with their beliefs.
Looking back to the statistics mentioned earlier in this essay on climate
change in reference to temperature and precipitation increase, it is evident that
climate change can permanently change the way of living for people and animals on
earth. With this known fact the assumption can be made that the commonplace held
by the audience is that people need to take action now to help solve the problem of
climate change and raise awareness on the matter. The WWF’s advertisement
logically explains their argument by conveying the message that if people do not
start to give more effort towards the issue of our planet’s climate then our way of
living will negatively be affected. Planet Earth contains seven billion people and
over eight million different species. On a smaller scale, a city contains people and
different animals the same way the Earth does: by giving a healthy and safe
environment for its inhabitants to live in. If a city with a good environment for living
starts to be consistently affected by negative factors, it will eventually be taken over
by those negative factors and turn into an environment that is less habitable or not
habitable at all. Individuals of this city will be forced to move or adapt to their new,
less habitable environment. The main difference in this analogy is that when the city
became an environment where people no longer wanted to live in, they had the
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option of moving to a more habitable environment. Earth is the only planet capable
of maintaining its seven billion people and eight million different species. If Earth is
the only planet mankind can call home, by the time the negative effects of climate
change begin to show, it will already be too late. Humans and other species of the
world will be forced to adapt to the new, less ideal conditions.
The dark world climate change can turn Earth into is noticeably depicted in
the fish head advertisement. The picture itself barely has any lighting. The small
amount of light that is shown seems to be a spotlight serving the purpose of
highlighting the face of a fish on a man’s body. The fish face itself displays a giant
frown, bulging eyes, and has features that are similar to that of a fish that has been
left out of water for too long. Viewing the advertisement can immediately shift the
audience’s mood, giving them a depressed, sad and concerned feeling. By changing
the mood of the audience, the WWF’s advertisement gives people a feeling that they
may feel again if society as a whole does not act to stop climate change.
“People don’t know what they have until it is gone” is an expression that has
much truth behind it. The human mind has a difficult time fully appreciating the
things around it; the most valuable things in a person’s life can go unappreciated
and mistaken for something that is worthless. However, whenever someone loses
something, even of small value, they become upset. The WWF recognized this
problem humans have and therefor gave the audience the feeling they would
experience if they were to lose their world. With the high credibility of the WWF, the
simple and logical message being conveyed, and the intelligent pathos being
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displayed, the audience’s appreciation for planet Earth will grow and motivate them
to take action on this serious problem the world, and therefor us, are going through.
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Works Cited
"Climate Change Impacts & Threats | The Nature Conservancy." Climate
Change Impacts & Threats | The Nature Conservancy. N.p., n.d. Web. 05
Oct. 2014.
"Effects." Global Climate Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2014.
"Gift Center." World Wildlife Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
"Impacts & Adaptation." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web.
07 Oct. 2014.