Being part of the undergraduate class here at the University of Denver, we have a huge responsibility as students and we also have great power. We are all learning and becoming more educated towards our major(s) that will one day, help us become leaders in the world. As we all know, Deforestation and exploitation of our natural resources is one of the hottest and most disputed topics in today’s world. While many simply argue that there is still an abundance of resources left to be used and that we are nowhere near the breaking point of our Earth, other like myself take the opposition. It is vital that we unite not only as the undergraduate student body here at DU but as the people of Earth to unite as one strong voice and push for regulation and educate not only the people that are unaware but also reach out to the wealthy CEO’s making millions while they destroy our planet. It is true that we still have resources that are yet to be put to use such as the oil deposits in ANWR Alaska and plenty of rainforest to be chopped down in the Amazon but have we really measured and considered the effects of cutting down these forests and changing natural habitats, forever? Students, if we continue to consume at this rate, once we begin our lives and introduce the next generation, have you thought about what will be left for them? By using up these resources that, yes they still remain abundant, we are simply acting irrationally and only damaging our own future.
As many of you know, we all live on Earth and everyday we get natural services provided by us for our planet. If we don’t unite and put an end to rapid deforestation, we wont only be losing the cute animals we see on TV and on the way to keystone or one of the many ski resorts but we will also be losing natural services that these rainforest provide to us for free. For example, take a second to relax and take in a nice deep breath of fresh air. Have you ever wondered where this clean fresh air comes from? Or what provides the air cycle to maintain us all alive? Well if you haven’t taken NATS: Ecology for a new millennium, this one of the few services that nature and the forest provides us for free. If we do not push for a reform in the way that we obtain our energy or reach out to the companies that are destroying our planet, one day we might find ourselves having to pay for breathing! Our natural niche is to reproduce and keep our species alive, but if we just sit around and consume everything we set our eyes upon, what will be left for future generation? Alternative energy solutions are out there just waiting to be discovered and by drilling new holes or by cutting down more trees we are simply procrastinating and not coming forth to this challenge that is in our hands!
Deforestation is a rather interesting problem that faces our community, true, but why should we care when more immediate issues are around us? You do a nice job of emphasisng the fact that if we do not begin to tihnk about the way we impact our environment, it may not be there in the future and/or that the fututre generation may suffer. I feel as though your argument may be more impactful if you incorporated more concrete reasons and consequences as to what will happen in the future, how exactly will this impact us. If you appeal to this more, the audience may feel your ideas on a deeper level becasue they have a better idea of what their inaction will cause. Your appeal to students may also be more effective if you appeal to sometihng that is more a crucial part of thier everyday lives and really show them why they should take time out of thier hectic class schedules or rowdy party lives to consider thier impact on the environment overall. You have some fantastic ideas and are definitely advoacting for a good cause, I would just encourage you to find a more compelling way to express that to your audience and pull them in on a deeper level.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we truly need to act now in order to save our planet's forests and natural resources. You bring up important information and examples of why we need to save what is left of our planet. Your blog does a good job catering a a specific group of people (DU) students, and you give reasons (that appeal to them) why they should help. By bringing up skiing, hiking, TV, Keystone, DU students can empathize and be closer to your issue. I also very much enjoyed the bold paragraph at the end. This paragraph helps sum up your post, and further encourage students to do something about the loss of wildlife/deforestation. I feel you could add to your argument by including what would impact the environment if just one person made simple changes to their day, or if the school did something to make a difference. Over all, I think you have a strong and compelling post that really grabs an audience.
ReplyDeleteI found this project to be my favorite one this quarter. I really enjoyed it because i got to talk and argue about something i am passionate about and also something that i am currently learning in one of my other classes. I also enjoyed being put into groups so we could access each other and build a blog together that tied in with my group members, kind of like a 3-legged stool. At the beginning i had issues with addressing a particular audience but once i got that piece down and managed to sculpt my writing around it, the whole thing kind of fell into place. One of the things i learned is that you can not write the same way to anyone. depending on your audience, you might be at a disadvantage or an advantage and you have to modify your writing towards the people that you want to convince or reach out to. In my writing, i used mainly pathos because i was trying to reach out to my undergraduate peers here at DU, and being a current student, i had an advantage from the start. I also used logos to provide some factual data to back up my cause on deforestation. Having read the comment and post from my classmates, i came up with many ideas to revise my piece for my final portfolio. I connected my issue to students here by relating it to skiing and outdoor activities but i understand that while many do enjoy the outdoors, a good amount also prefer to stay here on campus and i need to connect my argument to how the students that do not like the outdoors will be affected. By including more solid facts and by including more solid and concrete consequences i feel as if will be having a more solid and persuasive argument.
ReplyDelete^ victor valle
ReplyDeleteThanks, Victor, for your post. I think you've certainly captured your enthusiasm and passion for this issue, and I think you're clearly conveying this energy to your audience, which imagine also works well to insprire them.
ReplyDeleteHere's what I'd like to see you work as you revise. First, I'd like to see you cite evidence or some background reasons that better establish the nature and the degree of this problem. That is, you state there is a problem in this area, but you need to provide some justification, which in turn will better prepare your readers for your call action.
Second, I know you're calling on students to do something on this issue, but what would you like to see them do about this issue? If you could sharpen this final call to action, you will strengthen your persuasiveness.