Introduction
From fake news to alternative facts, the media has been at the forefront of politics both in the United States and on a global scale. People may read headlines and conclude immediately, or they may read one outlet exclusively and hinder themselves from any outside source. This is detrimental to the discussion, especially when it comes to the ideas and even beliefs about climate change. The media dictate the state of climate change in the public, whether on the right or left side, which hinders the spread of information regarding both the dangers and the solutions to the ever-growing problem in our community, both at the local and global level. In this paper, I will analyze the rhetorical strategies used by Breitbart News, a source on the right, and The Guardian, a source on the left, in selected articles on the topic of climate change. Through my analysis, I discovered that there is a greater use of rhetorical fallacies on the right in articles about global warming. As a result, people who only read Breitbart will have a very skewed understanding of global warming and, therefore, may make a political decision accordingly.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277209115_Rhetorical_Analysis_of_Arguments_Made_in_the_Climate_Change_Debate_Argument_Families_and_Social_Network_LInks_as_Potential_Bases_for_Agreement
In this article, the author, Elizabeth L. Malone, explains what global warming is. She states that global warming is a serious matter in the modern world. She defines Global Warming as an increase in the external temperature of the soil that has altered numerous life systems on the planet. She highlights that the factors that cause global warming are divided into two different classes, which include the natural and human effects of global warming. In her article, she writes that the temperature has unceasingly altered for eras. One of the reasons she has given for the increase in global warming is the natural revolution of the sun that fluctuates the concentration of sunlight and comes nearer to our planet (Malone).
Author Elizabeth L. Malone says that the other reasons for global warming are greenhouse gases that are being released into the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases are carbon monoxide (CO) and sulfur dioxide, which trap the heat rays from the sun and prevent them from escaping the surface of the planet. This is one of the reasons that the temperature of the planet rises (Malone).
In this article, the author is saying that humans are responsible for global warming and that humans should instantly stop using fossil fuels as they are the main cause of global warming. Moreover, the quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing rapidly due to the excessive use of fossil fuels.
Fallacies:
In the article, the author failed to provide the facts and the figures that support his claim. All of the analyses made in this article are theoretical, and no evidence could prove his claim. There is a lack of evidence that supports the claim.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-point-of-no-return-climate-change-nightmares-are-already-here-20150805
In the article “The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here,” the author describes the effects of humans on Global Climate change. The author says that the human effect is a very serious matter currently since humans do not take care of the planet Earth. Humans that are responsible for global warming are additional to the natural causes of global warming. The author discovers that the planet Earth has been altering for countless ages till now, and it is also changing in the present time because of the modern activities of humans. Human activities include industrial manufacturing, burning excessive amounts of fuel, large-scale mining, cow rearing and cutting a lot of trees (The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here – Rolling Stone).
The Author says that one of the major factors is the Industrial Revolution. Industries are using very high quantities of fossil fuels for powerful machinery. According to the author, all that we are using has the involvement in these burning fuels. The author gives the example of a mobile phone. When we purchase one, its manufacturing process involves machinery that uses fossil fuels; this process releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air. It is because of the industrial, transport such-as carriages is also discharging carbon dioxide (CO2) from expanding (The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here – Rolling Stone).
The Author says that further main cause of global warming is the huge quantity of mining. Through mining, the methane gas is trapped underneath the soil. Also, grazing cows will also root methane gas since cows unconfined the method of compost. However, cows are significant since they create the final similarly answerable for the increase in global warming. Another reason the author gives for global warming is deforestation. Deforestation is a human activity, as humans have been cutting down a large quantity of trees and plants to produce paper, furniture, timber, build houses, and much more. According to the author, if human beings continue deforestation, the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) will increase in the air since trees can absorb more and more carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. Moreover, human beings also discharge carbon dioxide (CO2) when they inhale. Hence, the quantities of billions of individuals’ breaths have released carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air. The Author is worried that if human beings continue deforestation, human breathing that discharges carbon dioxide (CO2) will remain in the air (The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here – Rolling Stone).
Lastly, the author advises that human beings must stop burning, for example, burning dry leaves or burning trash. It releases a large quantity of carbon dioxide (CO2) and poisonous gases if burning trash that includes plastic material. The author advises that the government must decrease the cutting of trees for the reason that the planet’s temperatures are growing rapidly. Trees and plants help to keep the temperature low on the planet Earth (The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here – Rolling Stone).
In this article, the author claims that the human factor is the main cause of the increased global warming and excessive use of fossil fuels, and the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is the main cause of global warming and extreme climate.
Fallacies:
In this article, No source or quotation from any climatic scientist or researcher is given. No specific climate scientist is named in this article, and no theory related to global warming is presented in it. The lack of clarity and resources makes the audience doubtful about some of his claims related to global warming.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/09/16/dont-blame-climate-change-hurricanes-have-always-been-and-will-always-be-with-us.html
In the article “Don’t blame climate change: Hurricane has always been and will always with us”, the author Paul Driessen says that the claim of global scientists that climate change and global warming result from excessive fossil-fuel use and the release of carbon dioxide into the air is totally false. The author says that even if we are somehow able to take control of global warming and lessen the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, hurricanes will not stop, and they will remain with us. The author further claims that environmental scientists are spreading the causes of hurricanes and extreme climate for their own interests and earnings. Environmental organizations get a huge amount of funding from all over the world for the lessening of global warming, and these organizations are spreading false news so that they can get more and more funds from developed and under-developed countries. The author further claims that the greater number of extreme climatic conditions, like hurricanes and cyclones, are due to the weather fronts and landmasses on the way, and there is no human factor involved in it. The author failed to give any strong reason to prove his claim. No strong evidence supports his claim (Don’t Blame Climate Change: Hurricanes Have Always Been and Will Always Be with Us | Fox News).
In this article, the author claims that the increasing number of hurricanes is not due to global warming, and there is no human factor involved in the increase in global warming and extreme climate.
Fallacies:
In this article, the author failed to convince the audience by claiming that there is no involvement of human factors in the increase of global warming. Although the author has consulted a meteorologist to prove his claim, these claims lack citations.
Works Cited
Don’t Blame Climate Change: Hurricanes Have Always Been and Will Always Be with Us | Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/09/16/dont-blame-climate-change-hurricanes-have-always-been-and-will-always-be-with-us.html. Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.
Malone, Elizabeth. Rhetorical Analysis of Arguments Made in the Climate Change Debate: Argument Families and Social Network Link as Potential Bases for Agreement. Nov. 2004.
The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here – Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-point-of-no-return-climate-change-nightmares-are-already-here-20150805. Accessed 30 Sept. 2017.
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