Consumerism
While watching “The Story of Bottled Water,” I thought to myself, “Is this all true, or is this really being blown out of proportion?” I simply couldn’t grasp the idea that we as consumers are that wasteful. So, I decided to watch the film again to really grasp the narrator’s message. Then it hit me: in high school AP History, we discussed how bottled water started and how it has become a multi billion-dollar company. From a business point of view, it seems so ignorantly deceptive, yet it was absolutely genius. With a little marketing, bottled water became a huge success. However, it is killing the environment and the water is usually comparable to tap water regardless. The “The Story of Bottled Water” is a very well-made short
She developed a fun, informative, and engaging video on such a serious topic. She did this by making a cartoon movie that illustrates how the companies are manipulating consumer decisions. She is also the narrator of the movie, which shows viewers how passionate she is about the epidemic of waste. Additionally, she supports her claims with research and her own personal experience. When watching the video, it immediately pulled me in and told me what I need to know; it is both engaging and educational. Leonard gives interesting facts to keep viewers involved throughout the film. She asks questions to encourage viewer involvement in thinking through the impact water bottles have on the environment. At the end of the film, she even challenges the viewers to do something to make a difference by boycotting water bottles and setting up petitions demanding cleaner tap
Once I processed Leonard’s ideology I immediately felt like I was hurting the environment. She does a great job of connecting to the viewers on an emotional level. Leonard shows us how the water companies deceived us and connected to us emotionally but for their own profit and not for our well being and if anything they are hurting those who bought into what they were selling. The big water companies deceived us in a way that made us feel we were drinking water from natural springs when in all reality we are drinking tap water that was filtered. Leonard shows us how the water companies scared us into believing we needed bottled water and then how we fell for it because we didn 't know better. Leonard then connects with us emotionally by showing us how we have been wronged and how we are contributing to hurting society every single day by buying a product that is hurting our world. Leonard shows us how passionate she is about the topic and how she ventured across the world to see how consumerism is affecting not only us but countries all over the world. She worked hard in her research to show us that the plastic bottle is a concept that can destroy our ecosystems and in return hurt us as
As soon as the novel begins, we are introduced to the concept of saving the environment. The book begins with the narrator explaining his life-long dream of helping the world. He says that the cultural revolution of the 1960’s contributed to his ambition. However, as time went on he
She talks about how the bottled water can be convenient and easily available at almost any store. By saying, "The ultimate convenience is always having water by using a reusable plastic water bottle." She tries to persuade the readers to reuse the water bottles instead of disposing of it. She asserts at the beginning of the article that, "Bottle water is here to stay" and says that She will continue to drink from her reusable water bottle and reserve bottled water for times in which she cannot acquire clean tap water. Johnson also talks about bottle with Eco-Slim cap and explains how water companies are aware of the environment and are decreasing the amount of plastic in bottle to reduce it 's on the environment. She has also provided an strong example of Haiti where bottled water was able to become a life savior after the very destructive earthquake of 2010 and agrees that bottled water has various benefits too. These counterarguments show that the author is not totally against the bottled water and she knows that bottled water is here to
Zhang, J. (2009, July 13). More Scrutiny Urged for Bottled Water . Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203577304574276473594279310?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052970203577304574276473594279310.html
In the first article "The Curse of Water Bottles" the author is obviously trying to convince people to stop wasting bottles and recycle. For example "There are solutions like using your own personal water bottle and refilling it" and that would save from buying water bottles, and reduce some of the waste. It also states "Some cities are fining homeowners and businesses for not recycling" so that means even cities are trying to get people to stop wasting water bottles. Companies and/or states have tried putting rewards on the bottles if you return them, as stated "Some states have tried to put a nickel return fee on water bottles like those on soda and other beverages" but it still doesn't work out for everyone, because "grocery
Persuading viewers to think about their actions as to how they can improve this dilemma. Burtynsky 's projects have completely flipped my perspective of how humans consume the resources around them, slowly collapsing from our own demise. It made me want to change my lifestyle choices to help better and slow environmental change.
Green washing: The disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image. In order for big companies to stay on top of the market today, they are forced to think of advertising strategies to help their public image and advertise their product. Over the years the system has become very complex and also very questionable. Companies are willing to lie, change their logo, and sometimes even their company name just to keep their name and image clean in front of the public just to make sure that they are making their money. Green washing helps this by advertising to the public that they are environmentally supportive and responsible. Most people that are into buying “green products” do not even realize that the company they are buying from is green washing in some sort of way just so that they can attract attention to the public. Green washing companies may advertise that they are “eco-friendly”, but when it comes down to it, the facts hidden behind the curtains beg to differ. Just like in the green washing video we watched in class, the companies may look great compared to the worst companies, but that does not mean what they are doing is still productive for our environmental movement. One company that has been notorious for their green washing efforts for the past couple of decades is the Oil/energy company: British Petroleum a.k.a. Beyond Petroleum. They are one of the world’s largest leading oil companies who has also becoming a large energy supplying company with presence in petrochemicals, gas, and solar divisions. Over the past twenty years BP has been the cause of several deadly disasters in the oil business in the U.S. and around the world. Despite their green washing effor...
...ishing. While it makes clear that changes need to be made politically, this is a film meant to appeal to the environmentally concerned citizen. The film-like elements, while distracting to those watching the film with analytical intent, would most likely evade the average viewer. Such thematic elements help to increase viewer engagement, already lacking in environmental films, as becomes significantly easier to watch. Rupert Murray created a film not to be picked apart by critics, but to serve as conversational material between average citizens. He takes steps to ensure that viewers are given simple directives and memorable arguing points, such as repeating images of the MSC sustainable logo. While the statistics may have be victim to claims of arbitrariness, it is easy to visualize an individual at a party asking if others have heard that seafood will end in 2048.
In conclusion I believe that Melanie Scruggs uses many different approaches such as logos, and ethos to effectively persuade her audience to believe that she is in fact correct about recycling, and landfills. Although Scruggs fails to apply pathos, and address her opposing argument I believe her argument is still
In complete honesty the article "Forgot Shorter Showers," written by Derrick Jenson brought a weird sense of relief to me personally. Everything that the author explained in his work was my common thoughts on issues related to environmental issues. It's not that I don't care about my environment, and this world as a whole, but no matter how "green" I myself am it won't matter in the long run. An individual will not change the overall outcome of everything bad going on in the environmental world. It takes a movement to even start any type of momentum related to not just environmental issues, but any global issue that presents itself. The author couldn't have possibly said it better for me in relation to my own personal opinion surrounding these
Many people fail to notice that today’s advertisements are often deceitful and do whatever it takes to make us believe we need to buy the product being advertised. Based on this statement, one may wonder how advertisements can make us buy into their lies and what the effects of advertisements lying to people may have on society as a whole. In order to understand this concept and its implications, it is useful to analyze an example of an advertisement that tries to convince people to endorse in a brand by withholding the truth and committing fallacies in the process of doing so. The advertisement that will be discussed is part of a Chevron ad campaign titled “We Agree” that has come out in order to promote the company’s positive external affairs with third world countries and its participation in the green technology and energy movement. The print ad titled “Community” will be the advertisement in focus for this essay. This particular ad portrays Chevron in a philanthropic light while neglecting to address the anti-philanthropic scandals that Chevron has been a part of. By portraying Chevron in such a positive way, this ad presumably accomplishes the feat of making people believe lies. If people are convinced by this ad and feel that it is truthful, then they are being lied to and are failing to see the truth behind the ad—the very reason why Chevron would put on such an ad campaign—to cover up for lies. These people have been misled by advertisement. While seeking to support “good” companies so as to be perceived as good people these people have become victims to Chevron’s ploy to convince the public that their company only benefits the community. However, because this is untrue, such a lie could in turn lead to negative consequ...
It appeals to ethos because it is ethical to recycle. The PSA also should make a person feel better that they are lending a hand to the environment to make it a better place. It appeals to pathos because the video shows the emotion of the plastic bottle and allows one to sympathize with an inanimate object. The communication style was appropriate and effective because of the emotional and ethical factors. It is convincing in telling its story and getting its point across in only 60 seconds and is entertaining to watch as well.
The cost involved in water bottles is inconceivable to many. Bottled water costs 240 to 100,000 times more than tap water, which can be brought to your house for just pennies per day; based on city water usage, 4,787 bottled waters could be filled with tap water for $2.10, if each bottled water costs one dollar, you would pay 2,279 times more than if a single bottle is refilled. If tap water cost as much as bottled water, a monthly water bill would be around nine thousand dollars. By virtue of this, society is unaware of the fact that by replacing water bottles with tap water, many countries with economical dilemmas could be less strained.
According to the “Competition in the Bottled Water Industry in 2006 Case,” bottled water industry became the one of the world’s most attractive beverage categories, as more and more people began to focus on health and fitness. Consumers start realizing the need of proper hydration, and they began purchasing bottled water instead of drinking tap water, because they were worried about safety of tap water, which tasted like chemicals. Actually, tap water contained chemicals, such as chlorine and fluoride, which are harmful for human body; however, this problem was solved when the bottled water was brought to the market. Due to bottled water’s convenience, purity, and portability, and safety, bottled water industry began to rise rapidly. During
Strom, Stephanie. "Bottled Water Sales Rising as Soda Ebbs." New York Times 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. .
While walking through the park last Sunday, I observed a shocking scene. There were two cans: one for recycling and one for trash. The recycling receptacle had only an empty Dr. Pepper can and a few used Ozarka water bottles. On the other hand, the trash can had a plethora of half eaten meals, wrappers, banana peels and disgustingly even bottles, cans, newspapers and plastics that could have been recycled. Because people do not understand or do not care to understand about conserving our resources, many reusable items are being put in landfills when recycling these items could help save the environment. People should know the negative impact of throwing away a water bottle or newspaper, purchasing meat from the grocery store or consuming gasoline has on the environment, and many do not. By informing society about how their decisions affect the environment, we can help save our planet and change our attitude toward the land we live on, the water we drink and the air we breathe” and truly show respect for the stuff that we depend on.