Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Mapping The Future Of Global Civilization'

Former Vice President, Al Gore begins his article“The Climate Emergency” telling a story of a time he gave a speech about climate changes in America. He describes climate changes as an urgent issue that many people don’t seem to take seriously enough to be able to address. He believes there are many leading causes that contribute to climate change such as greenhouse gases (methane) that people have brought into the Earth’s atmosphere. Gore mentions the studies of his friend Lonnie Thompson, who had noticed a skinkage of glaciers, that could possibly melt away in 20 years. By describing the dangerous outcomes of climate change and how it will affect people and the environment, he lets his audience know that people must change their actions

to prevent further issues from occurring. Not only does he keep his focus on America, he talks about other areas in the world such as the Arctic Circle to prove how the changes in temperature are already having an effect. Gore then lists population growth, technology, and people’s way of thinking as the three leading causes of climate change to sum up why climate change has such a great impact on the environment. Gore concludes by stating how people view the Earth’s global issues as too big to fix, when as a whole, people have the ability to create a better way of living. The urgency of making a change goes back to how eventually people will be forced by authorities to adapt or confront the consequences of extinction. Gore is a credible author who provides viable information to his audience by stating statistics throughout his article to appeal to the audience’s emotions on what would occur if climate conditions became too extreme to fix.
Although no specific organization of agents was mentioned in this article, Gore explains the ways people can help prevent a global epidemic. This article relates most towards Khanna’s article “Connectography:Mapping the Future of Global Civilization” in the sense that they both focus on climate changes and solutions that people are capable of making. As for the ideas in “Testing the Waters”, “How a Billionaire’s Wife Is Becoming the Mustangs’ Messiah”, and “Why You Should Let Kids Eat Dirt,” they all correlate to form a domino effect based on climate change that will lead to the extinction of both humans and organisms.
Khanna, Parag. “Connectography:Mapping the Future of Global Civilization.”
TIME MAGAZINE, 18 Apr. 2016, http://time.com/4291008/connectography/?iid=sr-link1. Accessed 6 February 2018.
In this excerpt on Parag Khanna book “Mapping the Future of Global Civilization” he proves to his audience that a new manifest destiny must occur in the United States due to climate changes.

He gives evidence from other reliable sources like New Scientist magazine to explain how rising global temperatures will eventually cause the United States to become an inhabitable place. Khanna mentions how although people such as former president Barack Obama have enforced organizations to help prevent the spread of global warming, that it is inevitable to prevent. He then goes on to explain the reasons why countries such as Canada and Russia are not affected by climate change, which leads Khanna to present his solution of having a new manifest destiny in the United States. The only way Americans could prevent a migration to a new country is if the United States became a “hydraulic civilization,” which he claims would not make an ideal place to live. He argues that the best solution will be to have a migration that will either be voluntary or forced. Therefore, Khanna believes moving to a new country should be an option of escaping drastic climate changes. He proves his argument to be true by listing the benefits that these two countries would have if they nearly quintupled their population, letting his audience view a new manifest destiny as a reasonable option. Khanna is a credited author who is known as an international relations expert. With all the traveling he has done around the world to help make his book, he mainly persuades his readers with the statistics he has gathered to find reasonable solutions for dangerously rising temperatures in the

U.S.
Overall, a forced migration would be a vast change in the lifestyle of Americans and is definitely implying a forced adaptation. Moreover, “The Climate Emergency” closely relates to the ideas of Khanna in that they both based their ideas on climate change and gave reasonable solutions that people can make. Unlike the ideas in “Why You Should Let Kids Eat Dirt” that contradict this article by allowing humans to find a way of becoming immune to diseases and possibly living in a country with harsh temperatures. As for the articles “Testing the Waters” and “How a Billionaire’s Wife Is Becoming the Mustangs’ Messiah” they focus on the idea of preservation of animals which does not relate to a migration of humans . Despite the focus on either adapting or becoming extinct in these three articles, they go against neither effect or support the ideas of Khanna.

In the article “Testing the Waters” Krista Mahr explains in a precise manner the crisis that the Great Barrier Reef is currently confronting. Mahr also managed to mention other coral reefs to support the issue of what is currently happening around the world’s oceans. However, the primary focus is the Great Barrier Reef and how it is being harmed both by human actions and nature itself. These actions tend to dissatisfy tourist since these areas are world-wide known attraction, but because of these actions the overall effect is that coral will become extinct and reefs will begin to erode, which would be the extinction of coral. Mahr is not a well known American journalist, but does states credible facts from multiple resources that are expertise on the Great Barrier Reef. Mahr’s ideas were capable of linking with the inquiry by explaining how an extinction of coral reefs will eventually occur due to global warming. This ties back to the main focus in “The Climate Emergency” and “Connectography:Mapping the Future of Global Civilization” as the rise in temperatures in areas around the world are forcing a change. All three of these articles mention the errors people in these environments have made that have sped up the process of either extinction of animals or the adaptation of humans. On the other hand Sifferlin presents an opposing topic on a forced adaptation for humans in “Why You Should Let Kids Eat”, which has no association with the ideas Mahr presents since they are talking about an extinction of a species.

Tim McGirk’s article is centered on Madeleine Pickens idea of having a fitter, more humane place for wild horses to live. Pickens is a woman of wealth but instead of just writing a check she chooses to do something that will truly make a change by using her money for something that will actually be noticed. Pickens started an organization called “Mustang Monument”, a refuge for wild horses that is located in Nevada. Pickens has been able to save a couple horses, however, it still isn't enough, there are obstacles like cattle ranchers who need the land for their cattle to graze upon. The ranchers are trying to pass a bill that prohibits horses from water access. Unlike the ranchers, Pickens was able to pass a bill through the U.S. congress that prohibits the slaughter of horses in the United States. Her goal is to with “Mustang Movement” is build a sanctuary for all wild horses and to teach the public about their history. McGirk is a well known veteran journalist who exquisitely tells the story of Pickens by letting his audience feel sympathy for wild horses and the danger they are facing. He shows no biased opinions as he truthfully tells the journey Pickens has gone through to make up the Mustang Monument. Overall, this article relates to the idea of having a forced extinction because of the restrictions ranchers want to put on wild horses. The organization that Pickens has managed to create demonstrates a similar concept towards Mahr’s on preventing the harm of animals. In contrary, the article by Gore is about climate change, while McGirk’s article is about a woman wanting to pursue her dreams of giving wild mustangs a sanctuary. However, both articles want to use the government to get the attention of the people in order to stop a global issue. In addition, Khanna’s article is about the choices and the changes that people must make in order to keep the Earth’s inhabitants alive. As for Sifferlin she leans more towards informing the public about a better way of life for infants in her article “Why You Should Let Kids Eat Dirt”, which has nothing to do with McGirk’s article.

Caucasians are known for having the weakest immune systems out of all races. This is due to the fact that Caucasians are the most health-conscious individuals who rarely expose themselves to bacteria in their daily lives. Sifferlin talks about the importance of exposing infants to bacteria in order to grow up with strong immune systems. Children with strong immune systems are less likely to develop allergic reactions and are also less likely to get ill. Sifferlin backs up this idea by mentioning a study that Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology did on 467 infants to evaluate their health in the span of three years. Researchers came to the conclusion that humans live too clean with little exposure to germs, which is why they believe eating dirt is a possible factor that can help develop a strong immune system. Sifferlin is credibly known as a writer for Time Magazine that covers subjects over science, health, and medicine, which prove her theory on eating dirt to be reliable. She bases all of her arguments solely on facts to explain why people have such weak immune systems. Her article in no manner mentions any organizations that want infants to begin eating dirt to force an adaptation for humans, instead this idea is just an option that could lead to a better lifestyle. There is no relation in this article that goes back to the research question and therefore cannot be used for further research. On the contrary, the concept that Sifferlin presents in this article most commonly relates to “The Climate Emergency” and “ Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization” since they all lead to an adaptation in the way humans live and how they decide to use or preserve the environment for their benefits. As for “Testing the Waters” and “How a Billionaire’s Wife Is Becoming the Mustangs’ Messiah” they have nothing in common with the article since these two authors main focus is on animals and ways to prevent their extinction, which has nothing to do with improving infants immune system.