Rhetorical Analysis Of Sandra Steingraber's Despair Not

The environment has always been controversial topic. Global warming, fossil fuels, and climate change usually are the main topics, when talking about the environment. Many people feel strongly about the issues pertaining to the environment, while others seem not to care. Though some of the populace seems to not care about the environment, many people do not fully understand what is going on. Most of the population is not fully educated on the issues of the environment. While some people are, they are not sure what to do with what they know. If more people had knowledge and knew how to help, would they? Sandra Steingraber, an ecologist and author of the essay “Despair Not”, focuses her essay on the ongoing environmental issues, “In fact, the

By using a logical appeal, the audience believes in what she says, it gives her credibility, and makes her trustworthy. Steingraber included several different logical appeals in her essay. Steingraber quoted Rachel Carson, who is a biologist. “She wrote, ‘Future generations are unlikely to condone our lack of prudent concern for the integrity of the natural world that supports all life.’” (Steingraber 745). Steingraber used this quote from Carson in her essay because the quote goes with what Steingraber is saying. It shows logic and it also encourages the audience to change their ways. Throughout her essay, Steingraber keeps mentioning the next generation and children. She listed off five chronic childhood diseases linked to chemical exposures, one of the five being, “One in eight U.S. children us born prematurely. Preterm birth is the leading cause of death in the first months of life and the leading cause of disability… Preterm birth has demonstrable links to air pollution, especially maternal exposure to fine particles and combustion byproducts of the type released from coal-burning power plants (Steingraber 746). Including this in her essay was not just a logical appeal, it was also an emotional appeal. This was effective because the audience will feel at fault for what is happening to the children if they are using chemicals or fossil fuels. The audience will

Paradoxically, because industry is not obligated to supply the data on developmental neurotoxicity, the costs of human disease, research, and prevention are socialized whereas the profits are privatized