FINAL COURSE PROJECT

“Platform for the Planet”

Introduction

The article is insisting on the importance of the concept of environmental crisis. The environmental crisis represents an issue that has been in existence since the 1970s ("1.4 The environmental crisis", 2020). It has been said to be partly as a result of the presence of occurrences like the Sahelian droughts, which took place in the 1970s and the nuclear incident which took place at Chernobyl in 1986. There two recurring themes on the topic of environmental crisis as per the report published by the UNEP. One of the themes is the idea theta the world ecosystem of humans is under a critical imbalance in the production and distribution of goods and services. This can be supported by the fact that a huge percentage of the human population tends to live in poverty, and there exists a big gap between the beneficiaries of technological and economic advances and those who do not.

The second theme is based on the fact that there are accelerating changes taking place at the global scale with individuals showing a lot of interest in technological and economic advancements and less concern on matters to do with environmental conservation ("1.4 The environmental crisis", 2020). People are seemingly seeking economic advancements at the cost of the environment and thus bringing about the issue of environmental crisis.

It is important for all individuals to be involved in the practice of protecting the environment ("Environmental Awareness | Educate Yourself and Those Around You | Pachamama Alliance," 2020). There are a lot of problems which have arisen as a result of the environmental crisis. Some of these problems include global warming, the depletion of the ozone, presence of the acid rains, tropical forests being destroyed, and extinction of some species as a result of an imbalance in the ecosystem. All these problems have adverse environmental impacts, and despite this issue, their potential solutions rely on the beliefs and behaviors of people. This topic is very important because if the issue of climatic changes is not dealt with, it will render human life and planet earth unbearable. If people oppose the issue of environmental crisis, they will end up putting the globe into the danger of extinction, while those who support the issue will be helping in making the world a better place to live. Individuals should know that the issue of climatic changes is real and show some effort into restoring the climate.

Summary

The topic of the article is “Platform for the Planet” (Monbiot, 2020). The author states that the political parties are finally getting into helping in the call for the environmental crisis even though the media has not yet woken up into this fight. The author insists on the concept of environmental crisis and why people, that is, the general public and the media, need to get into the fight for the environment. The author presents the argument that despite the adverse effects of the befalling environmental crisis, there are still some people who have not yet become serious about protecting the environment.

The author states that people are often that curtailing the freedom of carrying out business, as usual, is undemocratic and coercive (Monbiot, 2020). The author wonders about the principle which billionaires and corporations employ in deciding the fate of the current and future generations. According to the author, when the administration removes the rich and corporations from regulations governing the environment, they are indirectly allowing them to decide the fate of people as far as their lives are concerned. He insists that those with the power were not elected to make such kind of decisions.

The article states that even firms with strong credentials cannot be trusted with this kind of power. The author states that it had been stated that the level of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere was reaching high levels, calling for a need for plummeting to avoid the upcoming climate catastrophe. All the governments should cease powerful interests like the case of Marks and Spencer from trashing earth. The author says that people should judge political parties based on such cases. After a long while, the article states that for the first time ever, the environmental policies were now given the attention they deserved in almost all parts of the world. Governments should note that most of the most dangerous industries around the globe are being run by billionaires who act as if they are above the law.

Analysis

One of the rhetorical appeals which the author uses is logos. One of the instances where logos is used in the article is when the author asks a rhetorical question concerning the environmental crisis. In the article, the author asks, "but by what democratic principle should corporations and billionaires decide the fate of current and future generations?” (Monbiot, 2020) By using this question, the author tries to make the audience think more about the issue. One of the roles of such a question is to direct people on the direction which they should think towards. It is a logical way of asking people to think critically onto the direction dictated by the question.

He also uses logos when he says that governments are failing to play the role they were elected to play when they release corporations and billionaires from following regulations that protect the environment. It is logical for the audience to understand that the government is letting its own people down when it fails to insist on the idea that all the parties should follow all the regulations for protecting the environment closely.

The author also uses appeals to emotion when he says that governments are allowing billionaires and corporations to determine whether people should live or die. It beats people's emotions to hear that their lives are being controlled by other individuals. It will make the audience think hard on the issue of environmental crisis and why the corporations and the billionaires are being indirectly given a chance of deciding the fate of their lives. It is easy for the audience to think straight into the matter when their emotions are induced.

The author also uses appeals to credibility to drive the message concerning the environmental crisis home. He uses credibility when he uses the example of Marks and Spencer to show how big corporations are subject to climatic changes (Monbiot, 2020). The corporation insisted that it was committed to protecting the environment, but that was not the case as it manufactured screens, batteries, casings, and electronics, which were designed for single use. It would have been expected for the firm to manufacture renewable items if it was serious on the issue of protecting the environment.

Counterargument

The counterargument is that organizations are important for the economic growth of the nation, and they should be given an opportunity to carry out their activities despite them causing a lot of adverse effects on the environment. This counter-argument is illogical because it does not take into consideration the fact that if the environmental crisis becomes intense and people begin to lose their lives due to the environmental impacts, the dangerous industries will not be left with anyone to run them. The billionaires who own them will as well not be spared by the environmental calamities which will befall them. For example, the article talks about people dying as a result of the operations carried out by the dangerous industries. The original argument is true because it calls upon the government to protect the environment to prevent people from becoming victims of the adverse impacts of the environmental crisis.

My position in this issue is that the government should not let any individual or corporation make the world undesirable to live in. It should be keen to implement all rules for protecting the environment. It should not let any individual be above them. Utilizing the counterargument makes my analysis stronger because it shows the adverse effects which can arise if people do not become serious in protecting the environment.

References