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Chapter Overview

Hybrid cars. Sigg bottles. Bicycling to class and to work. Eating organic, eating local. Consuming less. All these products and acts are signs of green culture, or the way in which we fuel ourselves has changed drastically in the last ten years. Now, student groups make changes on campus to the very process of food disposal, insisting on composting. People write at the bottom of their emails, “Think about the environment before printing this email.” More and more students bike to campus or take public transportation. Yet this is not the case everywhere and for everyone. While green culture is a rising tide in America, the issues within environmental movement are the subject of intense debates. The chapter tries to move students outside of their comfort zones as they confront and grapple with many sides to such conversations. At the same time, the chapter and the pages below offer a rich menu of writing activities and discussion prompts for stimulating and productive lesson plans on “Fueling Ourselves.”

In the first section of this chapter, “You Are What You Eat,” the book offers various perspectives on how debates around food culture—from the new trend in photographing every meal with a cell phone, to articles and speeches raising the alarm about childhood obesity, to the contentious issue of genetically modified foods, organic produce, and localism. The section includes changing information graphics on the food pyramid to show a shift in government guidance about nutrition and a series of photographs representing family consumption across cultures. In this way, your students can study both research-based arguments and vivid image-based statements on the debates in food culture that shape so much of our world today.

The second section in this chapter, “Greening Culture,” takes as its focus the new trendiness in all things green, or, to use the words of Alex Steffen, “Green is the new black.” From debates over the effectiveness and scientific rigor of An Inconvenient Truth, to a look at Earth Day from various vantage points, the section provides a provocative set of perspectives that will engage students across a spectrum of opinions and political persuasions. A minor case study on “green-washing” and a look at the potential environmental leadership of mega corporations work together to make the section more complex than merely asking “paper or plastic?” by revealing the way we need sharp tools of analysis to understand business and government practices today. Cartoons and information graphics make the section fun to read and memorable, and you can invite your students to create visual argument compositions of their own.

CHAPTER 10 Fueling Ourselves 65

Copyright © 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc.

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HOW TO USE THIS CHAPTER IN THE WRITING CLASSROOM

The chapter contains a series of multiple perspectives on specific issues—organic food, localism, An Inconvenient Truth, green-washing, climate change, etc.—such that you can use the two sections to teach complexity of argument. The chapter helps students break out of binary yes/no thinking about issues by exploring a variety of vantage points. Point student attention to the way in which perspectives emerge through specific writing strategies: tone, diction, sentence length and variety, choice of subheads, inclusion of visual rhetoric, etc.

At the same time, you can empower students to formulate compelling arguments about such texts through following the carefully constructed discussion questions and prompts for additional writing assignments. Finally, the chapter explores many forms of media, such that it will help students acquire and develop expertise in writing analysis papers, critical reviews, position papers, dialogues of sources, bibliographies, research essays, speeches, and visual arguments.

Moreover, you can visit the extensive resources on the Envision Website as you teach this chapter in the writing classroom. Your students will benefit from examining student papers on food culture, the Sweet Surprise campaign, the COP-15 Copenhagen climate change conference, the An Inconvenient Truth, and Linus Pauling, winner of two Nobel Peace Prizes. For research projects, explore the annotated bibliographies, and work through the online exercises designed to develop both visual literacy and writing proficiency.

Visit www.pearsonhighered.com/envisionStudent Resources Chapter 10: Fueling OurselvesResources and Readings; as well as the Student Writing module.

WRITING RESOURCES FROM PREVIOUS CHAPTERS

Since several pieces use comics or cartoons, return to Chapter 1. When teaching the articles about An Inconvenient Truth, consult the pre-writing questions focused on film and documentary at the end of Chapter 6. Since many readings rely heavily on quotations, refresh student expertise in primary, secondary, and field research sources by looking back at Chapter 5. For position papers, Chapter 3 offers solid guidance as well as annotated student examples of such writing.

CHAPTER OPENER CLASS ACTIVITY USING FIGURES 10.1–10.3

Help students grasp the way visual arguments offer complex position statements on an issue by studying the layers of the images in Figures 10.1–10.3. How do the images at first seem simplistic, showing the American flag, a grassy lawn, and a sign in the food court? Upon closer inspection, however, you can see that the images are constituted of multiple materials: loaves of packaged bread, yellow rubber duckies sporting black sunglasses, and an Andy Warhol type cartoon on an advertisement for Earth Day. Leading through such a close examination of these texts will help develop students’ visual literacy, even while it will introduce them to the major themes of Chapter 10. Ask students to take photos of similar

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images on their campus and then write a letter to the school newspaper, explaining their compositions. In this way, you prepare students for the work of the chapter through active learning and through writing activities based upon invention, and analysis. Have each student compose a letter to the editor of your town’s newspaper presenting the making an argument about the meaning of images.

Resources on the Readings: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

SECTION OPENER CLASS ACTIVITY USING FIGURE 10.4

The image in Figure 10.4 offers both an idealistic farm scene and a strong commentary on corporate food culture. Discuss with students the way in which the cow in 10.4 is “branded” with an ISBN, similar to the way packaged food sports a computer label. What is the effect of this juxtaposition? After working through the readings in this section, have students draft additional visual arguments for those issues that moved them most. Follow the directions in Chapter 8 on visual arguments, looking at op-ads in particular. Share the visual arguments with the entire class and discuss how student perspectives have changed or evolved by working through these readings.

Kate Murphy, “First Camera, Then Fork”

In her essay, Kate Murphy examines the increasingly popular practice of photographing food. She mentions the many places where people can load photos of food up on social networking websites, and she offers several case studies of people who regularly photograph their food before eating it. Her article even discusses new technologies for taking food photos in restaurants. The article makes a strong argument, in engaging writing, for the way in which photographing food is actually a process of photographing life. You might wish to teach this text in conjunction with the readings on social media from Chapter 11.

TEACHING THE TEXT AS WRITING

The article provides an excellent example of working with sources; ask students to construct a Works Cited list, using the resource in Chapter 5, of every source mentioned by Murphy. Then, have students map the argument of the piece using the table of arrangement in Chapter 3.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION:

• What is the rhetorical effect of such ample evidence, in the form of many case studies and citations from food-photographers and food bloggers? What effect does this use of evidence have on the persuasiveness of the article?



• How would you describe Murphy’s tone? Which passages do you enjoy most? How does her tone suggest her address to a specific audience?

• Why do you think Murphy focuses on the lives of others, rather than recounting her own story with food? What does this decision do for her ethos as the writer?

• How might digital cameras continue to evolve in order to capture consumption practices?

SUGGESTED WRITING ASSIGNMENTS:

• Write a similar narrative about the photos shown in Figures 10.5–10.7. Imagine that you have interviewed the three photographers, Laura Thal, Sanctu, and Su-Lin. Based on your analysis of the photos, write an account that you think reflects the writing style of Murphy’s New York Times piece.

• Create a food blog and photograph everything you eat for two weeks. Write captions and descriptions for each entry. After two weeks, compose an analysis of your eating practices.

• Interview five members of your community for a popular article on food photography.

WRITING PROJECT FOR FIGURES 10.5–10.7: “FOOD PHOTOGRAPHS”

What makes the images in Figures 10.5-10.7 notable? How does the smiley face in Figure 10.5 reflect the way that coffee can make a person feel happy or energized? How do the camera angles of each figure reveal the consumer in a ready-to-eat or drink position? Write up stage directions for how these photos were staged and taken, keeping in mind that they are strategic visual rhetoric.

Jeffrey Kluger, “How America’s Children Packed on the Pounds”

In an engaging essay, Jeffrey Kluger analyzes the rising tide of childhood obesity in this country. He uses logos and points to both changes in diet and lack of exercise. The piece is an introductory article for a Time magazine special issue on childhood obesity. With your students, you might look up the additional articles in Time and examine the issue as a whole. Then, discuss the various positions and stories as a collection. How do students’ perspectives on this issue change with each new piece of writing or visual evidence?


Refer students back to the discussion on style from Chapter 3. How does the piece have its own unique style through the use of “we,” through the discussion of Thanksgiving as a

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national holiday, and through a shift from history to policy? Have students annotate the margins of the reading, the way the Seth Stevenson reading is annotated in Chapter 2 or the Nora Ephron piece is annotated in Chapter 3. Put students in pairs and ask them to compare the notes they made about the writing practices of this piece.


• How does Kluger use the scare tactic with his turn to frightening statistics about obese children? How effective is this rhetorical strategy in moving his readers?

• Have students debate the following question: Do you think the author’s position on this issue is basically one of optimism or of pessimism? Use specific passages as evidence for each side of the debate.


• Turn this piece into a multiple sides project. Interview key people named in the article and compose position papers, using the guidelines in Chapter 3. Diverse pieces might be written from the perspective of parents, policymakers, doctors, fast food restaurant owners, and obese girls and boys. Have students peer review their compositions in class.

• Write a script for a presentation, delivering the same message and materials as this article. Determine the appropriate audience, and then work through the steps of selection, organization, and translation discussed in Chapter 9.

WORKING WITH THE COLLABORATIVE CHALLENGE ON PAGE 228

The purpose of the collaborative challenge is to offer students a chance to work together in developing their analysis and writing skills. You can easily adapt this exercise to have students focus on three types of eating establishments on campus: the student dining hall, the quick-stop, the fanciest faculty dining spaces, the athletic facility. Students can take photos, design their own photo essays, write corresponding arguments about their projects, and then present their materials to the class. Refer students to Chapters 3 and 8 for help on photo essays and designing multimedia arguments. If they wish to make a film documentary, refer students to Chapter 6 for advice on film and filmmaking.

First Lady Michelle Obama, “Let’s Move Launch”

The First Lady’s speech begins with an extensive list of thank-you’s, building ethos in the form of goodwill, before moving on the main point: about how kids feel and “the impact we’re seeing on every aspect of their lives.” The speech strikes an accessible, impassioned tone, with many personal anecdotes from Michelle Obama and a rising sense of urgency about the problems facing the children of the United States. With the incantatory,



anaphoristic refrain, “let’s move,” the First Lady delivers a powerful discourse on the importance of taking action, both as parents and “as citizens who love this country.”


Work through the Prewriting Checklist for Analyzing Presentations from Chapter 9, pages 214-215, using those questions that apply to this non-multimedia speech. You might put students into small groups or pairs and assign each set one question to discuss and then present to the class.


• Notice the style of the speech. Which lines reflect the speaker’s persona and stance? How does repetition help generate a compelling style for the First Lady?

• How does Michelle Obama use pathos effectively? Chart the different emotions she makes the audience feel as the speech progresses.

• Why might Michelle Obama mention the students by name? What is the effect of picking out one student, named Tammy, towards the end of her speech?


• Do some research on Michelle Obama and write an introduction for her speech.

• Turn this script into a multimedia presentation for a different audience. Follow the At a Glance box questions from Chapter 9, page 198. Revise the script as necessary.

• Write a personal narrative or the script for a speech about your own experience with food and with exercise growing up as a child. Hold a class dedicated to sharing these narratives and discussing the patterns that emerge from all the accounts.

WORKING WITH THE VISUAL READINGS ON PAGES 236–237, FIGURES 10.8–10.9: “USDA FOOD PYRAMIDS”

Discuss why there is now a human figure represented in the food pyramid and why the name has been changed to “MyPyramid.” How do these rhetorical changes reflect political, social, and cultural debates around food, exercise, and health? Have students conduct research on these debates and bring their new learning to class. Then, discuss Figures 10.8-10.9 in more detail.

Michael Pollan, “When a Crop Becomes King”

This piece was published as an op-ed for the New York Times and reveals Michael Pollan’s engaging writing style and strong political perspectives. The piece opens with a gently,

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almost pleasant personification of corn and then moves through a series of historical and political events before ending with a damning critique of corn as a subsidized and protected crop. This piece can help launch a discussion about how our food culture, farming practices, and policies are more complicated than at first meets the eye.


Have students read it out loud as a class to hear the shifts in tone and style throughout, noting how the increasingly strong argument made by Pollan is reflected in his language.


• How does the specific evidence Pollan cites make his writing persuasive? Which passages are most surprising? Which are most effective?

• Chart the rhetorical strategies that characterize Pollan’s writing, including personification, shifts in pronouns, rhetorical questions, parenthetical asides, and changes in tone.

• How do students think differently about corn after reading this article? What counter-arguments and rebuttals could be made?


• Write a press release for the article, as if Pollan were visiting your school. Include the most important points from the article.

• Put students into small groups and have each group pick another crop, product, or consumable to research. This could include farmed salmon, organic produce, packaged hamburgers, orange juice, or soy beans. Have each group write an op-ed of the product and its historical, and political, and policy-related issues. Present all the op-eds to the class.

WORKING WITH THE VISUAL READING ON PAGE 240, FIGURE 10.10: “SWEET SURPRISE CAMPAIGN POSTER”

As a class, watch the Sweet Surprise ads on the Website, available through the Envision Website at http://www.pearsonhighered.com/envision/241. Then, after discussing the ads in various formats, have students make pro and con ads for the topics they chose for the writing assignment above. Follow the guidelines on visual arguments from Chapter 8. Hold a class exhibition to showcase the student work.



John Cloud, “Eating Better than Organic”

In a clearly accessible style, this article discusses the most recent battle in food culture: organic food versus local food. Using his own experience as a rhetorical strategy for engaging the reader, John Cloud covers the pros and cons of each side. He includes substantial interviews and field research. The piece can serve as a great model for a research-based argument.


After students work through the piece with two colored highlighters, as suggested on page 247, have them make a list of the arguments for each side of the debate: organic versus local food. Then, have them generate three alternative titles for the piece based on their interpretations of the sides of the debate.


• How is the debate over food culture played out in your community? What objectives or additional considerations would you make to John Cloud if he were to write this article located in your town or state?

• What surprises you about the position of Whole Foods CEO, John Mackey?

• How might visual rhetoric shape the perspective of readers for this article? Ask students to locate a variety of images in small groups, then compose photo essays for the piece.


• Taking inspiration from Café 150, design a new restaurant for your campus, one that resolves a food culture problem in your community. Write out your idea in the form of a proposal, following the guidelines from Chapter 4.

• Turn this article into a group presentation, writing parts for different members of class to perform.

Peter Menzel and Faith d’Aluisio, photographs from Hungry Planet

The photos and images began as a photo essay for Time and resulted in the best-selling book, Hungry Planet. The writing team also produced the book, Material World, an earlier work that examines the material possessions of people in different countries. They asked people to empty the entire contents of their house on the front yard and then took photos of it. In both cases, the attention to consumption and cross-cultural perspectives will provide for lively discussion in class.

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Refer to Chapter 8 on the photo essay, pages 183–185, and discuss the formal elements of Figures 10.11–10.14.


• How do the photos also show comparisons of family structures, clothing, architecture, gender norms, and living conditions? Discuss the many different views presented in these photos.

• How is the prevalence of processed food an indication of wealth and status? Given the discussion of the previous articles in this section, why is it that with increased prosperity comes an increase in unhealthy, processed food?


• Write a narrative from the point of view of one person from each of the photos in Figures 10.11–10.14. Create a dialogue among them about food culture, consumption, health, and family.

• For a mini version of this project, have students create photo essays of the food they eat in the dorms versus in their homes. Follow the directions on pages 183–185. Assign this project over a weekend or a school break, and return to present the work to the class as a whole.

New York Times, “Can Biotech Food Cure World Hunger?”

Under the rubric of one title, these pieces offer a variety of perspectives on genetically modified foods. The short position papers can be taught individually or together as a set.


This collection of responses to questions about food culture, genetically modified foods, and world hunger allows you to teach and compare four different writing styles and rhetorical strategies with one assigned text. To emphasize the differences among the texts, have the students read each one out loud. Additional students can read the short bios. (You can refer to Chapter 8, page 174, on constructing a bio.)


• Notice how the pull quotes in the article give a brief outline or roadmap to the content of the piece. Do you think these are the best choices of quotes? What is at stake in the selection and repetition of each line? How might the quotes together be perceived as a reverse outline?



• Compare the titles of each contribution. How does the title indicate the stance of

the writer?


• Write a comparative rhetorical analysis of two or three of the views. How does each one use pathos, invoke ethos, and make the argument through specific strategies of argumentation?

• Rewrite the piece as a dialogue of sources, following the instructions in Chapter 5. Interweave all the perspectives, adding your own voice as moderator.

• Interview four members of your campus about this issue and create a parallel piece that reflects the views of your community. You might choose the university president, a student activist group leader, a food worker in the dorm, and a professor from the sciences.

Resources on the Readings, GREENING CULTURE

SECTION OPENER CLASS ACTIVITY USING FIGURES 10.15–10.17

Have students examine the photos in Figures 10.15–10.17. How does the selection of images provide a sort of photo essay about contemporary life in “Green culture”? How is the Got Milk? ad campaign evoked in each image? Discuss the contrast between the coffee sleeve recycling bin and the stranded polar bear. While these photos were taken around Stanford University campus, you can ask your students to create a similar montage of visual signs of “greening culture” by taking photos with their cell phones or cameras and then assembling their selections into photo essays with captions or text.

Al Gore, Images from An Inconvenient Truth

The images in Figures 10.18–10.19 provide a glimpse into some of the evidence used in The Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore. Have students work through the end of chapter prewriting questions from Chapter 3, on photographs, and Chapter 5, on information graphics, in order to generate a discussion of these images. Discuss the color composition for each image and how that choice relates to the pathos effect of the image.

Bjørn Lomborg, “Inconvenient Truths for Al Gore”

In this critical review of An Inconvenient Truth, professor Lomborg challenges Gore’s statistical and scientific evidence, making this piece one of many negative voices in the

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clamorous debate over the significance of climate change. He concludes with a provocative conclusion, that instead of focusing on the Kyoto Protocol, we should start “using resources wisely.” You might teach this article in conjunction with a guest speaker in your class from a student environmental group on campus. How does the environmental group respond to Lomborg’s critique? Launch a class discussion on climate change.


Use the table of arrangement from Chapter 3 to map the structure of this piece. Then, create a reverse outline of the many points by looked at the annotated outlines from Chapter 6. Have students compose a similar response to another documentary or video, but ask them to begin with the outline and then move to the full written draft.


• How does Lomborg use the term “inconvenient truth” ironically in his essay? Identify the many different ways this phrase operates in his piece.

• How might Lomborg’s piece be interpreted as an ad hominem attack? Revisit the section on exaggerated uses of ethos in Chapter 2, page 39, and discuss the tone and nature of the critique of this piece.


• Conduct some research on Hurricane Katrina. Does your research support Lomborg’s analysis? Write a memo in which you detail your position. Be sure to cite from Lomborg’s piece as well as from your supplemental research.

• Make a storyboard (see Chapter 6) containing ideas for a film that Lomborg might approve. Set up a judging panel in class, similar to the American Idol judging panel. Vote on the class storyboards. If you wish, take your project to the next step and compose a documentary film of your ideas.

Elizabeth Kolbert, “Can America Go Green?”

The style of Elizabeth Kolbert’s article—with its punchy, engaged tone—can serve as a wonderful introduction to the tone of many New Yorker pieces. The article begins with a critical assessment of Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Truth, but then broadens out to consider more systemic and structural problems in America such as increasing house sizes and rampant consumerism. It falls short of an indictment of U.S. culture, but the stance is a strong one: “Life in the United States, more than just about anywhere else save perhaps some of the oil-producing Gulf states, depends on cheap and plentiful energy. This is a fact of American culture and also of the American economy.” In this way, the article can serve you as a springboard to discussions of larger social, cultural, and political issues.



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You might decide to teach Lomborg and Kolbert as companion pieces. You can show the film, An Inconvenient Truth, and then discuss the two articles. Then, have students compose their own film reviews, citing specific points from the film. For added challenge, watch “Gore’s New Thinking on Climate Change” on TED.com available through the Envision Website at http://www.pearsonhighered.com/envision/281.


• How do the argumentative subheads work to structure the article? Refer back to Chapter 6 on argumentative subheads. Notice how the subheads here use some of the words in the citation from Gore found in the second paragraph.

• Map the piece as a position paper, noting where Kolbert’s argument becomes quite strong and moves away from discussing Gore’s film and on to larger issues about American consumerism and behavioral practices.

• What do you make of her larger critique of American culture? Hold a class debate about American consumerism and energy use. Each side could bring in additional articles as material to use in the debate, selecting material from a range of publications that are similar to or very different from The New Yorker.


• Write an additional section to this essay to be incorporated under a new subhead. What environmental or cultural patterns regarding energy have you noticed? Try to imitate Kolbert’s style in composing your contribution.

• Research the Kyoto Protocol to determine the truth of Kolbert’s claims. Write a short proposal on how America or the world should best spend its financial resources to improve human conditions and save the planet.

Terrachoice Environmental Marketing, “The Seven Sins of Green-washing”

This humorous illustrated spoof focuses on the misleading ad campaigns used by corporations to seem “green” and thus bring in profits that might otherwise go to alternative, more environment-friendly companies. The piece mimics a dictionary or Wikipedia entry, but plays on the concept of the “Seven Deadly Sins” from the Bible. The green cartoon character wears a green halo to emphasize his noble ambitions or the concept that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

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The piece can offer a discussion of writing across multiple modes. Examine the subtitles of each “sin,” then discuss paragraph unity and coherence for each of the sections. Look at the illustrations and how they comprise a sort of graphic novel recounting the seven sins of green-washing in visual form, as a visual argument. Return to Chapter 1 on cartoons and comics, and look to Chapter 6 on strategies of arrangement (page 118) in order to teach the text as writing.


• How does this list resemble the list of logical fallacies discussed in Chapter 2 (see page 34). What can we learn from guidelines on what not to do? Do any of these “sins” correspond to the rhetorical fallacies presented in Chapter 2?

• What additional details do the cartoons provide that are not listed in the accompanying paragraphs? Consider the first illustration, with its depiction of light bulbs. How do the light bulbs add supporting evidence or illustrative examples to the claim made in the paragraph? What is gained in noticing these details?


• The piece does not present what the punishment should be for committing these “sins.” With a partner, brainstorm potential penalties for each fault. Write up a policy brief or judiciary proposal for your ideas.

• Take another issue from this chapter, whether it be food or consumerism related, and create a storyboard and set of paragraphs for bad behavior. This could be the Seven Sins of Non-Organic Food, or the Seven Sins of Exaggerating Facts in Films. Share your work with the class.

WORKING WITH THE COLLABORATIVE CHALLENGE ON PAGE 267

The collaborative challenge teaches collaboration, research skills, analysis tools, and writing in multiple media. By searching for ads online or in the library (such as in digital ad archives or in the periodical reading room), students learn to apply the learning of the previous reading to new materials selected according to their interests. By creating both a poster and a caption or paragraph, students learn to write across different genres and forms of communication. By displaying their work, students gain confidence in their abilities as researchers, writers, visual rhetoricians, and presenters. You can also ask students to search the online databases of ads at the Envision Website.

Visit www.pearsonhighered.com/envisionStudent ResourcesChapter 2: Understanding Strategies of PersuasionResources and ReadingsAdvertising Resources: Print Ad Banks.



Alex Steffen, “On Earth Day”

“Green is the new black,” opens Steffen’s piece in a lively tone. The piece continues with its argument that green is a new, trendy posture adopted by many. Steffen criticizes this movement, asserting, “we’re being sold out.” Compare this piece to the two articles that criticize Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and discuss how the chapter presents multiple sides of the green controversy.


Steffen’s article offers wonderful material for a lesson on style (see Chapter 3). Have students underline phrases that resonate with them, phrases that are hip and compelling. Then, look at the sentence length and diction of those sentences to get a closer understanding of style.


• Who do you think is the intended audience for this piece? What textual clues let you know this?

• Read the piece out loud, in the format of a dramatic reading. How does the piece come alive when read out loud? Students can take turns reading paragraphs or nominate one very theatrical student to perform the entire piece.


• Write an imitation piece, focusing on an issue that matters to you. Work closely with this text, substituting your issue in appropriate places and using a similar level of detail. Share your position paper with the class.

• Turn this piece into a Website that leads readers through the same argument, beginning with the splash page and then enabling the reader to navigate through subpages. Incorporate images, video-footage, sound clips, and more. Refer to Chapter 8 for directions on composing hypertext and new media writing projects.

Geoffrey Johnson, “Marking Earth Day Inc.”

The New York Times offers a forum for writers to comment on events and issues of the day. Discuss this with your student as a “kairotic moment,” one evoking and using kairos well (see Chapter 2 for an explanation of kairos). You might have your students compose similar op-eds on timely issues that matter to them.

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Ask students to compare the tone of Johnson’s text and Steffen’s text. Which one is more effective in raising your concern about the environment? Chart this piece as a position paper, following the guidelines in Chapter 3.


• How does the piece open with a sarcastic line and then become increasingly serious in tone? What is the effect of this writing strategy?

• What has changed since Earth Day 2004? What elements would need to be updated, modified, or added to this piece to make it current with today?


• Look back at “The Seven Sins of Green-Washing” and rewrite this piece as a series of subtitled paragraphs illustrated in a comic fashion. What do you gain from this translation to a visual argument? What is lost in the conversion?

• What might the “strict screening process” Johnson mentions in the conclusion entail? Draft a proposal, following the guidelines in Chapter 4, for implementing this idea. Review your work with your peers and then present it to the class.

• Create a multiple sides project about Earth Day. Include the perspective of mega corporations such as ChevronTexaco or Sierra Pacific, the perspective of an Earth Day community organizer, and an activist citizen attending the events. Be sure to include an opening and closing piece written by you, the editor and commentator. See many examples of student multiple sides projects on the Envision Website.

Visit the Envision Website at: www.pearsonhighered.com/envisionStudent ResourcesChapter 3: Composing ArgumentsStudent Writings.



Jared Diamond, “Will Big Business Save the Earth?”

Professor Diamond’s work has been made into film versions, most notably Guns, Germs, and Steel. You might discuss with class what aspects of his writing make it particularly accessible and engaging to readers (and therefore to potential viewers). In this op-ed, he moves from discussing three giant corporations—Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, and Chevron—and how each one is making strides to help the environment, to a debunking of popular myths and objections to climate change. His piece concludes with a call to embrace uncertainty and move forward.


Review the table on classical arrangement from Chapter 3 (page 68) and chart the very logical structure of this argument. Then, consult Chapter 6, for “Spotlight on your Argument” and discuss the way in which Diamond builds his ethos in this strong op-ed.


• Does Diamond’s vindication of three giant corporations—Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, and Chevron—surprise you? Why or why not? Which additional companies have been tarred with the “green-washing” brush? What counterarguments could you make to Diamond?

• Why might Diamond turn to simile near the end of the piece, quoting Mr. Holdren that “not acting on climate change would be like being ‘in a car with bad brakes driving toward a cliff in a fog’”? Discuss the power and purpose of this image.


• Using Chapter 5, create a bibliography for the sources cited in this piece. Then, turn the bibliography into a dialogue of sources, in which the sources Diamond cites actually battle out their views in a conversation.

• Translate this op-ed into a short speech. How easily does it become a speech? Which sentences need to be modified to be spoken? Include stage directions and even cues to multimedia support for the speech.

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Al Gore, The Nobel Peace Prize 2007

In his acceptance speech, Al Gore implicitly and explicitly compares himself both to Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Peace Prize, and to Cordell Hull, a Tennessee man described by Franklin Roosevelt as “the Father of the United Nations.” The speech itself is also deeply intertextual, citing poetry by Robert Frost, African proverbs, Kanji characters for the word “crisis” and the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, among other sources. The theme of a need for political will and action runs through it, with a strong call to action at the end.


Using Chapter 5, page 115, make a bubble web of the main components of Gore’s speech. By creating such a visual outline, students can come to appreciate the complexity of the talk and the richness of allusion.


• Why might Gore begin and end with a call to prayer? How does this rhetorical strategy shape his ethos? Why might he begin with “I” and end with “we”?

• How has Gore turned a misfortune – losing the presidential election – into an opportunity to “serve [his] purpose” and make the world a better place. Discuss when you have had the chance to make a similar decision or take similar action in your life, making something good out of something bad or hurtful.


• Write a letter to Al Gore, responding to his speech and citing the passages that moved you most. Detail what you (or members of your community) are doing about climate change. Conclude your letter with a well-chosen citation from poetry, film, or politics.

• Taking your inspiration from this piece, plan a research project to chart the Nobel Prize winners from the past. Compose a research freewrite about your project, following the guidelines in Chapter 4 (pp. 83-84).

Mark Jacobson and Mark A. Delucchi, “A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030”

The COP-15, or Copenhagen Climate Conference of 2009, brought many speakers and politicians together with the hope of finding sustainable solutions to devastating climate change. Consult Figure 5.11, in Chapter 5, Vincent Chen’s field research photo from the event, to make this academic article come alive for your students. Discuss how each section of this article offers a piece of hope to a planet in crisis.




Compare the tone of this article to the tone found in other selections in this chapter. What is the effect of the serious, almost objective style of writing? How does it build ethos for the authors?


• Assess the concluding call to action in light of the tone of the piece. Are you persuaded by the rhetorical strategies of the article?


• What additional plans and technologies might be possible in the coming decades? Brainstorm your ideas with a partner. Create a poster to share your contribution with the class. Follow the guidelines in Chapter 9, pages 204-205.

chapter 10 fueling ourselves -...

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