Joy Williams, author of this article, writes about an overused topic – the environment – in a very unique and fresh way. She states various environmental issues and humanity's increasing ignorance of them, but instead of attacking "society" or "Americans," she directly accuses the reader, using the word "you" over 100 times throughout the piece. Using this strategy, Williams points out issues such as treating nature as a form of entertainment (like zoos and wildlife parks), as well as treating its respurces as machines and conveniences used for our advantage only (such as rivers as irrigation and trees as pollution-removers). She accuses the readers of ignoring the obvious harms to nature and only caring about its appealing appearance, and incriminates scientists who "experiment" with nature. One of the major issues she exposes is the habit of big corporations looking for "solutions" to environmental problems like pollution by seeking countermeasures that will keep their images clean but will not ultimately curb their profits. This attitude of "we'll stop when we have to," claims Williams, is not a responsibility of science or technology, but a moral, personal responsibility. Only with a drastic change in mindset can these tremendous problems be solved and the environment saved.
Joy Williams uses various different strategies to write about the different environmental issues in her essay, ranging from description to causal chains. Her tone throughout the essay is conversational an casual, but also accusing and rant-like, showing a lot of her personal feelings toward society's indifference toward these issues. Williams writes in a fast-paced, constantly changing manner, switching very quickly from problem to problem or example to example. Thus, her transitions are very quick and brief, but she still manages to make them clear and smooth, making the piece flow together very effectively. Her appeal to the reader relies very heavily and powerfully on pathos, as she talks directly to the reader and makes very personal and emtional accusations. She uses logos and ethos throughout the essay as well, citing organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency (ethos) and statistics from sources like the Forest Services (logos) to reinforce her largely emotional argument. This very personal attack does an incredible job of getting the message across, and the essay is very effective in making the reader reflect on their role regarding the world around us and wanting to change their attitude towards it.
https://disassemblingwalle.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/savethewhales1.pdf
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