Global Warming is Media Hyped Hysteria - Essay Example

Comparative text analysis of two articles The rhetorical analysis of the two articles: ‘Greenhouse Gases Cause Global Warming’ by Environmental Defense Fund and ‘Global Warming is Media Hyped Hysteria’ by American Senator, Inhofe is highly pertinent to the scholars primarily because the articles have talked about the same issue but have persuaded their audience in widely differing ways. The paper would be comparing the two articles on the basis of three different literary styles vis-à-vis ethos, logos and pathos.

The articles have adopted these styles and they would be studied for the impact that they have made on their readers or audiences. The first article has been published by an environmental agency and therefore, it has used ethos in its writing to convince the readers. The use of scientific explanations and relevant theories are used to explain the drastic ramifications of the global warming. ‘trading program would harness American ingenuity to decrease heat trapping pollution, cost effectively..’(EDF).

The Second article, on the other hand is a speech by a political leader and therefore, one is able to find the text full of pathos and logos to sway the public perception. Inhofe has cleverly used creative imagery and mental images to provide a relatively coherent explanation for his arguments. ‘Advocates of alarmism have grown increasingly desperate…’ (Inhofe). First article lacks emotional appeal and relies heavily on scientific facts which are stark in their explanation and therefore, fail to impress the common man.

Inhofe, on the other hand, has combined logos in his pathos. Citing previous press releases, Inhofe’s rhetoric of the discourse was designed to inflame the feeling of outrage against the media hype and has asked ‘if CO2 is the driving force for global climate change, why do so many in the media ignore the many sceptical scientists who cite these rather inconvenient truths?’. The structured and well laid out article has tried to explore the issue through the myths that are common among the masses but the lacklustre style has failed to convince the masses because it is not tempered with modules that have significant impact on human emotions.

Inhofe has shown that facts and figures need to be used in a manner that it can impact the human psyche through clichés and metaphors. “’60 Minutes’ failed to inform its viewers that a 2005 study by Ola….that the interiors of Greenland are gaining ice and mass and that… Arctic was warmer in 1930s than today”. The scientific data are interspersed in the text in a manner that effectively strengthens Inhofe’s arguments. One can therefore, conclude that the textual analysis has shown that words and expressions when used with emotional appeal have more impact on the common man than the interpretations of the first article that were stark in their disclosure, making no efforts to touch the heart of the common man.

The use of metaphors and the informality of the diction by Inhofe, captures the attention of the people and conveys the message of pathos with an harsh emphasis that both horrifies the readers while at the same time acknowledging the righteousness of the speaker. Indeed, the suggestive use of words like ‘holocaust deniers, climate porn etc.’ is designed to interpret the author’s complete understanding of the nature of human relationship.ReferenceEnvironmental Defense Fund. (2009). ‘Greenhouse Gases Cause Global Warming’.

At Issue: Greenhouse Gases. Ed. Ronnie D, Lankford. Detroit: Green Haven Press. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Centre. Gale.Inhofe, James, M. (25 September, 2006). Global Warming is Media Hyped Hysteria. ‘Inhofe to Blast Global Warming Media Coverage in Speech Today’. U.S. Senate Press Release. 2006.