Analysis of an argument -rhetorical analysis - Essay Example

ted and articulate writer, and I do not necessarily disagree with all of his opinions, it is important to note that he is merely a political writer, and possibly an activist. So, we need to examine his essay very closely, instead of reacting to emotional cues, like the word “myth” in the title, which means popularly believed but unproven theories usually passed on by word of mouth, as in oral literature traditions. The first thing Mr. Burnett says after introducing the topic of the 1997 Agreement on global warming and greenhouse gas emission reduction is to say that “there is no scientific consensus that global warming is a problem or that humans are its cause.

” On its face this seems to make the belief in the possible future damage of global warming and that we have contributed to it quite unscientific, until we examine the meaning of that statement. He did not say that scientists do not believe in the problem and its cause, but that they cannot agree on the subject. Well, if you count up all the various scientific issues in current events, there is no scientific consensus on most of them, from man’s origins to the existence of a deity and everything in between.

“Even if current predictions of warming are correct, delaying drastic government actions by up to 25 years will make little difference in global temperature 100 years from now. Proposed treaty restrictions would do little environmental good and great economic harm. By contrast, putting off action until we have more evidence of human-caused global warming and better technology to mitigate it is both environmentally and economically sound.” (Burnett, H. Sterling 1995) However, no proof of these is cited. Mr. Burnett continues to talk in turn about four factors scientists are currently still investigating concerning the environment and greenhouse gasses, but he calls each avenue of investigation a “myth”, making it seem untrue.

So we will take each in turn and look at the validity of Mr.