Gulf Oil Tragedy

Humor and satire have long been effective rhetorical angles. To this end, here's a clip from the Jon Stewart Show.

This article by Maureen Dowd describes the role of the Minerals Management Service (MMS).

This clip from MSNBC also discusses the MMS.

Here's a video from outside the mainstream media. See what you think. Remember: the focus is on rhetoric, not booming, per se.

View from Mount Holyoke (The Oxbow), 1836

Thomas Cole (1801-1848), oil on canvas 51.5"X76"

What sense of nature and wilderness does Cole's well-known painting convey?

Julia Butterfly Hill - Adventures In Treesitting

You'll find a 3-part documentary here about Julia "Butterfly" Hill's protest as well as a NBC Dateline feature. See page 45 in our text for more information.

What do you think of Hill's protest?


Part 1

Part 2


Part 3

Dateline News Feature

Chapter 3: Citizen Suits

We're not going to read all of Cox's third chapter because I'd like to focus on a key issue (so-called "citizen suits").

Read pp. 99-104 in the text.

Then read the following two articles:

1. "Novel Antipollution Tool Is Being Upset by Courts."
By WILLIAM GLABERSON of the New York Times.

2. Christopher Stone's "Should Trees Have Standing." (See class handouts for the article.)

Wilderness Act 1964

I'll attach a few links about the well-known Wilderness Act, which was pivotal in defining the term "wilderness" as it relates to federally protected land.

The Wilderness Society


A summary of the law from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

You can find the law's full text on our Blackboard site.

Blogging about the Environment

As Cox indicates, environmental issues routinely make the news (13).


I'll keep a running list of blogs that Cox and others reference. Hopefully, the list will be a good resource for you. If nothing else, you might skim some of the entries to get a feel for the genre of the blog post:

Dot Earth

A blog hosted by the NY Times.

Environment News Network

This blog reports on issues such as health, green technology, energy, and wildlife.

Grist.org

Grist reports on environmental news with a not so subtle touch of sarcasm.


National Geographic: Daily News

You'll find recent environmental news here--and award-winning photography.

A Timeline of Key Moments in Environmental History

A Timeline of Key Moments in Environmental History

Jobs Versus The Enviornment

On page 4 of your text, you'll notice that Cox cites a CNN poll that indicates strong support for environmental issues.

Compare the original text of the article to the way in which Cox cites the article.

How does Cox contextualize this quotation? In other words, how does he use context to shape the reader's interaction with the information in the source article?

Environmental Issues and Human Impact

This link will take you to a film about the relationship between human activity and the natural world.


Environmental Issues and Human Impact. Films Media Group, 2006. Films On Demand. Web. 18 May 2010. http://digital.films.com/play/6X59ZA.

The film can also be accessed via the Hofstra Library Research Databases. Search for Films on Demand.

Item# 34728

This video looks at urgent environmental concerns facing planet Earth and what people can do to repair the degradation humans have caused. Air and water pollution, the effects of pollution on health and the environment, deforestation and loss of wetlands, ozone depletion and global warming, and the negative impact of agriculture, construction, and recreation/tourism are discussed. The program ends with anti-pollution initiatives like recycling and greater energy efficiency. The key message? Individuals can make a difference! A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. Correlates to National Science Education Standards, National Educational Technology Standards, and Standards for the English Language Arts. A Cambridge Educational Production. (22 minutes) ©2006