Daily Archives: September 17, 2020

RCL Blog

The Greta Effect: Speech Outline

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Background 

  • Talk about how Greta first learned about climate change and the detrimental effects it had on her health 
  • How she used persuasion on her parents to convince them to change their life style habits (logos didn’t really work, pathos did) 
  • August 20, 2018, Greta started her first strike outside the Swedish parliament to call for stronger action on climate change by holding up a sign reading Skolstrejk för klimatet (School strike for climate). 

Analysis 

First Point: How she gained traction 

  • Kairos:  decided not to attend school until the 2018 Swedish general election on 9 September; her protest began after the heat waves and wildfires during Sweden’s hottest summer in at least 262 years 
  • Media: The artifact is a photo. Greta posted photos of herself to social media. We are in the technology age, so this helped her go viral. Not professional= not staged, authentic, more trustworthy (ethos?) 

Second Point: Why did it effect people? 

  • Pathos: Lone, young girl striking. Commonplace that children are innocent and should be protected calls to all parents out there to want to help this girl.  
  • Logos: Her sign is simplistic in that she is calling for attention to the climate. She was inspired by the March For Our Lives school strikes (Parkland shooting/ gun control) making the point that she doesn’t feel safe going to school when there is a global crisis on the horizon. Establishes ethos too as she is knowledgeable about other movements and is basing her protest off of another popular and effective activist group.  
  • Commonplace: If we work hard, we can create the changes we want to see. 

Third Point: Beyond the Picture 

  • Greta has since given many speeches and been very active. Her main point is that the adults of large corporations and political positions are not doing enough to prevent and reverse the effects of global warming. Their failure now lays in the hands of children. She uses pathos in most of her speeches to get the attention of everyone. Adults feel guilt when listening to Greta and will hopefully want to take action so their children don’t have to fight this battle. Graphic analogies (house on fire) and blunt statements (you have stolen my dreams and my childhood). 

Fourth Point/ Conclusion: Did it have an effect on people? 

  • Compare to pictures of one year later with thousands of people. Tons of awards. Established website. Inspired movements globally 
  • Criticism. Ad Hominem. People are attacking her as a person instead of looking at her claims. 
Passion Blog

A Beary Big Challenge

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In honor of the bear those of us at State College saw on Monday, this weeks endangered species is a bear!

Sadly, six of the world’s eight bear species (75%) are threatened with extinction, with Asia and South America being “the areas most in need of urgent conservation action.”

Endangered Species of the Week: The Giant Panda 

(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Giant Pandas | Live Science

According to a recent survey by the Chinese State Forestry Administration and the conservation organization WWF, approximately 1,600 pandas remain. And ok, technically the giant panda is no loner considered endangered (yay!) as of 2019, but according to the IUCN Red List, the giant panda is still categorized as vulnerable.

Giant pandas are identified by their distinctive black and white coloring. Their ears, muzzle, eyes, shoulders and legs are black while the rest of their body is white. They have thick hair that keeps them warm in the cool, wet mountain zones.

When on all fours, giant pandas average between 2-3 ft. tall  and 4-6 ft. long. They can weigh between 220-250 lb., with males being larger than females.

Why is it so important to save the giant panda?

The giant panda an example of an umbrella species. This means that through helping the giant panda, we also protect hundreds of other species and ecosystems that live around the panda and rely on them. Pandas also bring sustainable economic benefits to many local communities through ecotourism.

 

Where Do They Live?

Pandas live mainly in temperate broadleaf and mixed forests high in the mountains of southwest China, where they subsist almost entirely on bamboo.

Fun Facts

  • A newborn panda is about the size of a stick of butter—about 1/900th the size of its mother.
  • These bears are excellent tree climbers despite their size
  • They must eat around 26 to 84 pounds of bamboo every day
  • They use their enlarged wrist bones that function as opposable thumbs.
  • The newborn cub is blind, hairless, and tiny, weighing only 85-140 g (3-5 oz.). The cub cannot move much on its own for nearly 3 months

What is Threatening the Giant Panda?

HABITAT LOSS

Infrastructure development (such as dams, roads, and railways) is increasingly fragmenting and isolating panda populations, preventing pandas from finding new bamboo forests and potential mates.

Forest loss also reduces pandas’ access to the bamboo they need to survive. The Chinese government has established more than 50 panda reserves, but only around 67% of the total wild panda population lives in reserves, with 54% of the total habitat area being protected.

HUNTING

Although poaching impacted pandas in the past, its impact declined since the enactment of the Wildlife Protection Act (1988), which bans poaching and carries severe punishments. However, pandas may get caught accidentally in snares set for musk deer or other species.

What is being done?

To combat this issue, the Chinese government has actively worked to restore and protect bamboo habitat, and these measures have shown positive results.

Nearly 60 panda reserves, a ban on logging, and widespread reforestation programmes have been established.

However, due to the fact that pandas reproduce so infrequently, it is very difficult for their population to recover from such a low point.

How Can You Help?

Support WWF: WWF was the first international conservation organization to work in China at the Chinese government’s invitation. WWF has been working with the Chinese government’s National Conservation Program for the giant panda and its habitat. Thanks to this program, panda reserves now cover more than 3.8 million acres of forest

Take Action: Send a message to Congress and the State Department asking them to take the necessary steps to help prevent future pandemics.

Adopt A Panda: Make a symbolic adoption and donate to support WWF

Subscribe to WWF’s Newsletter to stay informed about conservation efforts! (Found at the bottom of their website)

And that's it! See you guys next week!

Sources:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/most-endangered-bears-ranked/

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/giant-panda

Giant Panda