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Julio Felix

English 101 The Future Has Endless Possibilities

Dr. Cuddy

11/13/19

Climate change and air pollution affect millions of people around the world. The effects

of pollution impact kids and young adults the most. Climate change and air pollution at a young

age can do long term damage to children's health and make them less productive citizens

(Stevens). The “Pollution and Climate Change” scholarly article is about air pollution, PM 2.5,

and how different scenarios help show what the U.S’s potential is if they continue to harm the

planet by using fossil fuels and power plants. “Air Pollution Intensifies A Teens Feeling Of

Stress” deals more with kids and the effect air pollution has on them. Unlike the first article this

one focuses more on the now. It also has to do with how air pollution and climate change can

affect a kids breathing and ability to react in high stress situations. Knowing who the target

audience is, is crucial to the writing being a success. When writers know the type of individuals

reading their writing it is easier for them to appeal to them. Which is exactly what Allison S. Larr

and Matthew Neidell’s “pollution and climate change” and Alison Pearce Stevens “Air pollution

intensifies a teen’s feelings of stress” do. While Allison S. Larr and Matthew Neidell’s scholarly

article was targeted towards climate change researchers and Worried parents, and was backed up

heavily with evidence and case studies, Alison Pearce Stevens article is for worried parents and

kids that live in poorly air polluted places. This article goes into what effects air pollution and

climate change have on kids and teens now and how those effects can lead to different
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symptoms. In the end they both leave the reader with different perspectives and make them think

critically about the effects of climate change and air pollution.

“Air pollution intensifies a teen’s feelings of stress” heavily relied on the use of a pathos

based approach. This article did not attempt to use ethos and rarely used logos when she

explained her perspective. This article explains the effects particles and air pollution have, they

say “​People who regularly breathe dirty air are more likely to have immune disorders, heart

disease or lung cancer. And the smaller the pollutant particles, the bigger the problem.(”Stevens).

It is evident that a pathos based approach is being used as a rhetorical device. When a worried

parent hears that their kid is at chance of having immune disorders and lung cancer by being in

highly polluted areas it makes them think critically about the decision they are about to make

regarding where to live. Parents always want the best for their kids, they want them to have fun,

but not at the cost of their health. Not only does this worry parents but it also worries people who

are concerned about future generations. Putting kids in poorly populated areas is not beneficial to

anyone. If tht next generation thrives not only does the past generation feel more secure knowing

they did their part to help them succeed the earth will be healthier as well. Having polluted air is

not only harmful to teens futures but to them right now as well, “Teens who breathe polluted air

appear to respond most strongly to stress, a new study shows. Those with anxiety or depression

appear especially sensitive to these pollutant effects”(Stevens). Although the article's main

rhetorical device is pathos, logos was incorporated as well. Logos is present because they are

persuading the reader using numerical data. but it is also pathos because parents do not want

their kids to have a harder time breathing when it comes to stressful situations. If there are

parents that already have teens that have depression or anxiety being in a poorly polluted place
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will make them twice as vulnerable to react sensitively to stress( Stevens). The article focuses

mainly on how poor air pollution affects teens. By doing that they make the readers feel a certain

kind of responsibility to do something so teens do not have to go through life in a poorly polluted

area that can end up jeopardizing their health.

“pollution and climate change” on the other hand had a logos based approach. As

previously mentioned their target audience was parents and climate change analysts. This paper

was focused heavily on case studies and predictions. This article is about how air pollution is a

sensitive time for children's biological development and one of the studies showed that children

suffer more from air pollution than adults do, which goes to show that “ The same dose of

pollution has a greater effect the earlier in life it occurs”(Neidell & Larr). A logos based

approach is present, the authors used case studies to back up their point. When information gets

backed up by research not only are more people going to believe what is being said but more

people will attempt to follow what the data suggests. Parents that read this article will understand

that most of the damage is not directed towards them but to their kids. Climate change

researchers can use this data to help prove another point on climate change or air pollution. Most

of this article is data and predictions, it talks about what the world is going to look like in

developed countries when pollution or mitigation increases or decreases. This is shown when

“[Their] projections suggest that mitigating the emissions that produce climate change would

lead to significant improvements in child wellbeing”(Neidell & Larr). Parents can be more

prepared for the future because they have an idea of what it can look like if necessary

precautions are/ aren’t taken. The data tables that are represented in the article have both logos

and ethos. Their is a logical appeal by the solid explanations and interpretations that go on
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throughout the text. It is ethical because the authors tell the readers they have a masters degree in

Public Health and research and are associates in the national bureau of economic research. The

use of the case studies and projections make it difficult for readers to go against hat is being said.

This project was important to expose writers to the different ways writing techniques can

be analyzed and used in different situations. Ethos, logos, and pathos are all rhetorical devices

that go into writing to make the writing stronger, more reliable, and more relatable. We look at

multiple perspectives of the same genre so we have more than one to look at. It gives us a variety

of information to think about, We also want to attract different people to different pieces of work

that revolve around the same genre. Ultimately it leads to thinking critically which can give us

more confidence in choices that are made and hopefully in the ability to make the right ones.
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Works Cited

Neidell,Larr, Allison, Matthew. “Figure 2f from: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) Taxonomic

Revision of Rochefortia Sw. (Ehretiaceae, Boraginales). Biodiversity Data Journal 4:

e7720. Https://Doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e7720.” 2016,
doi:10.3897/bdj.4.e7720.figure2f.

Stevens, Alison Pearce. “Air Pollution Intensifies a Teen's Feeling of Stress.” ​Science News for

Students,​ 18 Oct. 2019,

www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/air-pollution-intensifies-teens-feeling-stress.