San Diego State University Wildfire Discussion

Each journal should fully answer the provided prompt and consist of a minimum of one typed page, no more than two (double the page requirement if handwritten). All journals must be formatted to MLA guidelines. You must include specific examples and details from the text to support your ideas and claims in each journal. In-text citations and a Works Cited page must be included with each journal. Please do not compose a full-length essay.

Journal 17: So What? Who Cares? (Chapter 7) In his article, “Choking the Oceans with Plastic,” how does Moore make clear to his readers why his topic matters? Or, if you don’t think he does, how might he do so?

Journal 18: The article, “Should We Be More Optimistic about Fighting Climate Change,” by Chen and Murthy describes a number of climate-related disasters that would seem to offer strong reasons or pessimism, but the authors believe that an “optimistic” narrative about fighting climate change needs to be told more often. Why do you think they are so adamant about the importance of staying optimistic that the problems they discuss can be solved? In your view, is this an effective way to persuade an audience to work “together with as much speed and thoughtfulness as we can”? (paragraph 20). Why or why not?

Journal 19: In her article, “We Are the Wildfire,” Naomi Klein discusses her beliefs that countries throughout the world must work together to combat the climate change crisis. She begins her essay with examples of student protests, followed by descriptions of cyclones in Africa caused by climate change, before presenting her own arguments in subsequent paragraphs. How would you summarize her “they say” and “I say” arguments? Does she make a convincing argument? Why or why not?

Journal 20: In his essay, “It’s Time for Conservatives to Own the Climate-Change Issue,” Dan Crenshaw accuses liberals of “alarmism” in their calls to combat climate change. He says in paragraph 2 that conservatives can fight back with solutions “based on reason, science, and the free market.” Read through the essay again and consider how effectively he uses these three categories, particularly science, in proposing conservative solutions.