In the article I read the author, Bill Mckibben, did a great job showing the reader how fast the glaciers in Greenland are starting to melt. This may sound like just another global warning article that we never have to worry about, but with the rate the ice is melting we may start to see some immediate repercussion in major cities like Miami, New York, and Mumbai. He helped show how unprecedented these new statistics are and how we need to start worrying about this major problem.
The authors purpose in this article is to mainly spread knowledge of what kind of trouble the world is in today. Throughout the article he really tries emphasize on how shocking some of this data is. For example, when he talked about how the scientist's heart skipped a beat when he read the most recent data on how the ice is taking in more sun rays. Another purpose of Mckibben was to educate the reader on different techniques used to check on the glaciers status. First when the he talked about about the rate that the ice should be taking in sun rays by how dark they are, which then he could use to show the reader how unusual these statistics are.
Bill Mckibben could be reaching out to many different types of audience in these piece about global warming. The amount of he talked about the different techniques in monitoring global shows that he is mostly directing the article more towards the uneducated in global warming. Then the fact that he is writing for "Rolling Stone" magazine which is usually aimed at the young adult crowd (ages 18-30) shows that he is probably writing towards that crowd.
There were a couple sources used in this article, first was Jason Box who is a Byrd Polar Research Center and one of the most qualified scientist in the global warming field. He started studying this subject back in the 1990s as an undergraduate at University of Colorado, the fact that he has been working on this subject for so long helps show the reader how qualified he is and makes the audience feel confident in all his knowledge. With all the sources Mckibben uses he does a good job giving their credentials to show that they are the best references he could have used in his article.
It is easy to use the technique of scare tactics in this article because with global warming you can always just say that the world is ending. By saying how the ice is melting at an alarming rate and the sea are going to start to rise eventually engulfing Manhattan or Miami is an easiest way to grab the readers attention.
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