Due in Class, Wednesday, March 7
Write a 500-word review of an opinion piece about some aspect of human
induced
climate change. Choose an article that addresses some aspect of the
issue of
whether greenhouse warming is or is not a serious enough problem to
warrant
measures designed to reduce the burning of fossil fuels.
Your essay should start with a description of the article including
(in bold face
type) a one-sentence summary of the main point of the article, followed
by a one
or two paragraph summary. In your summary, state whether the intention
of the
author is merely to inform or to persuade. (If you choose to write
about multiple
articles, use your summary sentence to describe the overall impression
that the
articles together convey.
The second part of your essay should be your evaluation of the article.
Among the
points you might address are: Do you think the information presented
in the
article is accurate (in so far as you're able to judge)? Does the article
show
evidence of bias on the part of the author? Are there statements in
it that
particularly attracted your attention? Are the conclusions consistent
with what
you've learned in class? Is the article persuasive? Is it a useful
contribution
to the debate on global warming?
In class next Wednesday, March 7, we will discuss the articles. You
should come
prepared to summarize and evaluate the article for the class--- (3
min. maximum).
Choosing an article that's worth writing about is really important.
Avoid
articles that are too short or too simple minded or poorly written
And don't be
afraid to choose an article that you don't agree with-- some controversy
will
liven up the discussion next week. It would be a good idea to
select and read
your article this week and think about it for a few days before you
write your
review-- chances are you'll write a better essay this way and you might
actually
save time in the process!
You can choose your article based on a search (e.g., type 'global warming'
into
http://www.google.com), or you
can select one from one of the following sites
environmentalist perspective
http://www.ucsusa.org/warming/
http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/
http://www.climatehotmap.org/
http://www.newscientist.com/global/
http://www.sciam.com/2000/0800issue/0800epstein.html
skeptics perspective
http://www.microtech.com.au/daly/
http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/reg15n2g.html
http://www.cato.org/dailys/9-15-97.html
http://www.free-market.net/spotlight/climate/
http://www.clearlight.com/~mhieb/WVFossils/ice_ages.html
http://www.marshall.org/Warming.html
http://www.greeningearthsociety.org
http://www.fossilfuels.org
http://www.greeningearthsociety.org/climate/index.htm