The Truth About Environmental Issues
In his essay, “An Eco-System of One’s Own,” writer Alex Shoumatoff utilizes a sequential
order of they day to illustrate the harm humans cause to the ecosystem. Shoumatoff
explains to his readers why environmental issues is a serious problem. His purpose in this
essay is to raise awareness about the environment. In order to accomplish this purpose, he
appeals to all Americans. Shoumatoff’s argument about environmental issues was effective
because it appealed to the emotions of all Americans, as well as to logic and authority; it
can be improved with a more balanced appeal of emotions.
In Shoumatoff’s argument, both the organization and the use of evidence are effective. He
organizes his argument by outlining the day in the life of a typical American. He states a
lot of statistics and facts to support his arguments. In the first paragraph, Shoumatoff
informs his audience that “Americans share a full population of 301 million people, but
only five percent of them consumes Earth’s energy” (269). This attracts the audience’s
attention to rethink about their everyday uses of energy. His goal is to persuade the
audience to use alternative resources that are safe to the environment instead of using
common resources such as deodorant, toilet paper, and coffee cups that can harm the
environment. Shomatoff, however, uses too many facts and not enough suggestions for
alternative resources to grab the audience’s attention to make these environmental changes.
Shoumatoff’s references to professionals and experts were effective in his argument. This
method of persuasion was effective because it earned the reader’s trust. Shoumatoff
