Outline
This essay will look at the issue of global warming using the Toulmin model (Toulmin, 1; Fullerton.edu, 1). As such, the following sections will be discussed in the essay in line with the model:
Claim: Looking at the issue of global warming, it is clear that there are many causes culminating into the pollution of the environment, and the degradation of the ozone layer. There are various factors that can lead to this. The end result is global warming which threatens life on the planet. As such, it is the responsibility of the inhabitants of earth to stop this catastrophe. This essay therefore claims that man has contributed to global warming and holds the key to stopping it.
Grounds: This is where the essay will seek to prove that man has actually participated in propelling global warming. It will therefore provide evidence and facts that prove that man’s activities have in one way or another led to the disruption in the cause of nature. As such, his activities lead to global warming and climate change. It will also seek to give evidence that if man changed his ways and put in place some measures, he could as well help in controlling this catastrophe. The grounds will be based on two major arguments and the evidence for them: that man’s activities have greatly contributed to global warming and two, that a change in the order that man does things would go a long way in saving the environment from total degradation.
Warrants: in this section, the essay will seek to prove or show the actual relationship between man’s activities and the degradation of the environment. In other words, this is where a correlation will be drawn between the role of man and global warming. Once the link is established, the essay will then prove that if man reversed the order in which he carried out his activities, then the same would be reflected on the environment, thus reducing the pollution rates.
Backing: this is where hard evidence will be given for the argument. In this section, the essay will seek to provide some facts through statistical and scientific evidence to show how man has contributed to environmental degradation. For instance, it will provide statistics on the emission rates of carbon dioxide and how these contribute to global warming. It will also give evidence on the various effects of global warming on life in the planet. This is expected to give a strong founding for the essay.
Modal Qualifiers: Toulmin (340) observes that in this section, the essay should give evidence that the proposed action would be universally accepted and would not have any negative impacts on the people or the environment. As such, this essay will seek to show that the proposed mitigation measures could go a long way in saving the whole world from the dangers of environmental change.
Rebuttal: This is the essay section that will deal with a counter argument on the issue of man’s contribution to causing and preventing environmental degradation. In this section, the essay will seek to prove that there are various causes that lead to global warming, some of which are natural. Since man has no control over the natural events, this argument will be used to prove that man can do nothing to cause or control the process of environmental degradation and global warming. It will seek to show that man is an observer who does nothing but cope with all the environmental challenges that Mother Nature brings along his way.
Essay
Claim
The issue of global warming is a global concern that has put the leaders of the world in a tight position to find a solution for the climate change issue that is threatening the life on earth. According to the National Geographic (1), these worries are justified. This is mainly because the temperatures on the earth’s surface seem to be rising day in day out. As a result, the levels of the seas are rising and the glaciers in the high peaks on earth as well as the Polar Regions are gradually melting. This poses the threat of an even greater rise in the sea levels.
On overall assessment, it emerges quite clearly that man has a great significance to the environmental issues. He has the ability to cause a total disruption of the environment just as he has the ability to control it. As such, it is upon man to decide on what he wants to do with his environment.
Grounds
There is sufficient evidence to show that man has contributed to the course of environmental pollution which has ultimately led to global warming. There are some activities that man engage in that lead to increased emission. For instance, there is the use of motor vehicles. The car exhaust system leads to emission of carbon dioxide which leads to accumulation of the gas into the atmosphere (Strasburg, 1). Similarly, man, as he seeks comfort, ends up using some home devices that contribute to the release of green house gases. These are appliances such as the air conditioners. However, the greatest contribution that man has to the problem is the through industrial processes. Man engages in various processes that lead to the accumulation of these gases into the atmosphere (Citidata.com, 1; Dick, 1).
Of course, there are adverse effects of these activities to the life of plants and animals on the planet such as change in the weather patterns which affects productivity of the land, poses a threat to the animal habitat such as the polar bears and also poses health threats to man himself (nrdc.org, 1; Time for Change, 1). Due to these effects, man has to derive a way to solve the problem.
There are various ways in which man can achieve this. For instance, he can reduce engagement in activities that increase the pollution. For instance, he can use cars that have good engines, leading to proper utilization of fuel hence reduce the emission rates. Similarly, he can reform his industries so become more environmental friendly. For instance, he can find ways to detoxify gases released from the industrial chimneys before they are released into the atmosphere. Other changes can be made in the manner in which the processing industries go about their work so that they can reduce the emission rates (Global warming Facts, 1; Sierra Club, 1). Use of renewable energy could also go a long way in ensuring that the emission is reduced.
Warrant
So far, the essay has shown that there are various activities that man can be engaged in to prevent the pollution of the environment. However, this does not specifically mean that if man observes the recommendations so far the issue of global warming would be solved. As such, there is need for sufficient evidence to prove that his activities can actually lead to the end of the problem.
This is the rational for this argument: the natural balance has been in existence for quite a long time. Man’s activities led to the disruption in the balance. As such, since man is the problem, he can as well be the solution by putting in place measures to restore the balance that he contributed in distorting. These are the measures indicated by Sierra Club (1) which include processes such as reducing waste materials, reusing some of the materials and recycling others. This would go a long way in ensuring that the ecological balance is maintained.
Other man’s activities lead to over-exploitation of the available resources, which again leads to the degradation of the environment. As such, if man put into place measures to control such effects, then there is a possibility that he could lead to a stop to the environmental threat. In conclusion, this section has sought to show the exact relation between man’s activities and global warming. It has emerged that there is a very strong correlation between the two. As such, if man controlled his activities, there is every possibility that this would be an efficient way of controlling the global warming process.
Backing:
In this section, the main aim is to prove that there are various changes that ma can put in place to ensure that global warming is brought to a slow. First of all, it is important to look at the current trend in global warming. The national Geographic (1) indicates that the average temperatures on the earth’s surface have gone up by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about 0.8 degrees Celsius. If this is not brought to check, then the levels could continue rising which could lead to serious repercussions on the earth’s surface. The arctic regions are quickly wearing away and if the trend continues, then they could totally disappear by the summer of 2040, which is of course a threat to the life of animals living in these regions (nrdc.org, 1).
On a similar note, the coral reefs are suffering bleaching effect due to the change in water temperatures, where some have recorded bleaching rates of as high as 70%. Glaciers and mountain snows are also receiving the blunt end of the global warming effects where, for instance, the Glacier National Park has observed a reduction in the number of glaciers from 150 glaciers in 1910 to only 27 glaciers at the present. These statistics send a shocking wave to the environmentalists in the world. It is clear that unless something is done, then the world is doomed to suffer from the wrath of nature.
It is not the animals who have contributed to this disruption. Rather, it is the creature that is supposed to be the custodian of nature: man. However, since man knows the exact causes of the problem, he can as well contribute to ending the saga. All he has to do is reverse his manner of doing things so that they are more environmental friendly. He has the ability and means; all he needs is the will and the motivation to do it.
Modal Qualifiers
According to NASA (1), it comes out quite clearly that more often than not, man’s activities are concerned with the emission of green house gases which lead to the issue of global warming. For instance, man usually drives to and from work. It is very common to find that in one homestead there are more than one automobile. The meaning of this is that every time that the different members of the family go out, they usually lead to more emission. If the number of automobile per household was reduced, this could go a long way in curbing the issue of emission.
Sierra Club (1) observes that manufacturing industries are always releasing gases into the atmosphere. Of course, this goes a long way into polluting the environment and increasing the concentration of the GHG gases. Suppose these emission rates were cut down or controlled so that there is reduced accumulation of GHG gases into the atmosphere. The results would be gratifying for the whole world. There is also the issue of deforestation. Most of the time, man is involved in activities that lead to destruction of the forest cover in the world. Activities such as charcoal burning, clearing land for farming and overstocking contribute to making the land bare. This has serious repercussions on the environment since the trees contribute to the cleaning of air. As such, if man reduced the frequency at which he cuts down trees, then the gross effect would be conservation of the environment.
Rebuttal
All along, this argument has held the position that man contribute to the environmental degradation that leads to global warming. Furthermore, it has stressed on the fact that if man changed the manner in which he interacted with his environment, there is a possibility that he could curb the global warming menace. This argument could be logical to some extent. However, there is another argument that shows that man has no control over global warming at all.
First of all, there is the scientific argument which claims that the green house gases are not the only pre-cursors to global warming. As such, in as much as man contributes to the release of these gases into the atmosphere, this has little or no effect on the rate of global warming (Dick, 1).
However, the strongest argument against man’s contribution towards the control of environmental pollution and global warming is the argument that most of the significant causes of global warming are natural (Strasburg, 1). For instance, there are the volcanic eruptions that lead to the rise in the temperature levels. As a matter of fact, there is no way that man has control over these volcanic activities. Therefore, he is left in a helpless situation where he just observes as the environmental and natural forces work to his disadvantage.
There are also other factors such as the water vapors. Day in day out, water from the water bodies around the world vaporizes into vapor which accumulates in the atmosphere and contributes to the global warming. There is no way that man has control over this and as such, he has no means to control it. The same case applies to the solar cycles and the cosmic rays which work together to bring an overall effect of global warming. The mechanism by which these forces work is far beyond the control of man (Sarsburg, 1).
Conclusion
This essay has looked at the Toulmin model and how it can be used in finding a solution for a problem. It has given the claim, grounds, warrant, backing, modal qualifiers as well as the rebuttal. The issue that has been addressed by the essay is global warming, where the essay sough to prove as to whether or not man has the ability to control the problem. The Toulmin model was followed all through the essay.
Works Cited
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Dick, Phillip K. ‘Is Man Caused Global Warming a Scientific Fact?’ 2011. Web, 26th March 2012, http://lrak.net/globalwarming.htm
Fullertion.edu. ‘Toulmin Model of Argument.’ N.d. Web, 26th March 2012, https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/13647e25076a8d62
Global Warming Facts. ‘Global Warming.’ 2010. Web, 26th March 2012, http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips.html
Nasa.gov. ‘Global Climate Change.’ 2012. Web, 26th March 2012, http://climate.nasa.gov/causes/
National Geographic News. ‘Global Warming Fast Facts.’ 1996. Web, 26th March 2012, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1206_041206_global_warming.html
NRDC. ‘Consequences of Global Warming.’ 2012. Web, 26th March 2012, http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/fcons.asp
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Strasburg, McIntire Jeff. ‘Top Global Warming Causes – Natural or Human?’ 2009. Web, 26th March 2012, http://blog.sustainablog.org/2009/06/the-top-causes-of-global-warming-natural-or-human/
Time for Change. ‘Cause and Effect for Global Warming.’ N.d. Web. 26th March 2012, http://timeforchange.org/cause-and-effect-for-global-warming
Toulmin, S. ‘The Uses of Argument.’ 1969. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Think Quest. ‘Global Warming.’ 2012. Web, 26th March 2012, http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/global_warming.htm
