TOW #9: "Making Chemistry Green" (Written)

            Reading this blog post on a computer, you are ignoring the fact that certain toxic chemicals are present inside that very computer, thankfully hidden away from your hands, but strangely and frighteningly close to you. With the rise of electronics and synthetic materials in today’s society, the New York Times released an op-ed piece about the safety of synthetic materials in our daily lives. Written by Rolf Halden and Robert Lawrence, both Professors of environmental science and public health, “Making Chemistry Green” used exemplification and pronouns such as “we” and “us” in order to encourage the public to take a stand against hazardous chemicals in their daily lives.

            The use of examples is important to convince the audience that the problems with synthetic materials actually exist. The authors first speak of DDT, which was a pesticide that killed wildlife populations in the early 1970’s, and which scientists, “still find remnants of it today in the blood of adults, children and newborns” (par. 7).  The authors also discuss the vast quantity of synthetic chemicals, stating, “another 500 to 1000 new ones introduced each year, we’ve created a situation that is impossible to regulate effectively” (par. 9). The use of examples in essay allows the authors to describe the problem in clarity to the audience. The second quote above also shows the vast scale of the problem, which also goes a long way to showing the problem that synthetic chemicals create in today’s society.

            The examples first show the audience that the problem exists, and then the use of pronouns throughout the essay encourages the audience to take a stand against the problem. The essay heavily uses words such as “we” and “our” to showcase the techniques the authors want the general public to use in order to make the materials safer. Since the audience was previously convinced of the problem, the use of these pronouns is very powerful, since the audience understand s the problem and is eager to take a stand.

            “Making Chemistry Green” comes at the perfect time in this society, when newer technologies and electronics are coming out quicker than ever, often containing hazardous chemicals. With the essay being published in The New York Times, the audience is huge, therefore making a bigger difference against the problem.