Pg 100 Exercise 3.1

Their thesis is that population growth and climate change are interconnected and reducing one would reduce the other. They could use evidence of destruction of the environment in areas such as Brazil where the poor have no access to birth control and continue to grow in population. They could use statistics to show a difference in the standard of living between families of different sizes. The statistics used help support their thesis, by showing that population growth rate could be reduced, but it is not shown that it correlates with an increase in living standard therefore reducing consumption of natural resources. There is no data showing the difference of consumption between small and large families, only assumptions made. If a larger family is living off of $2 a day and a smaller family is living off the same do then still not spend and use the same amount of resource just spread among more people?

The Aristotelian appeal to logic states that women would use contraceptives if they were available. Okay this makes sense but does it show how a reduction in population growth will assist climate changes? The appeal to the compassion (pathos) of doctors to help promote the use of birth control is appropriate for this argument; doctors do get to see the family situation(s) as a whole. The refutation of challenging views left me confused, my understanding is that the view is any population reduction plan by a government is done by coercive efforts. Then it gives examples that have halved the reproduction rate by other means; it’s the unmet fertility needs and choices that confused me. Is he talking about birth control choices? I think his refutation needs more clarity and thoroughness. The overall piece follows the classical model fairly well. The lead in paragraph creates a picture in your mind that the essay is about poverty and the environment. The essay uses emotional appeal but I think his statistical evidence could have been stronger throughout the piece. The countries he chooses to use as examples were communist type countries that have not been known for their human rights concerns.