Luke Paulus
Think Globally, Act Locally
http://thinkgloballyactlocally1.wordpress.com
For my first blog I discussed what I initially wanted to cover for this project, which are farmers markets. I wanted to be informative, but really my goal was to use public pedagogy and really teach people about what farmers markets sell and why the exist. I framed this post by first talking about how food in the U.S is distributed, showing the energy and emissions used. I concluded with talking about the price of food at farmers markets, trying to boost engagement and change actions by providing a different incentive than just helping the planet. I assume that most people won’t go out of their way to be green, so I used the price comparison to try to convince those people to go to the farmers market, therefore helping the planet at the same time as they help themselves. I wasn’t worried about rhetorical velocity and having my content changed. This blog was very personalized, containing stories from my own life. If reconstructed, they would be stealing my identity, or changing it, which doesn’t seem plausible in this situation. Finally, I wrote this blog in the attempt to keep the reader interested. I wanted it to be an easy an enjoyable read, therefore being more persuasive because people aren’t reading only part and then stopping because they are bored. I use this same strategy in my second post as well.
Much of the topics I chose to discuss have been circulated already, so therefore I had to put a different spin on them in order to stay away from cliche, while also being convincing. Trying to get people to use re-usable water bottles is a common topic, so I used the same public pedagogy approach as in my first post. I framed it in order to show the dangers of dehydration and how they negatively affect the body and mind. I showed that having a re-usable water bottle present at all times makes having a water source more convenient than needing to buy one at a gas station or store. Once again, I assumed that being more eco-friendly is not enough incentive for people to change their actions, so I framed this issue by addressing personal problems, which are dehydration. This way I am convincing people to stay hydrated, and oh by-the-way you are also supporting sustainability.
3. 8/28 http://thinkgloballyactlocally1.wordpress.com/2014/10/28/huff-knows-best/
For this post I simply piggy-backed off of a very user friendly article written for the Huffington Post. My goal was to target people who are already environmentally conscious and are looking for ways to be more green. I ditch the public pedagogy approach and instead give my viewers a link to a site that has a list of eco-friendly products and the reasoning behind them, as well as links of where to buy them. I am simply playing the middle man for my green viewers, giving them green products for them to consider buying instead of having scour the internet looking for similar products. This approach is an attempt to change everyday actions, which include which products to buy.
This was one my the more fun posts that I wrote. It involved me just brainstorming ways to avoid using paper towels (initially the post was going to be 10 ways not use paper paper towels, but I could only think of 5 relevant ones). This was certainly a teaching style of post, informing viewers on specific, everyday ways to clean up without paper towels. I was hoping for viewers to see these examples and then apply them to their everyday lives. This was an attempt to change everyday choices in order to make them greener.
5. 8/29 http://thinkgloballyactlocally1.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/know-your-products-know-your-planet/
I piggy-backed off of another article for this post. Like I mentioned above, I was playing the role of the middle man and doing the research work for my viewers so they don’t have to search the web for answers on their own (just making the process simpler). Many corporations have a tremendous impact on the planet by the resources that they use, and the pollution they emit. The second goal was to inform my viewers that some of the corporations that they know and love (specifically Apple) actually fall under the category of big polluters. While this isn’t an attempt to change everyday actions of the viewers (as is the goal for most of my posts) I feel this knowledge is pertinent in helping understand the current condition of our world and society.
This is another teaching style post. With the same mentality of post number 5, I feel this information is important enough to be spread and understood. While searching the internet one might not find this information without specifically looking for it, so I simply found a good article and put in a very viewable place in order to help my viewers understand the world better. The impetus for this post came from a conversation with my brother (a geophysics major), who informed me ever so casually that we really aren’t running out of fossil fuels.
7. 8/30 http://thinkgloballyactlocally1.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/how-bout-these-apples/
This post is an attempt to change the every day actions of people. The content of this post if brief but the idea is sound. It is a simple reminder to folks about things that they should already know about, especially that trees take CO2 out of the atmosphere and therefore planting trees is good for the environment. I included a link to the Home Depot Garden Center webpage in order to make the process easier for those willing to buy seeds and use them. It is also a reminder that seeds are very easily obtained and cheap.
While convincing people to take public transit, I used the same strategy that I implemented in my first two posts. Sometimes it just isn’t enough for people to change their lifestyles just in order to be more green, so I framed it trying to cater to their own selfish reasons. This post is an attempt to change everyday actions, yet it is not a teaching/informative one. I assume by now people already know that public transit is extremely efficient, so I wouldn’t want to insult their intelligence by making a big stink about how bad personal cars are for the environment. However, I did include a little info about this for people who might be unaware of the facts that I mentioned above.
9. 8/30 http://thinkgloballyactlocally1.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/50-ways-to-help-your-planet/
This cool little website deserved it’s own post. I piggy-backed off of it for the same reasons that I piggy-backed off of the other websites in previous posts (make it easy for viewers to find, playing the middle man, etc.). This post is for novice green wannabes, as well as hardcore green enthusiasts. It has enough helpful tips to cater to everyone, including many of the things I have talked about in my various posts.
10. 8/30 http://thinkgloballyactlocally1.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/sweater-power/
This is the one post that I created with hopes that it would be remixed and re-distributed. I was hoping that Snoop Dogg in a funny sweater could become a meme, maybe even specifically dealing with the environment (rhetorical velocity). Besides that, this final post is an attempt to get people to change their everyday actions by using my own as an example. Once again, I frame it in order to cater to peoples selfish needs, particularly reducing their heating/energy bill. I provide very specific, very simple examples of ways to save on your heating bill while also preserving natural resources and reducing pollution. I do include the reason why these processes are environmentally friendly, but for the most part I am trying to convince people that they should focus more on saving on their energy bill.
EmerAgency and the Oil Spill 