Date: 3/20/2015

To: Steffen Guenzell

From: Tyler McGregor
Subject of my paper: Climate Change
Purpose: My Major and why writing about this topic will be beneficial to me: My
major is Environmental engineering. Climate change is a widely debated issue, especially
within the political spectrum. The existence of climate change and the influence humans
have on it is directly linked to my major and potential job. The duty of an environmental
engineer is to use innovative ideas to solve problems pertaining to the environment.
These problems can range from dealing with wastewater to air pollution and energy
consumption. Conducting thorough research on climate change will allow me to join the
conversation, which is my goal in writing this paper.
Preliminary Thesis/Argument: As the debate of climate change and its causes
continues, the science behind the generally accepted explanation is being called into
question. While I hope to explore why the science of climate change is doubted, my
primary objective is to show that current global climate trends are due to anthropogenic
releases of greenhouse gases. Other areas I will explore are the economic implications of
climate change, solutions to ease the process of climate change via slowing greenhouse
gas emissions, and how climate change can affect the individual.
Intended audience: Everyone has a stake in creating a more livable environment.
Raising awareness of climate change is the first step of combating it. My intended
audience for this presentation would be my ENC 1102 class. The students in the same
ENC 1102 class as myself are of a younger generation, a generation that will feel the
results of climate change. This will be my biggest appeal to my audience. If my argument
and research is successful then the implied audience will also be made aware. The
implied audience included all of my intended audiences friends, family, and future
family members. By making my intended audience aware, I can reach to a much larger
group.
Types of research areas: Since climate change is a sensitive subject, I will only use
scholarly articles and research as evidence for my hypothesis. Science is the backbone of
my argument, so its important to ensure my sources are credible. To explore alternative
perspectives, Ive considered using non-scientific sources. In doing so, I follow the
Rogerian method of arguing while at the same time possibly furthering the credibility of
my scientific sources. Since scientific sources are established in evidence, non-scientific
sources may come off as unreliable. If the audience finds something wrong with any of
my sources, it could damage the credibility of my research and argument. Many people
that doubt climate change do so for reasons concerning credibility of the facts and
science.

Kinds of sources I will use and why they will benefit my paper: I plan to only use
scholarly sources that are credible to support my hypothesis. This means my sources
should meet the same criteria as normal credible sources. Criteria for credible sources can
be determined from answers to the following questions:
What is the authors education?
Has the author published other works in the same field?
How many times has this article been cited in other works?
What appeals does the author make?
How is the source organized?
How is their research presented?
What bias is present, if any?
What could the author possibly gain from writing this paper?
As I look at sources, I will ask myself these questions. My goal here is to rhetorically
analyze each source to help me gauge credibility. I plan on using a variety of sources,
mostly Internet articles, journals and books. My hope is that the sources will help
convince my audience of my argument. My second hope is that the credibility of my
sources will extinguish doubt people have on the science of climate change. I plan to use
data collected by notable agencies and organizations, such as NASA, to support my main
points.
Graphs or charts: Climate change is complicated topic and the use of charts and graphs
help to make it easier to visualize. I plan to use charts and graphs to help my audience
gain a better understanding of the effects and causes of climate change. For example, I
plan to use a graph to illustrate the massive increase of CO2 in the atmosphere since the
beginning of the industrial revolution, and the exponential temperature of the earth.
Documentation Style: I plan to use MLA to document my sources.
Tentative List of References:
Barnett,TimT.,andMichaelSchlesinger."DetectingChangeinGlobalClimateInduced
byGreenhouseGases."JournalofGeophysicalResearch:Atmospheres92.D12
(2012):n.pag.Web.4Mar.2015.
Barnett, Tim P., David W. Peirce, and Reiner Schnur. "Detection of Anthropogenic
Climate Change in the World's Oceans." Science 13th ser. 292 (2001): 270-74.
Web. 21 Mar. 2015.
Barth, M.C., and J.G. Titus. Greenhouse Effect and Sea Level Rise: a Challenge for This
Generation. N. p., 1984. Print.
Lashof, Daniel A., and Dilip R. Ahuja. "Relative Contributions of Greenhouse Gas
Emissions to Global Warming." Nature 344 (1990): 529-31. Web. 3 Mar. 2015.

Nordhaus, William D. "To Slow or Not to Slow: The Economics of the Greenhouse
Effect." The Economic Journal 101 (1991): 920-37. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.