1.
Please choose one of the prompts below and craft
a short response on your blog:
C. How do you think the vocabulary that people use can affect the way
people view things? Include some of the following examples: Environmental
Extremists, Mountain Top Removal/Surface Mining, Overburden, etc.
Yes, I believe that the terminology
for many ideas affects the way people view the concept. For example:
Environmental Extremists:
Assumptions:
They are over the top, dangerous, crazy and overly considerate of the
environment.
Reality:
They are concerned about the human treatment of Earth’s resources.
Analysis:
The word ‘extremists’ implies that they are more concerned than they need to be
about something and undercuts their credibility.
Mountain Top Removal:
Assumptions:
Drastic alteration of the landscape in mountainous regions. Huge masses of
matter removed- like you chopped off the tip of each mountain.
Reality:
A mining method that is essentially surface mining but at the summit of a
mountain.
Analysis:
The phrasing leads the listener to believe that it is a drastic mining method
that destroys mountains.
Surface Mining:
Assumptions:
Just scrapes off the surface- not very impactful.
Reality:
Requires heavy equipment & clear cutting vegetation.
Analysis:
The name implies that it has a very small influence on the overall land while
in reality it can be a quite colossal change.
Overburden:
Assumptions:
A ‘burden’, unwanted and unnecessary, something that ought to be removed.
Reality:
The soil disturbed by mining processes, because of the air pockets created
often occupies more space once it is returned to the site.
Analysis:
Suggests that it is a negative thing that humans need to fix, rather than a
problem humans created.
Word Count: 226
