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Marisa Deichert
Professor Bedell
CAS 137H
9 October 2015
Global Warming Where Do You Stand?
The complicated matter of global warming leaves many, humans and animals alike, in a
bit of high water. The two advertisement photos Global Warming is Leaving Many
Homeless and Its High Time exquisitely relate animals and humans in the collective issue of
global warming; there is great urgency in the matter, depicted by the rising water levels in Its
High Time, as the destruction of homes and habitats due to global warming are leaving both
animals and humans homeless. These issues of global warming and homelessness are elaborated
and strengthened through the Kairotic moments of the Climate Change Conference and the 10th
Climate Changes Convention of the United Nations, the target audiences, the intrinsic proofs of
ethos, pathos, and logos, and the commonplace that animals are often innocent victims of human
action.
Although assuming a particular exigence since the 1950s (Justthefactswuwt), both ads
function in response to a Kairotic moment. Its High Time targets the events of December 2009
at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Climate
Change Conference, which began December 7, 2009, had the potential to result solely in a
political debate if no real plan was formulated to decrease global warming and CO2 emissions
(Huaiyu). Picturing a giraffe, an animal known for its extremely long neck, coming close to
being submerged in water demonstrates the urgency of the situation, as well as the visual time
line which marks the water level in years. The two-week window of opportunity during the

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Climate Change Conference was the ideal time to formulate a plan of attack for the United
Nations to act on the global warming issue making it a high time to act. The Global
Warming is Leaving Many Homeless ad by www.ecoeduca.cl also acts on a Kairotic moment.
Written in small text at the bottom of the ad is the phrase, Get More Information at the 10th
Climate Changes Convention of the United Nations. This conference, held in June of 2015, used
the ad to get individuals involved in the process of finding a plan to cut global warming. The
credibility of the author of each piece stems from their knowledge of the conventions and their
method for evoking a change. Neither ad evokes feelings of protest or rebellion, but instead
stresses one to act in a humane way through discussions in a professional setting.
The audience of both pieces includes those willing to make a difference. The giraffe ad is
directly speaking to those who are attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in
Copenhagen. The urgency depicted in the ad is meant to translate to a movement in the
discussion at the conference; a tug-of-war of national interests (Huaiyu) resulting in a
stalemate would not have been an ideal outcome of the two-week long conference. The audience
in the polar bear homeless ad includes those who want to improve both the environmental side
of the issue as well as the wildlife side. The subtle phrase Get more information at the 10th
Climate Changes Convention of the United Nations, makes it seem like going to the conference
to get information and having input was as easy as searching the Web for information. Therefore,
those with the knowledge to make a difference are more apt to make an attempt at getting
involved.
Intrinsic proofs strengthen the argument of both ads exponentially. The largest influence
on the strength of the ad is the pathetic appeal; the use of animals plays on the viewers emotions.
When viewing Its High Time, one can personally relate to the problem that the giraffe is

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facing; most of us have had to stretch our neck to stay above water. The emotions connected to
the scare of drowning include panic, worry, and a desire to do whatever it takes to return to
comfort. The stark, white background is simple and also highlights the contrast between the
clean air and the unclean water encapsulating the giraffe. The giraffes neck is used as a
measuring stick or an hour glass that symbolizes the time remaining until it becomes too late to
act, which visually depicts the urgency of the situation. If the issue is not taken care of, the result
will be the death of the giraffe, which symbolizes the majority of Earths creatures who are also
affected. Global Warming is Leaving Many Homeless draws on the emotions of the viewer in
many respects. Polar bears, used in many global warming ads, became a symbol of the
movement. There is a stronger pathetic appeal by using both a mother and cub as the homeless
polar bears because not only does the mother have to care for herself, but she also has to take
care of a young one. If the author of the ad used only one polar bear, it would be symbolizing a
homeless man; the use of a mother and a cub symbolizes a family, which creates a more dramatic
appeal to the viewer in comparison to one polar bear. One feels sympathy for the mother polar
bear because of the adversity she faces in not only raising a cub but doing so without a home.
The setting also draws on the pathetic appeal by creating a bleak and filthy undertone,
demonstrated by the rusted walls covered in graffiti, trash bags and litter, and stains on their
cardboard house and cement lawn. The most effective aspect of both artifacts is the ability to
relate an issue concerning animals to a serious problem affecting humans by emphasizing the
pathetic appeal.
Global Warming is Leaving Many Homeless by www.ecoeduca.cl draws a relation
between polar bears losing their natural habitat and homeless individuals on the streets, while the
giraffe ad places emphasis on the rising water levels that cause animals to relocate. These images

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of helpless animals losing their homes helps to strengthen the logos of the ad because these
displaced animals will now need a new place to live. The logic of the argument is tied to the
same argument for the human race; homeless individuals also need a place to live. Global
Warming is Leaving Many Homeless has potential to relate to humans in a different aspect;
people residing on the east coast could be forced to look elsewhere when water levels rise above
coastal communities. By relating the issue animals face to a similar issue faced by humans, the
ads put the problem in a perspective that the human race can relate and therefore take action to
improve the situation.
There is a commonplace present in both ads that reinforces a dominant ideology: animals
are often innocent victims of human action. According to NASA, most climate scientists agree
the main cause of the current global warming trend is human expansion of the greenhouse
effect. Human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels, and clearing of land for
agriculture, industry, etc., are changing the natural greenhouse by emitting more CO2 into the
atmosphere (Climate). One consequence, emphasized in both ads, is that a stronger
greenhouse effect will warm the oceans and partially melt glaciers and other ice, increasing sea
level. Ocean water also will expand if it warms, contributing further to sea level rise
(Climate). The melted glaciers leave polar bears homeless, and the water from the melted
glaciers corresponds to the loss of more habitats translating to a sense of urgency.
These two ads put forth a strong effort in convincing their audience, those interested in
global warming both directly and indirectly, that a change is needed. The change covers a scope
larger than just humans; global warming affects the entire Earth and all its living creatures. A
rhetorical situation constraint is present that creates a hurdle in solving this issue: some
individuals remain closed-minded, believing the consequences of human actions on living

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creatures other than themselves should be ignored. There are many ways one can reduce
greenhouse gas emissions at home, school, work, or on the road that also protect the climate,
reduce air pollution, and save money; Small steps add up, if we all do our part (United States
Environmental Protection Agency). Through both Its High Time and Global Warming is
Leaving Many Homeless ads, one personal challenge can be made with every individual: what
little things can you change in your life in order to reduce the threat of global warming and the
impacts to living creatures?

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Works Cited
"Climate Change Causes: A Blanket around the Earth." Climate Change: Vital Signs of the
Planet. Ed. Holly Shaftel. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.
Justthefactswuwt. "When Did Global Warming Begin?" Watts Up With That. N.p., 25 Jan. 2014.
Web. 25 Sept. 2015.
Huaiyu, Luo. Rejoicing in Hopenhagen, Patient in Copenhagen. China.org.cn. N.p., 11
Dec. 2009. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.
United States Environmental Protection Agency. "What You Can Do." What You Can Do. N.p.,
03 Sept. 2015. Web. 07 Oct. 2015.