Baker, 1

Maddie Baker

Dr. Steffen Guenzel

ENC 1102

October 19. 2020

Rhetorical Analysis of “New Research Links Air Pollution to Higher Coronavirus Death

Rates,” an article by Lisa Friedman in the New York Times

My research topic is about how air pollution can lead to more severe cases of the new COVID-

19 virus. Air pollution is a huge issue throughout the world and may be an even bigger issue now

than before. There have been many studies done since the outbreak initially occurred, that links

air pollution to more severe cases of COVID-19. Exposure to air pollution, whether in the long

term or short term, can weaken the respiratory system, making people more susceptible to

stronger symptoms of the virus, and can cause higher death rates as well. The article I chose to

rhetorically analyze is titled “New Research Links Air Pollution to Higher Coronavirus Death

Rates” by Lisa Friedman.

The New York Times is a newspaper company that is based in New York City. Often called “The

Times”, this newspaper company has been around since 1851 and is one of the most well-known

newspaper companies in the United States. The New York Times is known all around the world,

and is often used as many peoples source of news information. Friedman is an author known for

her concerns of the environment and has a strong voice in respect to making changes to enforce a

cleaner planet. It should also be noted that since Friedman’s article is posted in the New York

Times, she will automatically receive much more credibility since The Times is such a well-

known news company.

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This is an article written by Lisa Friedman in the New York Times. In the article, Friedman

discusses the correlation between higher levels of air pollution and severity and the overall

number of COVID-19 cases. Friedman does not conduct any scientific studies herself but

summarizes the findings of one very important study. She begins her article by introducing a

study done by Harvard University that collected data from “3,080 counties in the United States”

and found that “higher levels of… PM2.5 were associated with higher death rates from the

disease.” (Friedman). Friedman brings awareness to an issue that many people may not know

exists by talking about the effects air pollution exposure can have on the people who contract

COVID-19. She makes note of how “long-term exposure to air pollution increases vulnerability

to experiencing the most severe COVID-19 outcomes” (Friedman). The author’s overall tone in

her article is very serious and professional and she constantly supports and refers back to her

original claim. She bases the majority of her argument off of the results from the Harvard study

that was previously mentioned, as well as making note of statements from researchers and

scientists such as Dr. Francesca Dominici, the leader of the Harvard study, and Dr. Zuo-Feng

Zhang from the University of California in Los Angeles. Friedman uses these pieces of evidence

to demonstrate that the high levels of air pollution definitely have a strong effect on the severity

of COVID-19 cases.

Friedman does not only discuss the findings of the Harvard study, but how the study was

conducted, which allows the readers to grasp a better understanding of the study, which makes

the article more persuading. She includes a section where she talks about how the study

conducted by Harvard University made sure to account for data that could compromise the

results of the study. Friedman states, “The researchers also conducted six secondary analyses to

adjust for factors they felt might compromise the results” (Friedman). By stating this, she is
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essentially giving a rebuttal to a possible counterclaim that could be made. In these types of

studies, data can easily be skewed by the smallest factors, and Friedman makes sure that she

addresses the fact that the researchers made sure to keep that in mind.

After discussing the Harvard study, Friedman moves on to input statements made by professors

from various universities and organizations throughout the United States. The first person that

Friedman discusses is Dr. Francesca Dominici, the lead researcher of the study done by Harvard

University. Friedman quoted Dr. Dominici stating how those areas that have higher levels of air

pollution, “will be the ones that will have higher numbers of hospitalizations, higher numbers of

deaths and where many of the resources should be concentrated.” (Friedman). Those living in

highly polluted areas are much more vulnerable to having more severe symptoms of the virus,

meaning that this information can be use to help figure out where the most hospital resources

should be. Friedman also discusses Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang, an associate dean for research at the

University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Zhang conducted a study in 2003 that found that

“SARS patients in the most polluted parts of China were twice as likely to die from the disease

as those in places with low air pollution.” (Friedman). The SARS virus was similar to the current

COVID-19 virus. Both viruses infect and attack the respiratory system. Friedman makes a

comment that exposure and inhalation of air pollution can “put people at heightened risk for lung

cancer and heart disease” (Friedman). Those who already have weakened respiratory systems

from air pollution exposure will feel the effects of COVID-19 much harder than those who have

healthy respiratory systems. Dr. Zhang’s study had very similar findings to the one that was

conducted by Harvard University, which makes sense since both of the viruses cause(d) similar

issues. By taking statements from those who have an abundance of experience and knowledge on

the subject, Friedman is able to strengthen her argument.

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Lisa Friedman makes a statement that there needs to be changes made regarding air pollution.

She points out how the Trump administration has tried to rollback multiple clean-air regulations

over the last few years, and these studies show that the countries need to continue to enforce

these policies, not cut back on them. If work had been done to follow through with some of these

regulations, we might currently have cleaner air which could have possibly reduced the severity

of air pollution-caused COVID-19 complications.

It should be noted that Friedman does have a bit of political bias within her writing. Although not

of direct importance in this case, it still has a slight impact on the sources/people she may pull

her information from. She does not directly state which party she affiliates with, but she does talk

about the downsides of some of the actions of the Trump administration, and the upsides of some

of the regulations that the Obama administration put in place. She makes a point that not only the

United States, but “most countries don’t take it seriously enough and aren’t doing enough given

the scale of the harm that air pollution is doing to all of our health.” (Friedman). Although air

pollution is an issue here in the United States, she makes note that there are other countries that

have far worse problems with air pollution than here, meaning that they could be hit harder by

the effects of air pollution in relation to COVID-19.

Lisa Friedman does not only discuss the fact that air pollution has made the COVID situation

worse, but she also includes suggestions from herself and doctors about how this data could be

used to distribute resources for hospitals. Her article is multi-fold; it discusses the problem at

hand, how the data found could be useful, and ways that we can fix the overall issue. In the short

term, Friedman suggests that people use this data to distribute more hospital resources to the

areas that have higher air pollution levels, in order to prepare for the higher concentration of

people who will be hospitalized.

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Lisa Friedman’s article is not only important in the respect to the situation of coronavirus, but

she also discusses how air pollution can lead to many other health issues throughout a person’s

life. She describes how the inhalation of air pollution over a long period of time can actually

cause people to me more at risk for conditions like lung cancer or heart disease. This shows that

her article can be useful in ways other than her main argument at hand, and even if there are

people reading who don’t think that coronavirus is a major issue, they might be more willing to

make a change if they see that it can cause other issues as well.

Friedman includes a section at the bottom of her article where she inputs notes about where she

has made any changes to her original article. The two notes she has posted are about information

that was initially incorrect, but she has fixed since the original post. This shows that the author is

keeping the information up-to-date and wants her readers to have the most reliable information

that she can give to them. Friedman is very adamant about keeping up with her article and

making sure that she can inform her audience in the best way that she can.

Overall, Friedman brings attention to the issue of air pollution, especially given the current

circumstances. Studies are constantly being conducted and new information is constantly being

discovered, but many people struggle to understand exactly what the studies findings are. There

are obviously many other factors that go into figuring out why COVID-19 has caused so many

deaths, and why it has been more harsh to some people than it has been to others, however, this

information still is useful in fighting the severity of the virus. It is important that people realize

the dangers that high levels of air pollution can cause, and this information does not only benefit

us in relation to COVID-19, but it can benefit us to help maintain our overall

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Work Cited

Friedman, L. “New Research Links Air Pollution to Higher Coronavirus Death Rates.” The New

York Times. The New York Times April 7, 2020,

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/climate/air-pollution-coronavirus-covid.html

(Accessed Oct 13, 2020).