Recently, the issue of the Adani Coal mine, the ‘world’s biggest export calming’ has caused concern for the future of the environment and status of the Great Barrier Reef. ‘The Adani mine is this generation’s Franklin River. People power can stop it,’ a passionate opinion piece by environmental activist Bob Brown, (The Guardian, 24/03/17) contends that ‘people power’ is ‘unbeatable’ and this will stop the construction of the billionaire Adani’s mine. He argues that the ‘campaign’ to stop this mine can be compared to the one that saved the Franklin River in Tasmania; an environmental battle where Brown was personally involved, that the devastating effects of coal has national and even global impacts and declares that people power will eliminate …show more content…
He preaches to the choir, to mobilise groups of people to utilise their ‘unbeatable power.’ His repetitive usage of, ‘generation’ is an appeal to all generations both past and present and highlights his overarching contention that people have to be unified to ‘stand[] up for what they believe in.’ Brown uses the hyperbolic phrase, ‘…environmental issue of our times,’ to appeal to young Australians’ environmental pride and trigger an emotional response to position them to support his cause. Additionally, he makes use of inclusive language such as, ‘our times,’ ‘we,’ and ‘Australians’ and a personal anecdote, ‘…I rafted the Franklin River…’ to establish his experience and credibility. Brown then includes a text to text relation, …show more content…
Another utilisation of personification by Brown sees the mine as a key, ‘unlocking a global climate catastrophe.’
Brown applies multiple appeals to Australian’s sense of environmental pride when noting the physical impacts on the country, ‘heatwaves’, ‘floods’ and ‘droughts’ to slant the audience’s view through the use of their protective instincts toward their land. He also utilises repetition to highlight the critical state of the Great Barrier Reef to accentuate its significance to both the local community and ‘far beyond Australia.’ By including statistics such as, ‘more than 100,000 people [in India] die of …polluting effects’ and ‘destruction of…the 67,000 [at the Great Barrier Reef]’ Brown provides evidence to the detrimental effects of coal and positions the audience to view the fossil fuel as negative. Brown employs the use of pejorative connotative language of ‘severe,’ ‘kills’ and ‘disastrous threat’ suggesting that the only way to live with the Adani coal mine is to live in