Thinking about the text, page 100

1. Katherine Spriggs does an efficient job of convincing me that buying locally matters. She starts off on the first page by Discussing how the international community is facing challenges such as global warming, pollution, and dwindling fossil fuels. When she stated "scientists estimate that in the year 2030, there will be no glaciers left in the Glacier National Park." I felt a sense of urgency making me  realize that change needs to happen quickly or else there will be serious repercussions. Also, when Sriggs mentions that the United States is a large contributor to the problem, it was a wake up call to realize that U.S citizens are playing a huge part in hurting our planet.


2. The author acknowledges other sides of the argument such as "trying to grow all kinds of food all over the world would be a waste of time and energy." Her response was simply that this was a good point but it is important to focus on buying as much as possible from nearby farmers, and buy only occasional foods from other places. She also states that "It has also been argue that buying locally will be detrimental to the environment because small farms are not as efficient in their use of resources as large farms." Spriggs then explains how this is a common misconception and that small farms are more efficient in total output of all crops per acre.


3. The paragraph that I found especially effective what the third, in which the author uses pathos to make US citizens feel guilty for contributing to global warming. Her words hit close to home and make readers feel bad when they realize that by purchasing foods that are shipped many miles, they are wasting fossil fuels that emit more green house gas. Spriggs takes an explicit position, indicates why the topic matters, and provides sufficient evidence while appealing to the readers values.


4. The photos that Katherine Spriggs uses in her essay help her claim because it gives readers a visual of what she is talking about. She also provides captions for each of the pictures to help tie them into the text.