Environmental Writers Weekly

November 2014 // Volume 4, Issue 20

The weekly environmental rhetoric newsletter

Weekly Bio: the pitfalls of

environmental rhetoric

Inside

Mitchell Johnson, environmental reporter

Weekly Bio.pg. 1
Career Considerations: the
goals of environmental
legislationpg.2

When Rob Brault isnt whitewater canoeing, its

a good bet youll find him in his office, reading
an article on the most recent environmental
conservation development. The only way to
stay relevant in this field is to be up to date on
the latest discoveries, says Brault.

Words to watch out for.....pg.2

Brault works as an Associate Professor of

English at Winona State University, but he also
finds time to write in his spare moments. He has
a doctorate in ecofeminist literary criticism, and
harbors a deep passion for the outdoors.
When asked about a common pitfall for
environmental writers, Brault notes the lacking
definitions some writers employ for ambiguous
terms like sustainability and environment.
Brault stressed this point continually, telling a
story of how he took four pages of his doctorate
thesis to define the word wilderness.
Dedication and thoroughness like this are
what it takes to make it in the constantly
developing world of environmental rhetoric.

Career Considerations: the goals of environmental legislation

The world of environmental legislation can be
a harsh one. Environmental regulations are
either passionately endorsed or denied,
depending on party affiliations.

the environment and the pleasure gained

from these effects.

When addressing pollution reduction goals,

it is always helpful to use affirmative
language. For example, a writer can use
phrases like the best available or best
efforts to make sure their policies are
given proper attention.

Environmental legislation often has two goals:

outlining acceptable risk and determining
pollution reduction goals.
The outlining of acceptable risk goals often
places environmental policy writers in a few
specific camps.

With these two goals in mind, it is

important to adjust language to
accommodate a variety of audiences.
Finding a middle ground between the right
and left wing is essential when writing
passable legislation.

These perspectives range from preservationists

who call for zero human disruption of natural
ecosystems, to those who advocate for
achieving balance between human effects on

Terminology is of utmost importance to a

environmental writer Many terms originally used by
environmental writers have been employed by large
industries (i.e. Monsanto) to improve their public face.
Some of these problematic terms are:
sustainability
environment
ecological
endangered
If used, terms like these must be exhaustively defined
to be certain a document will not be taken out of
context. All environmental writers beware!