Wednesday, June 28, 2000
GRTA editorial belongs in 'fallacy portfolio'

Your editorial, “Federal tentacles slip into your subdivision,” will be part of an “Informal Fallacy Portfolio” that I must complete for my Critical Thinking class at CCSU.

What you wrote about “wacko environmentalists” being tricked into thinking that the Feds are going to clean the air and eliminate urban sprawl, can be classified as an abusive ad hominem. I am an environmentalist, but I don't think that GRTA should have any control over Fayette County and I don't think that the Feds can solve air pollution or eliminate urban sprawl.

On another note, I think what you are failing to do is ask and answer the question of why. Why would the government try to control where we live and how we get there?

It's probably not because they have fun doing it and want us to be good little “Greens.” It's because we, as individuals, refuse to consider the consequences of our actions, whether they be running our air conditioners when we aren't home or leaving our water hoses running all day. (By the way, your household air conditioning system causes five times more air pollution than your automobile. Imagine the government regulating that!)

Jessica Corbin

ccsu14160@libertybay.com


What do you think of this story?
Click here to send a message to the editor.  

Back to Opinion Home Page | Back to the top of the page