Analyzing Alan Durning's 'The Conundrum Of Consumption'

In the article “The Conundrum of Consumption” Alan Durning address the issue of over consumption on a global scale and the effects it has on the environment. The author addresses the problem with consumption and how consumers find value in the things they consume. Durning tells his audience that consumers have a tendency to over consume and waste resources. Durning states that for our economy to flourish that we must have consumption but we need to be able to draw the line on where enough is enough. Durning expresses that for future generations to thrive, societies will have to change their values and dramatically cut down on resources. Durning’s main point is, the consumer society has a problem with overconsumption and the environment cannot take much more of this repeated abuse without time for growth. He tells readers that for our economy to be successful then we need to consume necessary things but we also need to be able to draw a fine line to where the consumer can consume, but is not over consuming unnecessary things. Durning’s persuasive techniques are very effective in reaching the intended audience. He does this through the use of rhetorical devices and strategies that persuade consumers to cut down on overconsumption. Many people will come across and be able to read this article. This large audience means that the author was

He tells us that if we are to have a future generation then we need to change our values and life-style of consumption. Through this urgent tone, he is able get his point across to the readers, that we need to be getting on this problem with over consumption or we wont have a future. He keeps this tone throughout his whole article; help conveying the sense of urgencies along with his use of ethos, logos, and pathos. This urgent tone suggest to reader that overconsumption is problem that needs to be solved now instead of later, calling his readers to