Carbon Footprint, by Jeff Parker

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Recommended: Climate change and its effect on the environment

A carbon footprint is a measure greenhouse gases produced through our daily activities. The average individual's carbon footprint is around three and a half. This means that humanity is using three and a half earths. This political cartoon by Jeff Parker addresses this popular issue. I will analyze this political cartoon according specific criteria, such as its design and visual elements, the genre, and type and spacial elements of the argument to provide a rhetorical analysis that considers the purpose, audience, and argument.

The visual argument portrays a large, black, foot rising out of the ground. This foot has writing on it saying “Carbon Footprint”. The foot is closely following a vehicle. There are two frantic looking people within the vehicle. There is one driver and one in the passenger's seat. A text bubble is displayed above the vehicle saying “Remember, “Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.””. The foot also seems to be created from the same stuff coming from the car exhaust. The intention of this visual argument was to attract awareness to the problem of ever rising carbon footprints. This political cartoon is depicting how humanities carbon footprints are going to catch up with them sooner than they may think.

The cartoon targets everyone who is oblivious of their contribution to the carbon footprint.

he concern is that nobody can change what they do not know. The only way to get people to consider their dreadful habits is to draw awareness to it. At the same time, it can also be seen as satirizing the previously stated audience. The satirizing can be seen in the fine print on the car reading “BLINDSPOT EX”. This is humorous because the carbon footprint is so large, its impossible to miss, yet t...

... middle of paper ...

... and the camera angle. This was an excellent political cartoon.

Here, I have analyzed this political cartoon according specific criteria, including its design and visual elements, the genre, and type and spacial elements of the argument to provide a rhetorical analysis that considers the purpose, audience, and argument. His argument is that humanity's carbon footprints are going to catch up with them sooner than they may think. The author makes good use of many of the elements to create his argument.

Works Cited

"Daryl Cagle's Political Cartoons." Graphic. Trust Your Mirrors. Jeff Parker. Florida Today, 2008. Web. 27 Sep 2011. .

Ramage, John, John Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments A Rhetoric With Readings. Eighth. Pearson Educations inc., 2010. 165-199. Print.

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