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Essay Assistance with Rhetorical and Visual Analysis
17 Million Doomed Creatures Teach Humanity a Lesson
If there’s one thing this pandemic has taught us, it’s that we can’t get away from the world we’ve created.
Margaret Renkl’s contribution
Nov. 16, 2020 Contributing Opinion Writer
The image of the mink in Denmark, about to be murdered, struck me the most. The creatures peek out of their cages with open curiosity, their ears cocked forward and their dexterous fingers clutching the cage doors’ wire as they investigate
their surroundings. They’re obviously attempting to figure out what’s going on.
What’s going on, it seems out, is that mink can catch Covid-19 from both humans and other mink. Several other animals, including dogs, cats, hamsters, tigers, monkeys, and ferrets, have caught the virus from humans, but only mink have
passed it on to us so far.
Mink are native to North America, but millions of them are farmed all over the world, including in the United States. (To be clear, when we say “farmed,” we mean that the animals are held in cages until they are killed and skinned for the fur industry.) Because few people come into contact with mink, news of Covid-19 on mink farms hasn’t sparked the kind of public panic that would undoubtedly occur if dog parks were potential superspreaders.
The fact that Covid-19 can mutate as it moves between humans and mink and back again is what makes the report from Europe so concerning. The virus has not become more easily transmissible or more likely to cause severe infection as a result of these modifications. However, because one set of changes in one virus type has the potential, at least theoretically, to restrict the effectiveness of a Covid-19 vaccine, Danish officials took the extreme step of killing all 17 million minks
in the country.
It’s a heartbreaking tale of mass murder and mass burial. The outcry in Denmark, the world’s top producer of mink pelts, has centered on the government’s order’s fragile legal underpinning, as well as the financial devastation it has caused to
fur farmers. The underlying question is why there are so many of these farms in the first place.
The fact that life on Earth is out of balance is not news. We already know that human conduct has harmed everything from global biodiversity to real weather, including not only the burning of fossil fuels but also food production, wilderness
fragmentation, habitat destruction, and overpopulation, among other planetary depredations. Warnings from scientists and environmental campaigners, on the other hand, have mostly gone unheeded by the general people, even when the depredations come at a cost to us.
For decades, we’ve known what happens when we put pressure on wild animals by deteriorating their habitats, disrupting their ecosystems, putting them in cages, or failing them in other ways. H.I.V., Lyme disease, bubonic plague, anthrax, and
Ebola are just a few of the animal pathogens that have infected humans. The coronavirus pandemic is only the latest illustration of what nature has been warning us about for a long time.
In June, Ferris Jabr wrote in The New York Times Magazine, When illnesses spread from animals to people, and vice versa, it is usually because we have rearranged our common ecosystems in ways that make the shift considerably more
likely. Deforestation, mining, intensive agriculture, and urban sprawl devastate natural ecosystems, causing wild animals to congregate in human settlements. Cross-species infection is considerably increased by excessive hunting, trading, and consumption of wildlife.
People who care for the natural world are historically pitted against those who believe that nature is fantastic as long as it doesn’t get in the way of their ambitions to develop a new subdivision, purchase a cheap hamburger, drive a large SUV,
or eat raspberries all year. So long as it doesn’t cause them any bother.
Our ease comes at a cost to the environment. The continuing decline of coral reefs; a devastating hurricane season; American-caused coastal plastic pollution; and the Trump administration’s decision to remove gray wolves from the protected
species list have all made headlines in recent weeks.
Only half of our error was believing that the natural world was ours to take. Our blunder was also neglecting to see that we are all part of the natural world. If there’s one thing this pandemic has taught us, it’s that we can’t get away from the
world we’ve created. We must begin right now to prioritize biodiversity preservation, wildlife habitat protection, and living in better peace with our natural neighbors. To protect ourselves from a future of ever-renewing pandemics, we’ll have to
radically rethink how we think about nature.
Opinion | 17 Million Doomed Creatures Teach Humanity a Lesson https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/opinion/coronavirus-min…
11/18/20, 15:47, 1 of 2
In her stunning new essay collection, “Vesper Flights,” British naturalist Helen Macdonald writes, “Animals don’t exist in order to teach us things, yet that is what they have always done, and most of what they teach us is what we think we know
about ourselves.” For far too long, people believed they had been given control over the entire planet. Now, the butchered minks in Denmark and all the other creatures dying as a result of human-caused and quickly increasing extinction are
teaching us what we need to do to save them and ourselves: we must change our lives.
Margaret Renkl is a contributing opinion writer who focuses on the American South’s flora, wildlife, politics, and culture. Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss is her first book.
The New York Times is dedicated to publishing a wide range of letters to the editor. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this or any of our other posts. Here are a few pointers. Our email address is letters@nytimes.com.
On Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion), and Instagram, you can follow The New York Times Opinion section.
Opinion | 17 Million Doomed Creatures Teach Humanity a Lesson https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/opinion/coronavirus-min… 2 of 2 11/18/20, 15:47
Description
Read “A Lesson for Humanity from 17 Million Doomed Creatures https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/opinion/coronavirus-minks-wildlife-environment.html” carefully. Use the “Rhetorical and Visual Analysis” sheet’s explanation to assist you rhetorically examine not only the words but also the imagery in this piece.
WHAT IS IT THAT THE AUTHOR IS TRYING TO CONVICT US TO DO?
HOW is the author attempting to accomplish this?
Compare the link above to the to have a better understanding of how visuals can be crucial to a text’s effects.
Opinion | A Lesson for Humanity From 17 Million Doomed Creatures – NYT 16 November 2020.pdf is a pdf document.\
Essay Assistance with Rhetorical and Visual Analysis
RUBRIC |
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Excellent Quality 95-100%
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Introduction
45-41 points The background and significance of the problem and a clear statement of the research purpose is provided. The search history is mentioned. |
Literature Support 91-84 points The background and significance of the problem and a clear statement of the research purpose is provided. The search history is mentioned. |
Methodology 58-53 points Content is well-organized with headings for each slide and bulleted lists to group related material as needed. Use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance readability and presentation content is excellent. Length requirements of 10 slides/pages or less is met. |
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Average Score 50-85% |
40-38 points More depth/detail for the background and significance is needed, or the research detail is not clear. No search history information is provided. |
83-76 points Review of relevant theoretical literature is evident, but there is little integration of studies into concepts related to problem. Review is partially focused and organized. Supporting and opposing research are included. Summary of information presented is included. Conclusion may not contain a biblical integration. |
52-49 points Content is somewhat organized, but no structure is apparent. The use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. is occasionally detracting to the presentation content. Length requirements may not be met. |
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Poor Quality 0-45% |
37-1 points The background and/or significance are missing. No search history information is provided. |
75-1 points Review of relevant theoretical literature is evident, but there is no integration of studies into concepts related to problem. Review is partially focused and organized. Supporting and opposing research are not included in the summary of information presented. Conclusion does not contain a biblical integration. |
48-1 points There is no clear or logical organizational structure. No logical sequence is apparent. The use of font, color, graphics, effects etc. is often detracting to the presentation content. Length requirements may not be met |
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