Link to Article:
http://www.isfoundation.com/news/cell-phones-harming-gorillas-congo
Conclusions:
This article is supported by the Ian Somerholder foundation. Ian Somerholder is a star in The Vampire Diaries and also an active animal welfare advocate. The article on his foundation's website "Cell Phones Harming Gorillas in Congo" is written by Amanda Easterling. This article is about how gorillas are negatively impacted by the mining of coltan. Coltan happens to be a mineral used when making cellphones. Coltan is used in the cellphones battery. Easterling's conclusion is "The mining of this mineral to make cell phone batteries is causing major harm to the gorillas that live there." The habitat of the gorilla is being stripped away in order to support the mining of coltan. A Rival Cause is a plausible alternative explanation that can explain why a certain outcome occurred.
For example, "Because of the lack of food, living space for the gorillas and poverty level; the miners and rebels are killing and selling these poor creatures." and "Kahuzi Biega National Park is the main area where Coltan is mined is the home of the Mountain Gorilla. The gorilla population in Kahuzi Biega National Park has been cut nearly in half, from 258 to 130 as the ground is cleared to make mining easier." are both examples of rival causes.Both of these phrases raise questions in the readers mind that go unanswered. Although the author explains how Gorillas and the cell phone industry correlate. The article only explains this on a basic level leaving questions that the reader may have. For example, the first quote could raise questions about the correlation between the poverty level and actions of the miners and rebels. The second quote raises questions about the mining industry and if there are any organizations or any other actions being made to stop the negative impacts of coltan mining.
For example, "Because of the lack of food, living space for the gorillas and poverty level; the miners and rebels are killing and selling these poor creatures." and "Kahuzi Biega National Park is the main area where Coltan is mined is the home of the Mountain Gorilla. The gorilla population in Kahuzi Biega National Park has been cut nearly in half, from 258 to 130 as the ground is cleared to make mining easier." are both examples of rival causes.Both of these phrases raise questions in the readers mind that go unanswered. Although the author explains how Gorillas and the cell phone industry correlate. The article only explains this on a basic level leaving questions that the reader may have. For example, the first quote could raise questions about the correlation between the poverty level and actions of the miners and rebels. The second quote raises questions about the mining industry and if there are any organizations or any other actions being made to stop the negative impacts of coltan mining.
Evidence:
One quote that I found that proves the authors message is to raise awareness about the harmful affects on gorillas that coltan mining has is "Kahuzi Biega National Park is the main area where Coltan is mined is the home of the Mountain Gorilla. The gorilla population in Kahuzi Biega National Park has been cut nearly in half, from 258 to 130 as the ground is cleared to make mining easier. (Cellular News, NA)." This quote alone embodies the message of the author. Her argument is that the mining of Coltan is dramatically effecting the gorilla population. In this country economics is the driving force behind this, The people use coltan mining as there means of income. When this happens the negative impacts on the environment becomes second to the economy.
Fallacies:
For this article in particular I did not find any fallacies. That being said I do however think this is only because the article does not provide enough information on the topic. It isn't just evidence that could be weak, it is also a lack of evidence that can make an article weak. Had this article given a fuller description of the impacts of how coltan mining affects not only gorillas but the habit and people of Africa I believe her article would have been a lot stronger.
My Conclusions:
As a person involved and interested in conservation itdissapointed me that there was not more information given in the article. I also wished that the author used her visuals more effectively. She included a picture of a cellphone but, including pictures of how gorillas are affected would have been a better option. Another thing she could have done was use more trustworthy sources to support her claims. She only sited one article from cellular news so, statistics or studies done regarding this problem would have made her article stronger.
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