Summary of Shiva

Zowie: “…difficult to read. It was highly informational, which is not a bad thing, it was just information that was difficult for me to grasp… But overall I thought that this chapter was highly informational and it got me thinking and interested in learning more."

Charlene: “…I found some pretty interesting statistics. One in particular being that to keep the temperature rise within 2ºC, an 80% cut in emissions is needed by 2020. That is astounding to hear, in my opinion. Partly because that will probably never happen due to all of the funding needed to ‘go green.’ …I thought it was going to be a positive chapter on the UN helping to emit emissions. Turns out, the UN agreed to do almost nothing about toxic emissions… Shiva…reiterated herself to a fault. I found myself reading the same arguments more than once but without any clear explanation…. The text was well written and articulates her view well, I just hate having her opinion shoved in my face for 12 pages.”

Evan: “I found the tone to be preachy and almost to the point where she was trying to scare the reader into caring more about our environment. I found it interesting that she wrote about a water shortage occurring in various countries around the world. I've always heard that there is going to be a war over water in the near future, and Dr. Shiva’s piece about water educated me more about it. Also, Dr. Shiva said that each country should work together as a team to fix our planet before it is too late. I agree with Shiva on her opinion, because if we as whole let political and economic issues stand in our way, we will destroy the planet ourselves.”

Tommy: The chapter "Climate Wars and Climate Peace" in the book Making Peace with the Earth not only showed the changes to the glaciers in the polar regions but also displayed how the melting of the Himalayan glaciers could affect billions of people. I was surprised to discover that some countries believed that some of the emission reducing accords were attacks to keep the wealthier countries in power. I was much more interested in the possible results of the melting of the "third pole". These are the Himalayan glaciers and if they melt it could be catastrophic. The chapter deeply explained how the glaciers are used by billions of people within its water basin. The glaciers feed many large rivers and the changes in weather patterns on the mountain range have caused many deadly flash floods. These glaciers could be gone by 2030 and it is a big cause for concern. I enjoyed reading this chapter and it made me want to do something to lower my emissions."

Ali: “The chapter is very informative and shows us the destructive effects global warming. In certain parts of the world especially in India, many peoples’ lives are in extreme danger. These areas lack drinking water and soil to produce food and experience flash floods and other catastrophes that wipe away resources and settlement. In the chapter, it is said that 20 percent of irrigation channels were destroyed by flash floods in Nubra Valley, India over the past 10 years. I found this information to be extremely shocking and upsetting. The people in these areas lack the resources to live and their homes are continuously destroyed. On top of this, many farmers commit suicide because of these harsh working conditions. I feel that something must be done about these climate issues, especially in these areas of India. However, although the chapter was very informative and eye-opening, I felt that the text was very confusing and difficult to understand.”

Morgan: “…[Shiva] strongly believes that if changes aren’t made then the Himalayas could disappear by 2035. [Shiva] wants climate peace to be reached. She also took a more emotional approach in part of this chapter instead of using statistics she spoke about multiple deaths throughout the world…. Overall, I thought it was an informative chapter but I didn’t like how she represented her message. It came off as forceful.”

Olivia: “[Shiva] describes to us what the Copenhagen Accord was and how Obama went wrong by not involving any of the third world countries, and how he actually endangered their futures a little more. Africa’s temperature rise will go up three to five degrees Celsius every year. Many countries thought that it was disrespectful including Tavalu who claimed that their country should have a say in the climate change discussions no matter how small their country is. She focuses in on the Himalaya’s climate change a lot and deems it to have a disastrous future ahead…. Although this chapter was very informative, it was extremely confusing. I found myself on the Internet half of the time looking up names of committees and textbook terms…”

Nate: “…Shiva attempts to cause the reader to want to take action in regards to climate change. Although Shiva brings many good facts to the table in her chapter, the bottom line is that it didn’t cause me to want to go out and change what was going on with climate change; it made me want to take a nap. The way that the facts are conveyed is, simply, just boring... Instead of just presenting the facts, she should have tried to evoke an emotional response… it wasn’t personal enough for me to get attached to it.”

Heather: “This chapter was very informational, but very difficult to understand in one shot. It took me a couple times of reading the passage through to fully recognize everything the author was trying to say. I found this chapter extremely interesting and very eye opening, especially when Shiva talks about the many myths people often hear regarding global warming.”

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS SAMPLE
Author: Vandana Shiva was born in India in 1952. She is a feminist, philosopher, and an avid fan of Mahatma Gandhi and his belief of being that change that you wish to see in the world… She is extremely intelligent getting her degrees in physics, philosophy of science, and nuclear physics. When she was alarmed and found out that science was not always so good, she founded Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology to strongly oppose the views of some science ideas like genetically modified foods, etc. She has founded Navdanya which is a foundation dedicated to protecting the biodiversity in science and the environment. She has won many awards and is the author of over 300 papers. … [Shiva] studied at University of Western Ontario and got her PhD in nuclear physics… She has received many awards like the Right Livelihood Award; which is seen as the Alternative Nobel Prize... Shiva was born on November 5, 1952 in the valley of Dehradun. Her parents loved nature. Her father was a conservator of forests and her mother was a farmer. She is well educated, earning a physics degree at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Shiva…has served as an advisor to groups such as the International Forum on Globalization and the Third World Network. Shiva is also a councilor of the World Future Council. Her hard work has paid off; in 2003 Time Magazine described Shiva as environmental “hero”. Currently, Dr. Shiva is working on a project with Bhutan, helping the government achieve their goal of becoming the first 100% organic country.

Publisher: Fernwood Publishing Co. was founded in 1991 and first published in 1992. They have expanded over 20 years of service and have published around 500 books. Their main audience is college students in the social sciences and an audience that is looking for education. Another intended audience for Fernwood Publishing Co. is anyone who is interested in social justice and social change. Pluto Press is the other publishing company which originated in London and also deals with social sciences. They have been active for over 40 years and became independent in 1979 publishing over 800 titles. Pluto Press, a world leading radical publisher. Pluto Press speacilaizes in progressive and critical perspectives in politics and social sciences.

Tone, Syntax, and Language: The tone is direct and informative. Dr. Shiva writes in a mostly layman’s terms form. Her writing mostly focuses on informing the reader without beading around the bush. The text is mostly made up of factual evidence. This includes many statistics and knowledge gained from organizations. For example, “According to the IPCC report the total area of glaciers in the Himalaya will shrink from 193,051 square miles…” (Shiva 104). She does not use any metaphorical references or figurative language but a monotone speaking voice. The tone is very passionate and well-educated. She is very devoted to her findings and belief. She writes with a forceful approach. Also there are a lot of...statistics involved in her writing. Shiva is very detailed when expressing her point and can be overwhelming. It has a lot of scientific language. She writes with a lot of acronyms as well. It is hard to understand at times and dull. Her language leads towards upper-class.

Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to intimidate and scare the public of information to make them be the change that they want to see in the world. She wants people to be aware that sometimes the decisions made by the UN completely disregard the third world countries and do not even give them a say, sometimes resulting in damaging their futures…  Shiva’s purpose is to educate the public on what she feels strongly about. She explains how the environment has affected the world physically and financially. She is trying to prevent future predicted events from occurring.

Intended Audience: Her intended audience seems to be a couple of different groups. First there are the uninformed readers; the ones who know nothing about the topic but still have the capabilities to get involved and fight for her cause. She is also targeting corporate companies, mainly ones that use up natural resources or ones that produce harmful chemicals byproducts. In the chapter Shiva also talks about targeting “consumers of the North” who “bear responsibility for the increased emissions” (Shiva 101). So by targeting this group she is making people from middle class northern societies realize how climate change is their fault too. Vandana focuses on those who are skeptic about global warming and the climate change. She wants them to wake up to what is really going on in the environment and help stop this human-induced issue. She intends to get her point across to the upper middle class citizens. Also Shiva wants to get the attention of the government. There needs to be a stop to the factories and take part in the movement to stop global warming. Shiva wants environmentalist to help as well. With their help, the Himalayas and global warming can be saved.

Context: In this section of Making Peace with the Earth, Shiva is trying to inform the reader about the drastic climate changes that are happening throughout the world and how the government is not doing much to help the environment. She provides evidence to her theories using statistics about what could happen to the environment if no one makes an effort to help or change the way it is destroying it. Her focus is on the Himalayas, where she explains in detail how global warming is causing high temperatures in the Himalayas, which lead to a rapid retreat of glaciers. This section of Making Peace with the Earth discusses climate change and what will happen in the future if the climate continues to rise. Shiva gives many statistics about drastic and terrifying things that could happen to our world. For example, she talks a lot about the Himalayas. The Himalayas are receding at a very rapid rate and by the year 2035 they could be completely gone. The reason why the Himalayas are receding so quickly is because of the rapid climate change. She also talks about the shortage of water in many small villages. For example, in Chakrata where women have to travel large distances to retrieve water, a spring dried up completely making their water supply even scarcer. All of the intense statistics and fact that Shiva gives in this section of the book draw the reader in and really give a sense of what the climate change is doing in the world.

Author’s Process: The author became aware of the destruction due to global warming in these specific areas of India. She gathered research and statistics and wrote a book to voice her opinion and to educate people on her findings. Shiva conducted research around the world as evidence of the drastic change in the Earth’s climates. In this chapter, “Climate Wars and Climate Peace”, her research began at the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen. Along with that, she researched the climate change in the third pole and finally the water crisis in the Himalayas. It was pretty obvious how strongly Shiva feels about this universal issue. She made this very clear to us with her forceful tone, but she made sure to keep you involved with everything that’s taking place. Shiva researched climate change all around the world so that she was able to see the issue first hand. Her research began at the UN Climate Summit conference in Copenhagen. After reading an interview of Dr. Shiva Vandana, it is obvious that the content in this chapter is she every day thought process. She strongly believes in being peaceful with the earth and that we are all citizens of earth and not necessary  ly our separate society’s. Shiva says in an interview on an Indian radio show (she) "has never been stronger because the crisis is deeper." She describes her personal views saying "You cannot separate the issue of sustainability from the issue of justice from the issue of access to resources and from the issues of peace.” Finally making the remark that "Making peace with the earth" is now "a survival imperative."

Shiva, Vandana. Making Peace with the Earth. New Delhi: Women Unlimited, 2012. Print.

"Vandana Shiva: Biography." South End Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2013. http://www.southendpress.org/authors/17.

"Vandana Shiva: Making Peace With the Earth Is a Survival Imperative." Common Dreams. N.p., 20 June 2012. Web. 05 Sept. 2013. https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/06/20-2.