Ariel Pichardo Mr.

Olson AP English 16 March 2012 Satirical Analysis Protecting, saving, or conserving the environment are definitely issues of today. Almost all political parties promise some kind of amazing reform to help conserve the environment. Political parties also have their personal agendas that financially benefit them more than anything. Wilson uses satire to illustrate the unproductive aspect of such political agendas. He illustrates this by first, contextualizing the issue, and then by using hyperboles to show how pointless the point of either extreme view is. At first, Wilson tells us that, although he does believe in the conservation of the environment, people with the power to make a change often push it too far. In the first passage he uses nicknames to set the satirical tone. He also uses a hypothetical situation (lines 19-23) to hyperbolize how serious the situation could become. He says that the economy would freeze because, Business investors cant get at the oil and gas on federal lands this country badly needs. Wilson makes it clear that taking conservatism too far isnt good at all. The second passage brings up the other, anti-environmentalist, side. These wise users are depicted as greedy capitalists who could care less about anything other than money. Wilson says, but for them economic growth is always the ultimate, and maybe the only, good. This obviously is not true but, it gets us to think about how right-wing republicans are

usually interested in wealth above all else. Wilson says that at big conferences the issue of conservation, mild or extreme is never even brought up. This perfectly gives irony to the situation. Both sides preach about having strong opinions and wanted to do good, but in the end, nothing happens. Overall, Wilson uses hyperboles and contextualization to illustrate the unproductiveness of both sides. Taking the extremely environmentally conservative side would weaken the economy, and taking the anti-environmental side would only benefit a small portion of people. So, taking the extreme of either side would do more harm than good. This is what makes it a perfect satire.