"VWs Bad for the Planet?": RRR for Skovran


                                  "VWs Bad for the Planet?": RRR for Skovran


      In Jacob Skovran’s essay, "How Serious Was the Volkswagen Scandal" (2017), he argues that engineers' misuse of diesel fuel, specifically in the Volkswagen scandal, "deceives customers, poses health risks to innocent people, and demonstrates a 'profit over people' mentality" (Skovran 206). Skovran supports his claim chronologically using facts, statistics, and logic. His purpose is to inform readers of "the reasons and impacts of the Volkswagen scandal and how it affects our environment for everyone" in order to emphasize the need for more regulations on the making of diesel vehicles (Skovran 203). The author's intended audiences are English students, car manufacturers, and environmental agencies.


        I can define such claims regarding diesel fuel. One evening as I approached the red light, I was behind a red Ford F 150 truck. The young man in the truck sat there hasting the gas. As he continuously pressed down on the pedal, there were big black clouds of smoke coming from the pipes. Sitting there inhaling those fumes, I became light-headed, and my heart began to race. Another encounter is when I purchased my car the dealership gave me a list of details about the decision I was making; however, when I heard how many gallons per mile I would save I was even happier. My happiness disappeared when I began driving short distances and noticed that my fuel vanishes quickly. So, I made a change of gasoline, within a blink of an eye there was an issue with the maker of my car; I can relate to the unsatisfied customers.

        Skovran uses logos and ethos in the form of facts, statistics, and expert testimonies from environmental agencies to support his claims. Skovran begins by explaining how companies are manufacturing diesel cars to increase the fuel economy of cars for consumers and lower production costs for themselves (Skovran 202). He chronologically organizes his essay to give readers the appropriate background information involving the scandal. He then talks about how Volkswagen installed a "cheat device" for their cars to emit below the legal amount of nitrogen oxide in the lab; however, once the buyers bought the cars and were on the road the cars emitted "40 times the legal limit according to the EPA" (Goodman 16).  He uses this fact as testimony from the EPA to bring validity to the claim he is making. Skovran also states, "currently, about  10% of all of Europeans are exposed to higher than acceptable levels of NO2." He uses this statistic to validify his claim that the issue at hand is affecting the environment and the people living in it. Skovran uses statistics, facts, and expert testimonies from environmental agencies to logically and ethically support his claim.


Works Cited
European Environment Agency. Air Quality in Europe- 2015 Report.
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.
Goodman, Leah McGrath. "Why Volkswagen Cheated." Newsweek Global, 165.23 (Dec 2015):
    14-18. EBSCOhost. Web. 25 February 2017.

Isa Wadley Revised by: Nianicole W

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