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        The modern millennial tend to be quite the consumerist and does not really think about the effects their actions have on the environment and the world around all of us. My Rhetoric in Practice assignment (RIP) addresses this issue through the use of an informative blog that utilizes a variety of short informative posts that aim to open the reader’s eyes to the direct effects of their wasteful and environmentally insensate consumption. The RIP attempts to speak to the younger generation who are the future of conscious consumption, thus positioning them in a place of substantially affecting new methods of appealing to shoppers through the purchase of less products or items that are more environmentally friendly and will lessen their ecological footprint.

        The target audience is also likely to read this work because the “millennial” age group is known to be environmentally conscious so a blog discussing the effects of too much focus on making life more environmentally friendly without disrupting much of the lifestyle the audience is used to may cause this group to take issues more seriously. According to CNBC, the millennial age group is “willing consciously to spend more for better quality, for sustainability, for traceability” (Gibbs and Hungerford, 2016). If this age group is willing to financially invest in sustainability, it is more than possible that they also are willing to read about ways to change their actions to be better for the environment and then actually make those changes. The issue of environmentalism has also been an element of focus lately as a result of the new United States’ executive’s apparent disregard for environmental concerns. The blog discusses events such as the sanctioning of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the removal of environmental concerns from the White House website, and the eerily possible future depicted in the Disney Pixar Film WALL-­E. The use of a blog is likely to appeal to my target group as they are a generation that is apt to read quick think pieces and blogs such as Buzzfeed, Pinterest, and Tumblr so the genre is familiar to them. The spread of this site will occur through Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, forums commonly used by this age group, so that the link to the blog can be reshared, therefore increasing traffic to the site and the spread of the information.

        As one who has taken environmental sciences courses and stays up to date on such information by watching and reading the news, writing this blog is not outside of my realm of capabilities as the topic is familiar to me. The blog genre is also one I am comfortable with as I have experience interacting with Facebook pages, Tumblr blogs, and various other forms of informative social media. Aside from having a strong understanding of the topic I am discussing, I am also part of the age group I am addressing so I am aware of what appeals to the audience and what does not.

        My project is able to subvert to the blog genre through the use of images to support my theme and the topic of each particular post. My blog also is relatively casual and uses language that the average person can discern in order for my message to reach and impact a larger number of people. The posts on the blog are also relatively short both so that my audience will not lose interest and so that enough interest is sparked that readers begin to do more research on their own, therefore learning more about everyday environmental issues and perhaps changing their actions even more. After researching more about the blog genre I read an article about how to write a blog on the marketing website HubSpot. HubSpot suggested including an introduction and a “call-­to­-action” where I summarize the goal of my posts and blog (Sprung). I felt these elements were useful as they give people considering whether or not to read my blog a small bit of information to read so that they receive a better understanding of the message I am attempting to convey.

        Overall, my blog aims to show young adults that they do not need to radically change their lives in order to make a positive impact on the world. Rather I show them that through small changes, such as not eating meat once a week or using a reusable water bottle, can over time make a big difference. My blog is dependent on the hope that my readers want to do something to help the environment, but also are unsure where to start. “Moderately Hippie” shows people that it is not necessary to live completely off the land to do their part to help the Earth.

Works Cited

Gibbs, Alexandra, and Nancy Hungerford. "Millennials Willing to Pay More for Sustainable, Better Quality Goods:

        Nestlé Chairman." CNBC. CNBC, 04 Nov. 2016. Web.

Sprung, Rachel. "How to Write a Blog Post: A Simple Formula + 5 Free Blog Post Templates." HubSpot. N.p.,

        n.d. Web.

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