Nixon and the War on Environmental Degradation

• In Event: Agents, Agencies and Icons: Sites and Settings for U.S. Environmental Discourse

Abstract

This paper analyzes Nixon’s environmental rhetoric using the genre of presidential war rhetoric. Nixon’s presidential rhetoric framed his approach to the environment as a war. The paper discusses why Nixon might use such a rhetorical approach, how his environmental rhetoric maps onto the war rhetoric genre, and the strengths and weaknesses of such an approach to the environment.

Author

• Jessica Prody, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities