Feasel 1 Caitlyn Feasel Professor Gonsior WRT 1010, Section 30 5 December 2013 Websites Stating the Importance of Environmental

Protection Imagine a place where trash is more common than grass, animals are nowhere to be seen, and water is so polluted that it becomes brown. This type of world is what environmentalists are striving to prevent from coming into existence. In order to fight back against the ever-rising amount of pollution, the Greenpeace, Sierra Club, and Environmental Defense Fund websites were created to promote the importance of environmental protection. These organizations are dedicated to spreading awareness about the earths unhealthy state and ways to protect this planet from further damage. Although each of these sites share some similarities, Greenpeaces website stands out as the best website to reference when writing a paper. Greenpeace.org is a website that promotes an environmentally friendly way of life. Its audience consists of anti-violence animal lovers, who become involved with the website due to the emotional nature of the animals displayed in pictures on the home page of the site. The Greenpeace organization was founded by a group of people who peacefully protested against actions that could potentially cause harm to the environment. Non-violent protesting is at the very core of this organization, setting an example for all of their protests. Pictures displaying members of the organization making a peace sign with their fingers emphasizes their devotion to protesting peacefully. Other pictures on the site depict animals either in heart-wrenching scenes or thriving in a beautiful world. This technique causes the audience to feel compelled to aid these animals in any way, shape, or form. Another design aspect of this site is that its navigation

Feasel 2 system is simple and easy to use. Tabs at the top of the page can quickly transfer the viewer from one topic to the next. Also, the colors are consistent throughout the website, allowing the different pages to flow together. At the bottom of every page, the year that the site was last updated is clearly visible. Greenpeace.org was last updated in 2013, meaning that the information on the site is current, and most likely credible. There are also several addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses that Greenpeace provides in order to ensure that the viewers of the website may contact the organization, which adds to the sites credibility. Greenpeace.org has reliable and current information, unlike the Sierra Club website, whose information may not be as accurate. The Sierra Club is an organization with the purpose of educating its audience about the distressing state of the earth, as well as to convince people to donate to the cause on their website, sierraclub.org. The target audience for this website differs from the audience that greenpeace.org aims to attract. This website targets young activists who seek the challenge of convincing the human race to change and make a difference for the environment. The design of this page speaks to the audience, displaying vivid images of pollution, animals, and landscapes. Although greenpeace.org exhibits a slideshow of pictures on its home page, sierraclub.org contains a wider variety of images, keeping the viewers attention. Another contrast between the Sierra Clubs website and greenpeace.org is the navigation. While greenpeace.org is easy to navigate, sierraclub.org is confusing and does not clearly display how the viewer may go back to the home page after clicking on one of the tabs. However, the home page of this website does clearly show the date that the site was last edited, which was in 2012. This fact causes the website to be slightly outdated, so the information may not be completely accurate with todays data. The information on the home page may be dubious, but the articles and data on the other

Feasel 3 pages were updated in 2013, allowing for that information to be more credible. Also, the Sierra Club organization uses Greenpeaces technique of allowing viewers to contact them in many different ways. The credibility of this website is demonstrated through their willingness to answer any questions that viewers of the website may have. Sierraclub.org may be difficult to navigate, but the Environmental Defense Fund allows their website to be simple and easy to use. Edf.org is an organization called the Environmental Defense Fund, which is dedicated to educating people about the earths problems while offering suggestions on how to correct them. The audience for this website is any concerned citizen who cares about the environment and the effects that pollution and other harmful substances will have on the earth. Much like greenpeace.org, navigating this site is extremely simple. The design is consistent throughout the pages and the cohesive colors bring each page together. Similarly to sierraclub.org, this site displays several colorful images on the home page. These pictures attract the viewers eye and cause the viewer to want more information on various subjects. The most important information on the page is made apparent by a bold heading and large text, allowing the viewer to quickly locate key topics and links. Having been updated in 2013, this website contains information that is current and relevant to the times. Similarly to the Greenpeace and Sierra Club organizations, the Environmental Defense Funds website includes multiple ways for the viewer to contact the organization. They willing provide this information, encouraging viewers to call, e-mail, and write their questions and, therefore, increase their credibility. Based on the purpose, audience, design, and credibility of each website, the Greenpeace organization website is the most useful for a student writing an academic paper. This website is easy to navigate, having obviously been designed with the viewer in mind. The vivid pictures draw the viewers eye and lead him or her to relevant information. The Greenpeace organization

Feasel 4 provides information about the activities they are involved in and provide detailed information about their history and how to contact them. The information on this site seems to be reliable and, therefore, acceptable for use in an academic paper. This website is easier to use than the Sierra Club website and is slightly more eye-catching than the Environmental Defense Fund website. Greenpeace.org is not only credible but it is also easy to navigate, allowing it to be an ideal site from which academic information can be collected.

Feasel 5 Works Cited Environmental Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. Greenpeace. Greenpeace, 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. Sierra Club. Sierra Club, 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.