A "Rude" Awakening

And it is an awakening of sorts.

Carolyn Rude's article looking at the issue of reports in public policy debates had some interesting points. I had never really thought about a piece of rhetoric and its completion, or more specifically, whether that piece "ended" once it was submitted, published, spoken, etc. or if it continued to have influence as part of a larger, ongoing conversation. Perhaps it is because of the influence of teaching a composition class where a piece is "completed" once it is submitted. I think I had an inkling in the back of my mind that the influence continued and I certainly have had experience with rhetoric in that respect. Previous research that I have participated in has involved a review of the literature, a conversation that I, in turn, contributed to. It has also been part of the discussion in this course. I had just never really considered it before.

I think that Rude makes interconnections between the original work, in this case Powering the Midwest, and subsequent publications as well as the debate about renewable energy and it cost-effectiveness. In addition, the report is tied into other publications and advocacy events that the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) are affiliated or connected with in some way. One example of the influence of this report and the power of an ongoing conversation is that of how a group of citizens in conjunction with UCS help prevent a repeal of an Iowa law that required utilities to generate some of their power through renewable sources. The end result was the formation of the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition which worked to strengthen the law and prevent efforts to weaken or repeal renewable energy law.

These efforts came in many forms: reports, verbal exchanges, legal documents, etc. The point being that all of these rhetorical exchanges worked together, over time, to change public policy on renewable energy. The various forms are simply several facets of the conversation.

Article available http://www.leaonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15427625tcq1303_3?cookieSet=1 .