I'm ambivalent about faulting language expressing something the writer is passionate about. Perhaps Tim feels much more strongly about climate change than I do, and his language reflects the intensity of his opinions. Should I write off the whole piece because of polemical language on a tangential subject? I would not write "carbon-vomiting" about "oil extractors" but perhaps I would write something just as incendiary about rare game hunting. This requirement for temperate language or forfeit a receptive audience - I don't know. "There is a conflagration in the auditorium you are advised to quickly take your leave."
> This requirement for temperate language or forfeit a receptive audience - I don't know.
I can say based on a lifetime of experience if you want reasonable and influential people to shut their ears to you, use incendiary language. And the reason is simple - the strong correlation between an emotional appeal and a lousy argument.
You don't have to believe me, but I encourage you from now on to pay attention to the language used and the strength of the argument.
