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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Industrial Apocalyptic: Neoliberalism, Coal, And The Burlesque Frame, Jennifer Peeples, Pete Bsumek, Steve Schwarze, Jen Schneider
Industrial Apocalyptic: Neoliberalism, Coal, And The Burlesque Frame, Jennifer Peeples, Pete Bsumek, Steve Schwarze, Jen Schneider
Jen Schneider
Rhetorical scholarship and cultural commentary have demonstrated that environmentalist voices are consistently associated with apocalyptic rhetoric. However, this association deflects attention from the apocalyptic rhetoric that comes from industry and countermovements to environmentalism. This essay seeks to remedy that oversight by proposing the concept of "industrial apocalyptic" as a significant rhetorical form in environmental controversy. Based on analysis of the rhetoric of the U.S. coal industry, we find that these industrial apocalyptic narratives rely on a burlesque frame to disrupt the categories of establishment and outsider and thus thwart environmental regulation. Ultimately, we argue that industrial apocalyptic co-opts environmentalist appeals …
Corporate Ventriloquism: Corporate Advocacy, The Coal Industry, And The Appropriation Of Voice, Peter K. Bsumek, Jen Schneider, Steve Schwarze, Jennifer Peeples
Corporate Ventriloquism: Corporate Advocacy, The Coal Industry, And The Appropriation Of Voice, Peter K. Bsumek, Jen Schneider, Steve Schwarze, Jennifer Peeples
Jen Schneider
In the second decade of the 21st century, the U.S. coal industry is facing unprecedented challenges. While for many years coal provided nearly half of the U.S. electricity, in the spring of 2012 that share dropped to below 40% and is expected to continue falling (Energy Information Administration, 2012).1 Coal production is increasing not in Appalachia, the primary U.S. source for coal historically, but in Wyoming's Powder River Basin (Goodell, 2006). Market competition from the natural gas industry combined with well organized climate and anti-nountaintop removal (MTR) campagins have significantly curtailed the production of new coal-fired power plants in …