The debate over Alberta oil is gaining ground among some groups in Canada. According to Andrew Nikiforuk in “Tarmageddon: Dirty Oil Turns Canada into a Corrupt Petro-State,” continued development of Alberta's tar sands only harms Canada's political, economic and environmental capabilities. The article argues that unless the Alberta tar sands issue is addressed as poison to the nation, Canada will be overwhelmed and unstable. In the same spirit, “Ethical Oil: the Puppet Rap” by Caitlin Dodd, David Henderson-Hean, Kai Nagata, Spencer Powell and Emile Scott, is a satirical rap depicting the group Ethical Oil and its spokespersons in a negative light. The video targets environmentally conscious individuals and groups and draws their attention to some of the logical fallacies surrounding the Ethical Oil campaign's claims. Although both articles address the oil debate in Canada and use different methods to achieve their goal. “Tarmageddon…” uses a persuasive and argumentative approach while “Ethical Oil…” relies on satire and amusement. Both plays use pathos to persuade their audiences, the use of which is stronger in “Tarmageddon…”, leading to a more effective use of rhetorical strategies. Nikiforuk's article is written to argue a point and persuade the public, non-specialist individuals. , to his claim. There are many methods used to achieve this. From the introduction, Canada is glorified for what it was known for, then this image is quickly juxtaposed with that of a country now bleak and destabilized due to tar sands development (Nikiforuk 211). This introduction, which uses pathos by using strong words to evoke the negative...... middle of paper...... methods which all rely on pathos. Nikiforuk's article succeeds in capturing the reader's attention and emotion from the beginning and maintaining it throughout the text through his skillful use of rhetorical strategies. Works Cited “Contact”. Kathryn Marshall. Np, and Web. February 24, 2014. Dodd, Caitlin, David Henderson-Hean, Kai Nagata, Spencer Powell and Emile Scott. “Ethical oil: puppet rap. » Video clip online. Youtube. YouTube, March 15, 2012. Web. February 24, 2014.Nikiforuk, Andrew. “Tarmageddon: Dirty Oil is Turning Canada into a Corrupt Petro-State.” » The Active Reader: Strategies for Academic Reading and Writing, 2nd ed. Eric Henderson. Don Mills, ON: Oxford UP. 211 – 13. Print. “Pipeline debate heats up EthicalOil & Sierra Club CBC, January 11, 2012.” Video clip online. Youtube. Youtube, December 18, 2012. Web. February 24. 2014.