Study the cartoon by Signe Wilkinson. A man is reading a tablet plugged into a wall socket. He says "With no paper, it's, like,
totally green!" On top of the electrical plug in the wall socket is a tiny coal miner. How does the symbol of the coal miner work to create meaning? The coal miner symbolizes the hard work that went into creating the internet devices we use today. The coal miner symbolizes jobs lost by books being printed online rather than on paper. The coal miner symbolizes the fossil fuel energy used to create electricity to power devices. The coal miner symbolizes the green energy used to create electricity that powers devices.
The coal miner symbolizes the fossil fuel energy used to create electricity to power devices.
Explanation:
The cartoon shows that electronic devices, while reducing the need for paper and consequently deforestation, do not represent green and pollution-free devices. This is shown by the presentation of coal.
Coal represents the burning of fossil fuels for the production of energy, which is a source of highly maleficent pollution and which causes a lot of environmental damage.
