Forest Fires: Wildfires in the US
Paper Two: Arguing to Assert
This paper will provide a dramatic contrast from arguing to inquire. Now we will be moving into argumentation as it is generally known: making a case and attempting to influence others that your view is the correct one. You should assume a skeptical audience—no “preaching to the choir”—and write accordingly. You must use the six-step method of organization to organize this essay. Your thesis statement should not appear in the first paragraph nor even the second; rather, in a good six-step method paper, it appears in step number three (see below).
I am going to give you two options here: one is to write an essay on the legal topic of your choice. So long as the topic has something to do with the law, it will probably pass muster with me, but you must submit topic ideas for approval. The second option is to let me choose the topic, which I have provided below. Read that over, and if the topic does not appeal to you, then you must come up with your own.
Disasters have been in the news quite a bit lately: hurricanes in the South, earthquakes abroad, and forest fires in B. C. and Washington. Humanity, it seems, will never be free of disasters of one type or another--indeed, it sometimes seems as if they are becoming more common (this is not a paper on global warming, but if you want to talk about global warming at some point that may bolster your case). Yet if we cannot eliminate disasters, we can at least prepare for them more efficiently and provide more effective means by which the might of the United States can be used to aid recovery efforts.
Since our class theme involves American law, I would like you to consider the laws we currently have on the books regarding disaster preparedness and relief; secondly, I would like you to offer suggestions on how we might improve those laws or implement better ones. For example, should we be more rigorous in enforcing earthquake-proof building codes in certain parts of the U. S. (including here)? Should we be more strict in zoning where people may live if they live on or near rivers that flood regularly? Should we pour more money into FEMA, which is the federal agency for disaster relief? Should we revisit how easy or how difficult it is to call out the National Guard? Should we focus, instead, on state law and better preparedness at the state level? Whatever questions attract you, build your paper around those questions--and if you can ask better ones, use yours and ignore my own. However, whatever your argument, you must use the six-step method of organization to organize the paper. That means, for example, providing a Narratio step starting with your second paragraph. One thing I will be looking for in your Narratio is a brief summary of the history of FEMA, which is currently under the Department of Homeland Security. As per six-step method guidelines, your Partitio step will follow that one and provide the reader with a thesis statement. Note: only hint at the thesis before your Partitio step--don't give it away too early!
Write a four to seven page paper, typed and double-spaced. Research is a requirement for this assignment, and you must use a minimum of six sources to support your argument. Consider relying on our library's pre-vetted sources (found easily via the library’s web page) and document them according to the APA style; use other online sources with caution. Note that these requirements hold no matter what topic you are writing about.
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* Adopt a confident tone.
Use the third person. The third person is privileged in academic discourse; it is assumed to be more formal and more serious. The first person, while it might be relevant in some situations, will not help your credibility, and it may well hurt your credibility. The same thing applies for the second person.
Practice using the six-step method of organization until you have its steps memorized. Let's go over them now.
The six-step method comes to us from classical antiquity (Greece and Rome circa two thousand years ago), so some textbooks simply call it the "classical" method. I find that to be a little too imprecise, though, as classical rhetors also used other techniques such as Two Reasons and the Nestorian method of organization. Anyway, the six-step method always begins by trying to grab the reader's attention. This is called the exordium, and it gives us the English word "exhort." How can you grab your reader's attention? You can tell an anecdote, a tiny little story; you can offer up an arresting statistic; or you can begin with a powerful quote, to name a few strategies. Often, the anecdote begun here is left on a "cliffhanger," with the ending revealed at essay's end. That's step one, and it should be one short paragraph. Step two is called Narratio, and it gives us the English word "narration". You are narrating the story of how we got here, giving the reader, in essence, the history of the problem you are addressing. If you're writing about wildfires in the West, you would want to include a history of the forest service, the origin of attempts at total fire prevention, the origin of fire codes, or what have you. This step should take anywhere from one to three paragraphs, so don't get carried away with the history! If you pull it off, readers will trust you by the end of this step because they'll see you've done your homework. Step three, Partitio, partitions the argument into pieces. Here's where you present your thesis statement and your "essay map" for the main points you want to make. I recommend one short, simple paragraph for this step. Step four, Confirmation, allows you to provide confirmation or proof that your views are best. This should actually be your longest step because you need to elucidate reasons and back them up with evidence. Sometimes students have trouble figuring out how to develop their arguments, but it always helps to do some reading. Find various arguments online or in print and see how the rhetors build a case. Steps five and six wind the essay down towards its end. Step five, Refutatio, seeks to cover any chinks in your armor; here you must refute opposing objections or acknowledge a point scored against you. Step six, Peroratio, gives us the English word "peroration," and it usually involves an impassioned ending and a call for action. How to inject passion or emotion? It's not difficult if you're willing to go there. It's my understanding that a boy and his grandmother went missing during a recent round of Oregon fires; they were later found, dead, the boy's dog in his lap. You could start to tell their story at the beginning of your essay, leave it on a cliffhanger, then hit the reader with the gut punch at the end while making a call for action. Do you see how that might work? Let me know if you have any questions about this method of organization or about this assignment more generally.
Forest Fires
Name
Institution
Due Date
Forest Fires
Introduction
How can the Environmental Protection Agency classify wildfires as natural disasters when only a maximum of 15% of forest fires occur on their own? Human causes account for between 85 and 90 percent of all forest fires (Leone et al., 2009). Humans have only one earth, but they keep destroying it. It is surprising how human activities like unattended camps, discarded cigarettes, and arson have caused fires that have ravaged thousands of acres of land in the US. It has never been easy for forest fire survivors. Lives have been lost and property destroyed. The most recent wildfire is the Dixie Fire in California, which lasted for about three months and consumed 963,309 acres. In addition to causing unhealthy air quality to the surrounding areas, the disaster has been challenging to the victims. It is common to experience several stages of adjustment like anger, shock, and hopelessness when individuals find themselves homeless. Losing a loved one to fire is traumatizing, considering the circumstances under which the loss occurs. Consider the Shepherds' story, who lost their two children to wildfire in the 2017 Redwood Valley Fire (UC Davis Health, 2021). Why should such events keep coming up in a country that claims to have laws to protect its citizens?
Wildfires in the US
Forest fires in the US are not a new phenomenon, and so are the control mechanisms. The Native Americans would control fires in their villages to enhance the production of food items (Anderson, 2006). The effect of such fires was not pervasive and remained under control over the required area. The remote areas were less likely to be tended compared to those near habitation areas. Consequently, fire regimes would be unaltered by the villagers. However, when the Europeans came to North America, they interfered with fire regimes. The white settlers destroyed forests for agriculture and farmed large tracks of land, causing the role of fire to change (Van Wagtendonk, 2007). The indiscriminate burning caused fires in areas where they would not naturally occur. Because of the increasing challenge of wildfires, wildlife fire management started in the late 1800s as the federal government set aside parks and preserves. Since the 20th century, different federal and state agencies have been working towards wildlife fire management. For instance, in the early 20th century, fire suppression was formulated as the primary way of dealing with the problem. Forests at the time were a source of timber, and hence a vital natural economic source (Van Wagtendonk, 2007). The efforts were meant to ensure that fires did not destroy forests and therefore interfere with timber supply. Various laws were enacted to enhance suppression efforts. The Forest Fire Emergency Fund At of 1908 facilitated prompt response to forest fires. The funds also led to massive campaigns where the general public received training regarding the dangers of wildfires. Despite the vast amounts spent on forest fire management, numerous fires continued to destroy forests.
Thesis statement and the main points
The tragedy of losing one’s home or losing a loved one in a fire that another person most likely started is too much a burden to bear. Therefore, there is a need to protect everyone from the excruciating pain of dying in a fire or losing their loved ones. To achieve this feat, there is a need to increase funding to help enhance fire suppression activities, enhance public education on matters of fire prevention, and base solutions on research instead of ideas like logging that simply seek to enrich a few people.
Dealing with forest fires
Forest fires continue to be a headache for the United States Forest Service. The country’s policy towards forest fires has been suppression, and this has seen an increase in the amount of money being spent to suppress fires. In 2017, for example, the country spent more than $2 billion to suppress fires (USDA, 2017). According to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, expenditure on fire suppression has been on the rise in the recent past. Currently, fire suppression accounts for more than 55% of the country’s forestry service budget. Perdue said that such spending leaves forest service with the option of borrowing funds that were meant for the management of forests and mainly prevention programs. With forest fires still on the rise and growing bigger in magnitude in the U.S., this budget will continue to increase, and the forest service will have to dig deeper into their pockets to fund fire suppression. There is a need to increase the funding for forest services to help in fire suppression exercises. Apparently, the forest service budget has remained unchanged for a long time, and this continually limits what can be spent on fire suppression (USDA, 2017). Therefore, there is a need to ensure that the forest service budget is fully funded and provisions made for fire suppression.
As indicated, human activity is the main cause of forest fires. A cigarette that was not put out well, a camping fire that was left to die by itself, fireworks, among other reasons, are some of the reckless activities that lead to some of the most dangerous fires in the U.S. For example, in 2017, the Eagle Creek Fire was a result of two fireworks thrown by a teen. The massive fire lasted three months and burnt through close to 50,000 acres of forest land (Poon, 2021). Such negligence by the public has been rampant lately and has caused more raging fires with property damaged and lives lost. This shows a gap in public education regarding forest fires and how the community can be a part of the solution in helping to reduce the number of forest fires in the U.S. Public education means making sure that the public understands their role in helping prevent and fight fires. The Federal Fire Prevention & Control Act of 1974 made it possible for public education to be considered a viable option in helping to suppress forest fires. However, little has been done to actualize or make possible what is included in the Act. As per the policy, public education efforts were to include “programs to provide specialized information for those groups of individuals who are particularly vulnerable to fire hazards, such as the young and the elderly” (FFPCA, 1974). However, from the re...