Risk of American Megadroughts for Decades - Katelyn Cook Pd. 3

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/14/us/nasa-study-western-megadrought/

Ben Brumfield

Place and Time:  February 14, 2015; the recent date and national location set a more urgent tone in which the threats of green house gases emissions became concrete. This affects the meaning of the article by making it more significant while establishing eeriness due to the historical incidents of droughts that have occurred in the nation.

Prior Knowledge: I had a familiar background with droughts due to the widespread history of them, specifically the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. Besides that, I was aware of the threat provided by the greenhouses gases due to the increasing awareness towards to the environmental threat they symbolize. This affected my view of the article by making the topic not only more relevant but also more urgent.

Audience: The general public in the nation is the audience, specifically those who are concerned about the environment or interested in the agricultural division of the economy. The article is a positive influence on the audience due to the fact that  it informs them of potential risks and the location of the possible droughts.

Reason: This article was written to provide the concerned citizens of the nation with the possible threats of the continuous release of greenhouse gases and correlate it to well known events like the Dust Bowl in order to set a recognizable comparison.

The Main Idea: The increasing emissions of greenhouse gases could provide decade long droughts, worst than the Dust Bowl and are aided by the increasing population in the Central Plains which deplete the already low water amounts.

Significance: There is a strong relevance to today due to the fact that the nation is still releasing a lot of green house gases and needs to take bigger steps to protect the environment.