Section 1
The article was published in the August issue of 2014 of The Atlantic Magazine. The Atlantic Magazine, founded in 1857 and currently based in Washington D.C. has over the years grown to become a well-respected politics and social justice commentary.
The article was published in the technology section of the magazine, which is issued ten times every year.
The article was authored by Erica Gies, an independent writer, editor and photographer whose areas of specialization include; energy, water, climate policy, urban planning and green living.
Section 2
The article is talking about the current wrangles over underground water in California. Gies highlights the disputes that have come up as farmers battle over the underground water.
Gies also highlights on the efforts made by the Senate to alleviate these disputes through the enactment of a law that supervise the management of underground water resources.
The article, written in the form of a feature, is approximately 3300 words.
Section 3
In an effortless manner, Gies sheds some light on the ongoing battles and lawsuits as a result of lack of laws to regulate usage of underground water. Gies, when writing the article, wanted to edify her audience on the effects of lack of laws that promote environmental conservancy.
Section 4
Gies presents her views about the current state of underground water in California, yet still managing to portray the views of farmers, legislators and other stakeholders of this important resource. Farmers such as the Steinback family are against the pending law that is on the floor of the Senate because it will limit how they use what they perceive to be their property. The farmers argue that the proposed law will infringe on their rights yet legislators believe it will restore sanity in the state (Gies par. 2). Environmentalists side with the legislators on the issue reinforcing that farmers are overusing the underground reservoirs at a rate that the surface runoff cannot replenish it. The overstretching the underground water reservoirs may lead to problems on the surface such as subsidence of land which results to damaging of property of infrastructure e.g. roads, bridges and houses (Gies par. 3). State officials believe that the water management reforms are inevitable if people want to ensure that the resource will sustain them and the future generation and thus argue the public to support the bill (Gies par. 7).
Section 5
In an article that may not perceived academic, Gies tries to maintain a professional and academic tone all through her writing. She interviews people who may be considered experts in the field of water resources management including; Mike Young, a Harvard professor in water and environment policy. She also cites works from academic sources including research findings of University of California researchers. As seen above, the article is impartial i.e. it articulates the views of both the opposers of the bill i.e. farmers of California and the proposers of the bill i.e. the environmentalist and the legislators.
Gies uses very simple language and avoids the use of jargon that may impede comprehension of the article by her audience. The article is clear concise and straight to the point. Though the article is lengthy, it compensates this by giving detailed information to its reader. The article can also be read by any person and not necessarily one who has knowledge and expertise in the field of water and environment management policy. This is because the article does not have any technical terms. In conclusion, the article is impartial, factual and superbly written and I would recommend it to people to read it.
Work Cited
Gies, Erica. "California's Underground Water War". The Atlantic. N.p., 2014. Web. 6 Mar. 2016.
