Washington DC is Sinking

Washington, D.C., where the powers that reign over the United States reside, is sinking into the ocean. Scientists predict that the land underneath the nation’s capital will drop more than 6 inches in the next 100 years, according to new research from the University of Vermont and the U.S. Geological Survey. Surprisingly though, Washington’s sinking land is an entirely independent phenomenon from the rising sea levels, which scientists have attributed to climate change in the past.  The area is going through what geologists call a “forebulge collapse,” also known as the reason for many of Washington’s foreseeable geological problems. During the last ice age, a mile-high ice sheet pushed the land under the Chesapeake Bay region up. When the ice sheet melted 20,000 years ago, the bulging land began to settle back down.  The article uses several logos appeals to education the public about geology, since many of us are ignorant when it comes to the subject of geology. I think the article does a great job at presenting the facts simply, so that everyone can understand the article. I think this should appeal to all the American people in our society. Washington D.C. is the symbolic city of our freedom. Our government works out of Washington DC, and I think this should be a reminder that things change very quickly, and we should all be proud of our country and it’s accomplishments.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/30/us/washington-dc-sinking-irpt/index.html

7 thoughts on “Washington DC is Sinking

  1. gvl5144 says:

    This is interesting considering i did not even know of this issue. The title grabbed my attention and you also did a nice job explaining the rhetorical appeals.

  2. Annie Elizabeth Ellis says:

    This is an interesting topic because although it seems like it would be a really big deal, I have not heard of it! You did a great job providing logos. Adding facts really strengthened your argument. I am also curious what effect this will have for city after reading this article.

  3. Matt Blevins says:

    I guess this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, considering the city was built on a marsh. Good work identifying different appeals in the article. I think we can all agree that D.C. was a “pit” long before this discovery.

  4. Chris McDonough says:

    Jess I thought the concept behind the article was very interesting. I don’t know how much damage sinking 6 inches can do but its a cool fact.

  5. Alex Stojanoff says:

    I think this topic is really interesting. I didn’t even know this was happening. Good job mentioning rhetorical appeals. Great post!

  6. cpe5047 says:

    this was an interesting article to choose. I was not aware of this occurring and I am a little surprised by it. Good job of talking about how the article uses rhetorical appeals.

  7. Eryn Petrakis says:

    I think your article choice is cool and most people, such as myself, have no idea this is going on. You did a great job of mentioning the rhetorical appeals. I really like the title because it’s very straight forward, but before I read it I thought it was about the government failing and I liked how it wasn’t about that.

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