California over the past four years has been facing one of its worst droughts in history. This has left California with over a half million acres of dry farmland as well as receding reservoirs. The current drought is now being viewed as the worst to hit California in the past century according to readings from the annual Palmer Drought Severity Index recordings. This index tracks soil moisture in order to measure the severity of droughts. Based off this index California is currently in an extreme drought that is the worst in more than the past century.
The author of this article is able to grab the readers attention through his use of statistics to prove his argument. The author uses an uncommon statistic in the Palmer Drought Severity Index instead of just looking at waterfall. By incorporating this study as well as charts that follow along with the results of the Palmer Drought Severity Index recordings it also reinforces the authors argument and helps prove his point.
The author then finishes the article on a bright point as he talks about El Nino and the probability of the storm bringing rain to California in the winter. He talks about how there is currently a 90 percent chance of the storm reaching up to California leaving the article on a positive note of hopeful rain to come.
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/16/the-california-drought-is-even-worse-than-you-think.html
Good job summarizing the topic and showing how the author used logos in his argument. It was very helpful to include the graph!
Good job at addressing the rhetorical devices used in this article! I also like how you included a graph that was in the article.
Very solid work breaking down the rhetorical basis of the article. It will be interesting to see what measures will be taken to try to end this drought and prevent future ones.