PSCI 4326 Firm Bill
Case Study:
A catastrophic event has occurred in the United States necessitating the closure of all points of
entry to the state of California, by land, by sea, and by air. All seaports, airports, and interstate
highways are closed and manned by the California National Guard. The water supply from the
Colorado River to Southern California has been cut off.
Communication with other states and
countries is not possible and the internet is down.
Assume for the purposes of this case study that there is a sufficient supply of gasoline, diesel,
and electricity. However, no products, including food, can enter or leave the state.
Response Paper:
If you were the Governor, what changes would you propose to existing land and water policies,
or what new policies would you propose, to meet the food needs of the state’s 40 million
people and the demands of the state’s three major water users.
Keeping in mind that the top ten commodities produced in the state are dairy products, grapes,
almonds, strawberries, cattle and calves, lettuce, walnuts, tomatoes, pistachios, and broilers,
would you suggest a change in the type of crops, or the amounts of certain crops grown in the
state, to meet the nutritional needs of citizens?
How to Approach Your Response:
Introductory Paragraph:
There is no need to use a hook or to describe the case study scenario. Identify three key policy
issues caused by the case study scenario in your introductory paragraph. Formulate a thesis
statement summarizing your three proposed policy changes, or new policies, to resolve those
issues. This should be a single sentence.
Body Paragraphs:
Describe the current policies involved with your three key issues and explain why, due to the
border closures, they are now inadequate or no longer apply.
Using solid evidence from the Environmental, Farmland, and Water Policy modules (readings,
Voice Thread, videos, and supplementary readings), explain how your proposed policy changes,
new policies, or changes to the commodities grown in the state, will resolve your three key
issues. Cite your sources when using direct quotes or external sources. For this assignment,
citations are not needed for information that I provided in VT lectures or module assignments.
Due to the brevity of this paper, no concluding paragraph is required.
This is not an opinion paper-back up your arguments with facts! This is an individual
assignment—you are not allowed to receive or give assistance of any kind.
FORMAT: Two pages minimum and maximum, double spaced. No cover page, Calibri or Arial
12 pt. font, 1” margins, APA citation, page numbers required. At the top left corner of the first
page, type: PSCI 4326