1. Select an interest group and research its origins, policy positions, and membership. The following websites can help you find an interest group that focuses on an issue you care about:
   • Federation of Public Interest Research Groups
   • National Special Interest Groups–Project Vote Smart
   • Public Policy Issues and Groups
2. Consider whether the interest group would have supported a recent public policy change or court decision. You may use a law or program you have recently studied or search for one through newspapers, websites for Congress or your state legislature, or other Internet sites. You may find the Virtual Library, the Library of Congress–THOMAS, and Supreme Court websites helpful.

   Tip: You will most likely need to evaluate for yourself what the group’s position would be, based on what you learn about the interest group.

3. Write an article that could appear as a blog entry on the interest group’s website. This is an expository piece of writing, so be sure to write in the third person (do not use “I think” or “I believe” or similar phrases with “I”). You may find it helpful to complete this Activity on Expository Writing before you begin your article.
   Make sure your article addresses:
   • name and purpose of the interest group, and any key individuals
   • origins of the interest group, including how it was formed and how it has grown or changed over time
   • whether it has ties to political parties or other interest groups
   • description of the specific policy or court decision
   • rationale for the interest group’s position on the policy or court decision

here are some websites to help! https://uspirg.org/issues or http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/govt/pubpol.php

Chapter 1 – Assignment

The text discusses at length the bland concepts of law at all levels and forms, from Constitutional law down to civil and criminal procedure codes. That ignores the reality of the agencies taking action based on their statutory and regulatory powers and the results of their actions.

To see the reality of the enforcement action and power of the Environmental Protection Agency, look at the thousands of actions taken by the EPA across the United States just in 2017:
https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/enforcement-annual…

If you choose to zoom in on south Florida, you will find two civil actions and one criminal action in our own backyard (so to speak). The two civil enforcement actions look at the failure of a major corporation (with a location in Boca Raton) to properly document and maintain their refrigeration equipment:

https://echo.epa.gov/enforcement-case-report?id=04…

https://echo.epa.gov/detailed-facility-report?fid=…

https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/reference-news-rel…

The enforcement action against this major corporation cost taxpayers almost $200,000 and, according to the news release, resulted in $500,000 in civil penalties – which will go into the general treasury of the United States. In short, those funds reimburse the government and include a profit motive for the enforcing agencies to be efficient and effective in their choice of targets for enforcement.

The second case in Boca Raton is also a civil case and involves lead paint in apartments:

https://echo.epa.gov/enforcement-case-report?id=04…

(note that this document above claims that the government cost of the compliance action was $2 and resulted in a penalty of $3852 against the realty company)

https://echo.epa.gov/detailed-facility-report?fid=…

https://yosemite.epa.gov/oa/rhc/epaadmin.nsf/Filin…

Finally, a criminal action. In the Florida Keys, a contractor violated coastal environmental protection laws with unpermitted building in waterways:

https://echo.epa.gov/criminal-case-report?p_id=292…

That case actually resulted in a conviction with probation and fines.

For this first substantive assignment of the course, please review the information provided in the text about the history, purpose, and laws of environmental use and protection and combine with the information provided by the links listed above.

With that information in hand, analyze the merit of using criminal and/or civil law enforcement powers to regulate environmental use and protection.

Consider the costs and benefits of prosecution in a criminal case with less-intensive enforcement efforts of civil law enforcement and the societal issues of each. Although the harms done in the civil actions may be much greater than the harms done by the parties in criminal action – only one of the cases used criminal powers. Why?

Using APA format, draft and submit an essay that articulates the difference between criminal and civil enforcement of environmental laws and regulations. Your analysis should consider the actions (or inactions) of the parties, the environmental issues involved, the harm done by these parties, and the objectives of the EPA in carrying out these enforcement actions.

Your submission requires a cover page, your text, and reference page, and you shall cite the sources used in your analysis and argument. Including these APA formalities, your paper will be at least six pages long (cover, four pages of text, references).

The book you might need is ( Schroeder, K. (2007) Environmental Law. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tHX8RQTIsm_o_I…

https://docs.google.com/a/ivytech.edu/document/d/1…

After spending a few days reading, listening and watching the news, radio, and social media you will select an issue of importance to you. This should be an issue with multiple facets, multiple perspectives and most importantly an issue you are passionate about, and that you might argue for ardently, while simultaneously presenting opposing viewpoints, with objectivity. You will draw on research from your critical annotated bibliography, alongside your own ideas and experiences to help shape your argument—one purpose of your argument should be to negotiate a solution to a problem. You will consider your own claim alongside counter or opposing viewpoints and attempt to find a common ground. Your voice should dominate this essay; use research sources as support for your ideas.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand communication theory and the roles audiences play in the writing process.
2. Apply critical reading and thinking skills to the writing process.
3. Demonstrate an awareness of language as a tool for learning and communication.
4. Research and critically evaluate information to produce writing with APA and MLA formal documentation, which consists of in-text citations and final list of all sources cited.
5. Write well-organized essays with a firm thesis and a clear introduction, body, and conclusion.
6. Engage in pre-writing activities, including narrowing a topic, generating ideas, determining the audience and the relationship between audience and content, and setting an appropriate tone.
7. Support a thesis statement with valid reasons and evidence.
8. Follow the conventions of standard written English in sentence structure, punctuation, grammar and usage, and spelling.
9. Recognize and develop styles appropriate to varied writing situations.
10. Demonstrate proficiency in reading, evaluating, analyzing, and using material collected from electronic sources (such as visual, electronic, library databases, Internet sources, other official databases, federal government databases, reputable blogs, wikis, etc.).
11. Demonstrate an awareness of cultural differences in writing in order to employ writing practices that communicate effectively across cultures.

As you begin to shape your final researched argument essay you will compose a thesis statement, support your thesis with evidence from your research and address a counter argument.

Format:

• Length: 7-8 pages double spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman
• The final draft of the essay may be in APA or MLA format and include proper documentation. *You must maintain consistency of citation format throughout the paper
• You will need to include at least six (6) sources for this paper.