MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

Today we continue thinking about coffee cups.  Your first memo defined a concept for your boss.  Now, she wants a problem-solution memo about the type of coffee cup we use in our firm. 

Let's start by reading this article from Seattle:  Coffee Cup Recycling Brims with Obstacles.

Jane wants a coffee cup policy for the office that is "green."  OK, that is the context for your invention (deliberate research, with attention to complexity and credibility of information).  Here is an arrangement (paragraphs):

POLITE OPENING, with your recommendation that previews your final policy paragraph (BLUF of the POLICY STASIS)

CONJECTURE PARAGRAPH (S) with whiffs/previews of fuller causal-effect analysis (in this way, we are also using cognitive wedge strategy)

Problem description (our office situation, with quantifiers)

Environmental problems (energy efficiency ->climate change OR persistence of plastic in ocean -> food chain disruption), then, reveal your pre-analytical bias of which problem you weight more.

DEFINITION-->CAUSE/EFFECT information 

Coffee cup types (how many?  Can we do this in one paragraph or do we need one per coffee cup type? Use counting technique of two or three)

Decision criteria method (HINT:  Life cycle analysis, and define this; use an EPA source) HERE, this definition helps us move to the VALUE paragraphs

VALUE (help identify harms and benefits -- you can leave out the cost of economics of paper v. plastic)

Martin Hocking's work on life cycle analysis of paper v. styrofoam 

Charles Moore's work on size of ocean garbage patches

POLICY/ RECOMMENDATION

Science/Research support (remind about evidence discussed above in VALUING PARAGRAPHS)

Qualification (concede reasonableness of the other position)

Concrete examples (2)

Sentences that can help you as topic sentences or transition sentences (or short paragraphs) between (longer) paragraphs

Any analysis of coffee cup choice requires use of life cycle analysis.

Life cycle analysis -- also known as cradle-to-grave -- helps capture the entire environmental effect from origen and imputs through use and, importantly, to disposal.

In my analysis, I weight [name environmental problem] more heavily than [the other problem].

Life cycle analysis can help us analyze this difficult question about coffee cup sustainability

We have two choices in coffee cups: paper or plastic (styrofoam).

Martin Hocking conducted the first -- and to date only -- peer-reviewed analysis of the energy embodied in coffee cup choices.

Charles Moore is among the first to alert us to the huge problem of persistent ocean plastic.

....more on Friday. Whew.  This.is.hard!  Can you draft some short paragraphs?  Peer review on Friday, October 7.  Final version due on Monday, October 10.