Chapter 8, Additional Case 1: How Safe Is Safe?

Chapter 8, Additional Case 1: How Safe Is Safe?

This case is best for individuals.

Background

You work in the Customer Service department at Greenlawn, a company that applies chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides to lawns. Recently, Greenlawn received a letter from Gwen Smith, a customer with a five-year-old child and an infant. Ms. Smith is very concerned about the safety of the chemical you spray on her lawn; she read an article in the newspaper about a man who died suddenly after playing a round of golf on a course that had been treated with a similar chemical. The article stated that although commercial lawn treatments are generally safe, every year two or three people die because of an unusual vulnerability to the chemicals.

Your supervisor, Helen Lewis, has drafted the following letter to Ms. Smith and has asked you to review it. "Do you think this responds to Ms. Smith's concerns?" Helen asks you.

Your Assignment

To complete this case, perform the following tasks:

  1. Study Chapter 8 focusing on crafting a persuasive argument.
  2. Analyze Helen's letter, which is presented below. Consider the following questions:
    • Did she use the three-part structure of claim, evidence, and reasoning?
    • Did she choose the appropriate kinds of evidence?
    • Did she consider opposing viewpoints?
    • Did she avoid logical fallacies?
    • Did she avoid logical fallacies?
    • Did she create a professional persona?
    • Write a 500-word memo to Helen Lewis evaluating the persuasiveness of the letter and recommending any revisions you think would improve it. (See Chapter 14 for a discussion of memos.)

April 5, 2015

Dear Ms. Smith:

Thank you for inquiring about the safety of the Greenlawn program. The materials purchased and used by professional landscape companies are effective, nonpersistent products that have been extensively researched by the Environmental Protection Agency. Scientific tests have shown that dilute tank-mix solutions sprayed on customers' lawns are rated "practically nontoxic," which means that they have a toxicity rating equal to or lower than that of such common household products as cooking oils, modeling clays, and some baby creams. Greenlawn applications present little health risk to children and pets. A child would have to ingest almost 10 cups full of treated lawn clippings to equal the toxicity of one baby aspirin. The child's stomach could not possibly hold enough lawn clippings to prove dangerous.

Research published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research in February 1984 demonstrated that a dog could not consume enough grass treated at the normal rate of application to ingest the amount of spray material required to produce toxic symptoms. The dog's stomach simply is not large enough.

A check at your local hardware or garden store will show that numerous lawn, ornamental, and tree-care pesticides are available for purchase by homeowners either as a concentrate or combined with fertilizers as part of a weed-and-feed mix. Label information shows that these products contain generally the same pesticides as those programmed for use by professional lawn-care companies but at higher concentrations of these pesticides than found in the dilute tank-mix solutions applied to lawns and shrubs. By using a professional service, homeowners can eliminate the need to store pesticide concentrates and avoid the problems of improper overapplication and illegal disposal of leftover products in sewers or household trash containers.

On the basis of these facts, I am sure that you will be pleased to know that the Greenlawn program is a safe and effective way to protect your valued home landscape. I have also enclosed some additional safety information. I encourage you to contact me directly should you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Helen Lewis

Branch Manager