Question
"California’s Catastrophic Wildfires in 3 Charts"
by Isabella Isaacs-Thomas
Inadequate maintenance is partly to blame, courts have found. According to The New York Times, PG&E’s electrical network — which serves approximately 16 million people in Central and Northern California — has been linked to multiple destructive fires, and regulators have determined that the company “violated state law or could have done more to make its equipment safer” in several cases.
Power grids have also expanded to accommodate growing communities in the state, creating more opportunity for disaster. Keeley emphasized that California’s population has grown by 6 million since the year 2000.
“That 6 million increase in population means more people pushed out into areas of urban sprawl, of dangerous fuels, increased ignition sources, increased potential for people getting killed, an increase in the electric grid,” Keeley said. “So if there’s anything that can explain the increase in fires in the last 20 years, my feeling is it’s population growth.”
In addition to infrastructural issues like power grids, mitigating human error on an individual level is key to preventing future disaster. That’s why one of CalFire’s goals is to educate as many Californians as possible about how wildfires work, what causes them and the fact that they can affect communities in any part of the state — urban, rural or anything in between.
This year’s wildfires aren’t the only natural disasters or extreme weather events to devastate communities over the past several months, renewing attention on the global need to mitigate the growing climate crisis. But given the magnitude of that task, in the context of the California wildfires, Keeley argues that looking toward tangible, human solutions to human-caused problems can offer some degree of hope.
“It’s a positive view that we don’t just have to feel like we’re doomed to climate change,” Keeley said. “We can change our outcomes, in part due to how we deal with these situations.”
© NewsHour Productions LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Question
Use the passage and the video to answer the question.
Investigators Say PG&E Failed to Regularly Inspect Aging Equipment_Transcript
How does the tone at the end of the video compare to the tone of the end of the article?
(1 point)
Responses
Unlike the article, the tone of the video is angry as it places blame on the utility company.
Unlike the article, the tone of the video is angry as it places blame on the utility company.
Like the article, the tone of the video is hopeful as it presents changes to the utility company.
Like the article, the tone of the video is hopeful as it presents changes to the utility company.
Unlike the article, the tone of the video is optimistic as it offers human solutions to wildfires.
Unlike the article, the tone of the video is optimistic as it offers human solutions to wildfires.
Like the article, the tone of the video is reserved as it questions the human impact on the environment.
by Isabella Isaacs-Thomas
Inadequate maintenance is partly to blame, courts have found. According to The New York Times, PG&E’s electrical network — which serves approximately 16 million people in Central and Northern California — has been linked to multiple destructive fires, and regulators have determined that the company “violated state law or could have done more to make its equipment safer” in several cases.
Power grids have also expanded to accommodate growing communities in the state, creating more opportunity for disaster. Keeley emphasized that California’s population has grown by 6 million since the year 2000.
“That 6 million increase in population means more people pushed out into areas of urban sprawl, of dangerous fuels, increased ignition sources, increased potential for people getting killed, an increase in the electric grid,” Keeley said. “So if there’s anything that can explain the increase in fires in the last 20 years, my feeling is it’s population growth.”
In addition to infrastructural issues like power grids, mitigating human error on an individual level is key to preventing future disaster. That’s why one of CalFire’s goals is to educate as many Californians as possible about how wildfires work, what causes them and the fact that they can affect communities in any part of the state — urban, rural or anything in between.
This year’s wildfires aren’t the only natural disasters or extreme weather events to devastate communities over the past several months, renewing attention on the global need to mitigate the growing climate crisis. But given the magnitude of that task, in the context of the California wildfires, Keeley argues that looking toward tangible, human solutions to human-caused problems can offer some degree of hope.
“It’s a positive view that we don’t just have to feel like we’re doomed to climate change,” Keeley said. “We can change our outcomes, in part due to how we deal with these situations.”
© NewsHour Productions LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Question
Use the passage and the video to answer the question.
Investigators Say PG&E Failed to Regularly Inspect Aging Equipment_Transcript
How does the tone at the end of the video compare to the tone of the end of the article?
(1 point)
Responses
Unlike the article, the tone of the video is angry as it places blame on the utility company.
Unlike the article, the tone of the video is angry as it places blame on the utility company.
Like the article, the tone of the video is hopeful as it presents changes to the utility company.
Like the article, the tone of the video is hopeful as it presents changes to the utility company.
Unlike the article, the tone of the video is optimistic as it offers human solutions to wildfires.
Unlike the article, the tone of the video is optimistic as it offers human solutions to wildfires.
Like the article, the tone of the video is reserved as it questions the human impact on the environment.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
Based on the provided passage, the tone at the end of the article emphasizes a sense of hope and optimism regarding human solutions to the problems caused by wildfires and climate change. Keeley's statement suggests that there is potential for positive change and that humans have the agency to improve outcomes.
If the video also conveys a sense of optimism and focuses on presenting changes to mitigate the effects of wildfires caused by human actions, then the correct response would be:
**Like the article, the tone of the video is hopeful as it presents changes to the utility company.**
However, if the video expresses anger towards the utility company and focuses on blame, then the correct response would be:
**Unlike the article, the tone of the video is angry as it places blame on the utility company.**
To choose the correct response, one would need to know the tone of the video at its conclusion. Based on the information provided in the passage alone, the hopeful tone aligns with the sentiments expressed about the potential for change.
If the video also conveys a sense of optimism and focuses on presenting changes to mitigate the effects of wildfires caused by human actions, then the correct response would be:
**Like the article, the tone of the video is hopeful as it presents changes to the utility company.**
However, if the video expresses anger towards the utility company and focuses on blame, then the correct response would be:
**Unlike the article, the tone of the video is angry as it places blame on the utility company.**
To choose the correct response, one would need to know the tone of the video at its conclusion. Based on the information provided in the passage alone, the hopeful tone aligns with the sentiments expressed about the potential for change.