Global Warming - the Greenhouse Effect

GLOBAL WARMING

Attention Catcher: Where do you see the future of the United States in a hundred years for our grandchildren? Do you see them at war? Do you see them being a wealthy and successful Country? Or do you see the world’s temperature rising causing flooding, wildfires, and distinction of plants and animals.

Speaker Credibility: What does it take for us to see the signs of global warming and act upon what Mother Nature is trying to tell us?

Listeners Relevance: In the past fifty years with the increase of hurricanes, wildfires and wide spread of diseases we can see that Mother Nature is trying to tell us to stop what we are doing with our economic growth.

Thesis Statement: The fact of the matter is that global warming is indeed a problem that faces the world as we know it.

Preview of Speech: Today I am here to tell you about the problems we face with global warming, explaining the greenhouse effect with its potential impact and what we can do to minimize global warming.

BODY

First Main Point: Basic Environmental Technology states the following: Global warming or otherwise known as the greenhouse effect is the contamination of the earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and other trace gases like Nitrous oxide and Methane trap heat from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere causing the earth to heat up at a very high rate.

Sub point: About 60% of the warming effect is blamed by carbon dioxide, 25% is blamed on Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and the remaining to nitrous oxide, methane, ozone, and other trace gases.

Sub-sub-point: Carbon dioxide (CO2) is released into the atmosphere by the burning of solid waste, wood and wood products and fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, and coal. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are not biodegradable coming from aerosol cans, refrigerants, foam insulation, and industrial solvents.

Sub-sub-point: In the mid 1970s the Clean Air act was originated to install catalytic converters on the tail pipes of every automobile to reduce smog. What they didn’t know was catalytic converters produce Nitrous Oxide which claims 7% of greenhouse gases and is 300 times more potent then Carbon Dioxide.

Supporting Point: The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) which was formed in 1988, claims that human activities are the main cause of global warming.

Sub-sub-point Since the Industrial Revolution the global temperature has risen 1 degree Fahrenheit. Which doesn’t sound very significant, but over time it will get worse.

Sub-sub-point: In 2006 it was the warmest year in American history sparking more then 50000 wild fires in the United State, consuming millions of acres.

Transition: If something isn’t done soon we can expect an impact to the world as we know it.

Second Main Point: Al Gore states the following: Global warming has the potential to have a devastating impact on the environment. Scientists believe by the year 2050 temperatures could increase by 7.5 Degrees Fahrenheit if we keep continuing at the pace we are going.

Sub point: We are already seeing changes. Glaciers are melting, plants and animals are being forced from their habitat, and the number of severe storms and droughts are increasing.

Sub-sub-point: The number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years.

Sub-sub-point: Malaria has spread to higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7000 feet above sea level.

Supporting Point: The flow of ice from Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade. Global sea levels could rise by more then 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide.

Sub-sub-point: Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense. Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years, to 300,000 people a year.

Sub-sub-point: More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by the year 2050.

Transition: Al Gore states: The Bush administration has been accused of editing official scientific studies to downplay the impact of global warming and asking top climate scientists at NASA to refrain from speaking out on the phenomenon. I think the earth worth saving don’t you?

Third Main Point: Global warming can be stopped if we take action now.

Sub point: Larry West author