Assignment:
Speech Outline Format
Purpose: To Inform my audience about the impact on global warming on the extinction rates of species
Central Idea: All animals and plants have a temperature range within which they thrive, global warming hence threatens to drive global species extinction.
Introduction
i. 16 of the hottest years in a period of 134 years have been recorded in recent times
ii. Almost all scientific studies indicate rising temperatures
iii. Animals and plants have a temperature range within which they thrive
Global warming threatens to expedite the already worrying global extinction rate of species
(Transition: It is important to take account of a number of factors)
Body
1. Global warming is attributed to the rise in greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere
a. Greenhouse gasses trap solar radiation in the earth's atmosphere, and facilitate in the rise in global temperatures
b. Burning of fossil fuels as well as the destruction of ecosystems that regulate the release of such gasses has increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
c. Coal-producing power plants and transportation sectors are biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses
2. There have been significant efforts made towards curbing the effects of global warming
a. There have been efforts to cut back on emissions
b. Alternative sources of energy have been sought
3. Global warming is a considerable threat to life on the earth
a. Earth as a whole is an ecosystem
b. Life forms on the planet have a temperature range in which they thrive
c. Outside these temperatures, these life forms struggle
Conclusion
a. Scientists believe that the earth is now in the midst of the sixth mass extinction
b. It is estimated that extinction is occurring at about 1,000 to 10,000 times the natural rate
c. Human activities have a direct or indirect impact on the survival of different species
d. Global warming has evidently hastened extinction rates
Sources
Brush, D. A. (2009). Global Warming: Resources to Sustain a Collection. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 48(8), 334-339.
Feinberg, M. (2011). Apocalypse Soon? Dire Messages Reduce Belief in Global Warming by Contradicting Just-World Beliefs. Psychological Science, 22(1), 34-38.
Traill, L. W. (2009). Climate Change Enhances the Potential Impact of Infectious Disease and Harvest on Tropical Waterfowl. Biotropica, 41(4), 414-423.