Example Preparation (Full Sentence) Outline

Title: For the Fish: Climate Work By and For Fishers

Specific Purpose: To persuade trout fishers that climate change is a threat to coldwater fisheries and that they should organize to create collective change to the environmental issues surrounding climate change.

Thesis: Trout fisheries are endangered by climate change, but fishers can (and should) work to mitigate these issues.

Visual Aids: PowerPoint presentation

Introduction

Most of you have heard about climate change and have wondered whether or how it might be affecting trout fisheries. Unfortunately, climate scientists’ predictions about climate change seem to indicate that trout fisheries may bear a number of consequences if climate change continues to go unbridled. However, we also know that many of the worst effects of climate change can be mitigated if we engage in collective action now. In this speech, I will begin by offering a brief history of climate science, then describe how these issues affect trout fisheries, and finally offer some examples of how we can personally and collectively work to mitigate these issues.

Body

I. Climate change is not a recent invention of a few liberal scientists. On the contrary, scientists have been talking about climate change since the mid-1800s (Weart, 2009).

A. In 1859, Tyndall discovers some gases block infrared radiation. He believes this may cause a change in climate.

B. In 1896, Arrhenius publishes the first calculation of global warming from human CO2 emissions.

C. From 1870-1920, the Second Industrial Revolution takes place.

D. In 1938, Callendar argues that CO2 greenhouse global warming is under way.
[… history lesson proceeds …]

(Summary: In short, this history lesson teaches us that Earth has been getting warmer.)

(Preview: Next, let’s look at how climate change may be affecting trout fisheries.)

II. Climate change appears to have some serious consequences for trout fisheries. I will discuss four ways in which climate change may be said to negatively influence trout fisheries.

A. First, changing weather patterns brings more or less water to some parts of Earth.

1. Trout fisheries rely on a steady flow of clean, cold water. Too much or too little can quickly destroy trout habitats.

2. Some areas may experience severe droughts, another threat to trout fisheries.

B. Second, warming land and aquatic temperatures lead to a reduction in available trout habitat.

1. Changing temperatures influence predator/prey patterns.

2. Habitat reduction due to warmer temperatures may increase competition between cold- and warm-water fishes.

C. Third, stream flow patterns may change, affecting availability of aquatic insects.

And fourth, brook trout may be especially vulnerable.

1. Previous brook trout decimation has been related to habitat loss.

2. Climate change could exacerbate this by causing further habitat destruction.

(Summary: Although these challenges are large scale, there is some hope that we can mitigate these issues.)

(Preview: Next, I will discuss some ways that individuals and collectives can help reverse some of the issues caused by climate change.)

III. There are two key areas in which we can mitigate climate change: personal actions and collective actions.

A. Personally, individuals can make changes in their everyday lives (Sorenen, 2008).

1. Individuals can reduce CO2 emissions by driving less or not at all. Instead they could ride a bike or take public transit.

2. Individuals can also reduce energy consumption by changing usage patterns, like drying their clothes outside instead of using an electric dryer.

3. Individuals could help alleviate one of the largest contributors to climate change, overpopulation, by preventing unwanted births.

B. Collectively, there are several actions we can take to mitigate climate change (Cuomo, 2010).

1. Collectives should lobby policy makers to make serious changes:

a. Reduce fossil fuel consumption.

b. Create caps on industrial emissions.

c. Encourage and support renewable and sustainable energy.

2. U.S. should support Kyoto Treaty, which was passed in 2005.

Conclusion

It should be clear at this point that climate change is an issue that trout fishers will have to deal with in the future. Although the issues are large and daunting, I have provided some clear examples of how we can both personally and collectively mitigate these issues. I hope you will consider taking at least some of my advice today. I will leave you with something that Henrik Tikkanen once said: “Because we don’t think about future generations, they will never forget us.”