An outline of a persuasion speech about consumerism and the effects on the environment

1. Name: Harold Sowards
Date: April 1, 2014
Strategic Planning Persuasion Outline
Topic: Consumerism affects the Environment
Organization Pattern: Problem, cause, solution
General Purpose Statement: I want the audience to learn about consumerism.
Specific Purpose Statement: I want my audience to learn about how consumerism affects the
environment and what can be done to change it.
Thesis Statement: Consumerism affects the environment in a negative way.
Introduction
Attention Getter
Imagine an oil spill happened in your backyard. Imagine the animals all covered in oil, their movements
slowed, their breathing rate significantly reduced, their chance of survival is at a minimum. Now, what if
I told you this is all your fault.
Influencing the Audience to View the Speaker & the Topic Favorably
I’m planning on becoming an environmental lawyer
Thesis Statement
Consumerism affects the environment in a negative way.
Preview of main points
I’m going to talk about how consumerism affects the environment, the causes of this, and solutions to
fix the issue.
Body
I. Consumerism throughout the world is hurting the environment.

2. A. With the mass production of food sources, the amount of resources needed to do this
is exponential.
1. Statistics- Statistics involving beef produced in factories (Mayell,
2004)
2. Statistics- Statistics involving land usage (Peta.org, 2014)
B. What is left over from consumerism also hurts the environment.
1. Example – The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (Silverman, 2014)
2. Statistics- How full landfills are (Christian Science Monitor, 2014)
Transition: Now that we’ve talked about the issue, let us focus on the causes.
II. Every issue concerning consumerism has its causes, be it on a state, country, or global level.
A. There is an increased reliance on things that wasn’t widely available before.
1. Statistics- China’s statistics regarding car usage (Mayell, 2004)
2. Statistics – Increased number in plastic (Xanthos, 2013)
B Global usage on natural resource consumption.
1. Supporting material – From cars (Mayell, 2004)
2. Supporting material – The amount of usage increased (Polzin, 2004)
Transition: Now that we’ve discussed the issue and learned about what causes it, let us focus on how to
fix the issue.
III. There are solutions to fix this problem.
A. Recycling programs.
1. Example – Bottle bills and what they can do. (bottlebill.org, 2014)

3. 2. Personal Experience – Personal testimony about Terracycle.org
(Sowards, 2014)
B. People need to stop consuming so much.
1. Statistics - Don’t eat one piece of beef equals (Mayell, 2004)
2. Example - Using fresh manure instead of fertilizer (Charles, 2014)
Conclusion
Signal the End
To bring an end to this,
Summary

4. We have learned how consumerism affects the environment, the causes of such, and how to fix it.
Final Appeal
Now recall those animals from before. Imagine that you can now help stop them from being hurt
just by cutting back in the amount of items you buy. Would you take that opportunity to help
something else?
Reference List
Charles, D. (2014, Jan. 2). How mass-produced meat turned phosphorous into pollution. Retrieved
from: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/01/02/257393870/how-mass-produced-meat-
turned-phosphorus-into-pollution
Container Recycling Institute. (2013) The bottle bill resource guide. Retrieved from:
http://www.bottlebill.org/
Mayell, H. (2004, Jan. 12). As consumerism spreads, Earth suffers, study says. National Geographic.
Retrieved from:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0111_040112_consumerism.html
Peta. Meat producton wastes natural resources. Retrieved from: http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-
for-food/meat-wastes-natural-resources/
Polzin, C. Overconsumption?Our use of the world’s natural resources. Retrieved from:
http://www.academia.edu/223160/Overconsumption_Our_use_of_the_worlds_natural_resour
ces
Shah, Anup. (2005). Effects of Consumerism. Retrieved from:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/238/effects-of-consumerism
Silverman, J. Why is the world’s largest landfill in the Pacific Ocean? Retrieved from:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/great-pacific-garbage-
patch.htm
Sowards, H. (2014) Personal Testimony.

5. The Christian Science Monitor. As landfills overflow, communities turn to garbage burning. Retrieved from:
http://www.csmonitor.com/1985/0416/adump1.html/(page)/2
Xanthos, M. (2013 Mar. 11) The world’s destructive reliance on plastics. Taipei Times. Retrieved
from: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2013/03/11/2003556779