Persuasive Speech (draft 1 peer edit)

(1) Alex Lollar (2) Title (3) To persuade (4) As a result of my presentation my audience will recycle more materials than they had done in an effort to preserve the environment.

Introduction (5) Hello, you guys probably already know me, Im Alex, and Im an alcoholic just kidding (thought it was funny considering the class conference). I was up all night writing this paper, and I had no clue what I was going to write about when it came down to it, so please bear with me. (9) Seriously though, Im here to speak to you about the environment and how you can sustain it. By the end of this little spiel you will be encouraged to go out and try to recycle and keep the environment clean and renewable. (8) You guys really dont need any grounding material here, as you all know what recycling is. (6) So basically what Im trying to impress upon you all is that if you dont do something to help keep an environment sustainable through recycling and cleaning it could disappear. (7) Now I know a lot about the environment, and even more about waste and recycling. So when I tell you guys that lush and fertile regions are in danger of disappearing, I hope you actually pay attention. Though Im not arrogant enough to believe most of you will go off after my speech and hug trees I do hope you recycle a can instead of leaving it in a regular trashcan, or when you go out fishing, hold your trash on the boat rather than pitch it overboard. (10) We have a strong and sustainable environment, and without recycling and reusing what we have, the world environment suffers. The last time I talked to you guys I explained how biodiversity is important. Now Im going to explain how recycling is just another method of keeping the environment strong. First off, Im going to refresh you with some basic facts about recycling and dealing with waste in natural environments. Secondly, I will explicate on some counter-arguments, and hopefully discredit and disprove them well enough for you guys. Lastly, and arguably more importantly, Im going to tell you all what you are responsible for, and how to do something to help preserve the environment where we live, and even relate it back to biodiversity somehow. Trust me; this will all make sense at the end.

Body I. Most of you know what recycling is. For credibilitys sake Im going in depth. A. According to earth911.com, Recycling is the process of taking a product at the end of its useful life and using all or part of it to make another product. So If I take a soda, drink it, and throw it away it will be reused. If I don recycle it, the aluminum in the can goes to a landfill or a some kind of waste disposal center. If I reuse the materials from what I consume or employ, then I wont have to use up other resources as often. B. This is an excellent way to keep the environment clean. Luke Bassis in his article titled Waste Disposal, purports that over 67 percent of waste is disposed in landfills. However the EPA estimates that 75 percent of our waste is recyclable, which includes more than household trash. So much material is recyclable, yet so little of it is actually reused. By recycling, you can keep materials like aluminum and environmentally hazardous chemicals that include lead and mercury form winding up in a landfill, causing irreparable damage to the environment. C. So even if I havent sold you on the whole recycling thing heres evidence of how bad landfilling can actually get. The Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island in New York City is one of the largest areas of waste in the world. It is undoubtedly among the largest man-made object in the world and can be seen from space. Bassis says that New Yorkers generate 26,000 tons, or 6.2 pounds per household of waste every single day. Since the Landfill was set up nearly fifty years ago the residents of Staten Island constantly complain. They see and smell the garbage on a daily basis should they happen to live in the area of the landfill. If you want to

live on a landfill, you can if you like. By recycling, you can stave of having to build more and more. II. Some people, especially me, are extremely lazy. Some are cheap. Some are ignorant. We cant all be perfect, but all of us can recycle. A. Many people are lazy like I am. Rather than shirking their public speaking, they refuse to recycle. Some people claim convenience as their excuse. Separating the materials from one another is difficult, or perhaps you have no reason to care regardless. This is ridiculous. Recycling waste is far better than sending to an unsightly landfill as weve seen, and even incinerating waste is extremely costly. B. Some people, as stated in depth by citizenreviewonline.org believe that disposing of waste I actually cheaper than recycling materials. It certainly takes energy and money to recycle anything, but while it also preserves the environment, it defeats the need for itself. As we use landfills, we need more for more garbage, yet as we recycle more, there will be less to throw out, reducing the amount of total waste. Therefore, I say it is far more prudent to recycle waste than burry it. C. Another problem many have with recycling is simply their ignorance of how much waste can be reused and ho much actually is. Im not calling anyone stupid, just misinformed, and until very recently I counted myself among this group. Three quarters of household waste can be reused, but many people do not realize how ugly a landfill can be. Tell that to the New Yorkers on Staten Island. III. Lets imagine for a moment that nobody recycles or reuses materials. This hypothetical situation is really kind of scary because we have to get rid of waste. Now lets say we use a landfill or burn trash. The pollutants and chemicals we have to

dispose of can seep into the ground or not even be disposed of properly. Without recycled wood, we may have to cut down a rainforest, a geographic region with a great number of species. A. Places like his are rich in biodiversity and called a biodiversity hotspot, and they are becoming increasingly smaller. Gathered from The Encyclopedia of Earth web site and the Human Genome Project, I found that in 1999, there were about 25 biodiversity hotspots. These areas had about 44% of the worlds plants and 35% of terrestrial vertebrates in an area that covered only 11.8 percent of the planet. By 2005, this land area had been reduced by 87.8% and the amount of biodiversity was restricted to only 1.4%t of land on earth. If this paltry bit of land is destroyed or polluted then the biodiversity levels decrease. If we recycled materials from unneeded structures, we could avoid destroying a rainforest. B. 44% of plants divided around 1.4% of the land on earth! There could be anything from a new form of penicillin to the cure for cancer. There are still a number of hotspots around the world; however the only spot in the United States is in Baja California. Currently, according to Conservation International, it is being protected, although much of it was originally reduced by things as seemingly harmless as road construction. If however, we had simply reused asphalt and concrete and built around the region, we could have a greater are of diversity, and a health flow of genes that keep ecosystems in balance. C. Biodiversity isnt the focus here, but through recycling, can be preserved. Moreover, if we recycle and salvage organic materials, we can use them to grow

and fuel greater growth and biodiversity. By creating compost and recycled fertilizers, we can even encourage life to grow and flourish Conclusion (20) summary (21) A lot of people dont recycle, or dont know to even do it.I was going to write my paper based completely off the biodiversity thing I had from before, but it didnt pan out. Then I started catching articles and reading websites about his stuff, and I got into it. I never used to recycle, and I got into it. So should you.