The Environmental Disaster of Rainforest Loss

1. Outline Basics

2. Outline Requirements • Typed, full-sentence outlines are part of the SJSU G.E. course requirements for writing. • Outlines must include the topic and complete thesis statement at the top of the page. • Thesis statement/proposition should be one single declarative statement which includes the main points/claim. • Each main point/claim is to be a single declarative statement. • Each subpoint should be complete sentences. • A Bibliography or Reference Page needs to be attached to the outline with at least 4 sources.

3. Values of Outlining • Problems are easier to detect • Critiques are easier to solicit • Temptation to memorize is diminished • Speaker flexibility is increased

4. Outline Format • Consistent and correct use of symbols • Indentation that reflects relationships • Two or more points at each level of subordination • Main points and thesis: ONE sentence only. Make you main points/claims as simple and concise as possible. • Thesis should reflect the main points of the speech/argument

5. Main Points or Claims • Single declarative sentences • Directly related to the thesis/proposition • Arranged in logical order • Appropriate number (no more than 3 main points and at least 2 main points) • Mutually exclusive • Equal in importance • Concise, unambiguous

6. Basic Proposition of Factual Evidence Topic: Rain Forests Proposition of Fact: The loss of the earth’s rainforests will lead to an environmental disaster. Potential main points/claims (but choose only 2 or 3): • Rain forests use up carbon dioxide. • There is increased carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere. • The rain forests contain many endangered plant and animal species. • Deforestation leads to widespread soil erosion in many areas. • The burning of fossil fuels puts carbon dioxide into the environment.

7. Use of Statistics • The 1980’s were the “hottest” decade in the last 100 years (cite). • One acre of tropical forest disappears every second (cite). • 4 million acres (larger than the state of Connecticut) disappear every year (cite). • 50 – 100 species are destroyed with each acre of rain forest cleared (cite). • If present trends continue, half of the rain forests of Honduras and Nicaragua will disappear by the year 2010 (cite).

8. Use of Examples • India has almost no remaining rain forest (cite). • Current plans target eliminating much of the Congo’s rain forest(cite). • Run-off from deforestation in Indonesai threatens their coral reefs and diminishes the fish population(cite). • Cutting of rain forests in Bangladesh and the Philippines has led to killer floods (cite).

9. Use of Expert Testimony • The National Center for Atmospheric Research believes increased carbon dioxide will lead to Greenhouse Effect and global warming (cite year of publication). • Environmentalist expert Al Gore calls the Greenhouse Effect our most serious threat ever (cite source). • Scientist Greta Carmiachel of Stanford University predicts the doubling of carbon dioxide in the next 20 years, raising temperatures from 3 to 9 degrees (cite publication).

10. Logic and Reasoning • Warmer temperatures will harm crops and increase energy costs. • More people will starve because of less food and increased population growth. • The polar glaciers will melt and raise the sea level, flooding coastlines. • Many species useful to humans will disappear. • More sections of the world will become uninhabitable deserts due to soil loss from erosion, overgrazing, and over cultivation.