Persuasive Speech: We Must Use Alternative Power Sources Instead of Nuclear Energy

General Purpose: To Persuade

Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that they should advocate the use of alternative power sources other than nuclear energy.

Central Idea: Nuclear energy only contributes a small amount to the world’s electricity yet it has hazards and dangers that far out-way its benefits. There are many other alternative power producing sources that can produce energy more efficiently and more safely than nuclear power plants can.

Organization: Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

I. (Gain Attention and Interest): March 11, 2011. 2:45 pm. Operations at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant continued as usual. At 2:46 pm a massive 9.0 earthquake strikes the island of Japan. All nuclear reactors on the island shut down automatically as a response to the earthquake. At Fukushima, emergency procedures are automatically enabled to shut down reactors and cool spent nuclear fuel before it melts-down in a catastrophic explosion. The situation seems under control, emergency diesel generators located in the basement of the plant activate and workers breathe a sigh of relief that the reactors are stabilizing. Then 41 minutes later at 3:27 pm the unthinkable occurs. As workers monitored the situation from within the plant, citizens from the adjacent town ran from the coastline as a 49 foot tsunami approached. The tsunami came swiftly and flooded the coastline situated Fukushima plant. Emergency generators were destroyed and cooling systems failed. Within hours, a chain of events led to an explosion of reactor 1 of the plant. One by one in the subsequent days reactors 2, and 3 suffered similar fates as explosions destroyed containment cases and the structures surrounding the reactors (Fukushima Accident). Intense amount...

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...ergy (Caldicott 178).

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Conclusion

(Action): If we don’t do our part to stop the expansion of nuclear power plants, the future of our planet will be bleaker. Every year, thousands of more pounds of nuclear waste will be buried underground and the damage to our environment increases. There are more efficient energy sources other than nuclear power and we must do our part today to prevent a catastrophic future for our children. The dangers that nuclear power plants pose for the United States are very real. There are many alternative renewable sources of energy available to us such as wind and solar power, which provide a much safer and efficient alternative to nuclear power. You alone have the power to speak up and act against the expansion of this dangerous energy. The future of our environment’s safety and our nation’s energy supply lies in your hands.