Lake Mead Persuasive Speech Outline

Skye Childrey

Speech 2 Outline

Topic: Lake Mead: Its’ decreasing water levels: causes and effects

Organization: Causal

Introduction

I.Attention:

A.How many of you here today have ever seen the 2007 “Resident Evil” movie “Extinction” that takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada?

1.Minus the infected people and more of the abandoned homes and casinos, that barren post-apocalyptic scene when Alice walks through the Mojave desert may soon become a reality.

a.But before you allude that I must be a conspiracy theorist just listen to this startling fact.

B.On February 25, 2015, it was reported in the Las Vegas Review Journal, “Michael Connor, deputy secretary of the Interior Department, said there is a 20 percent chance of [water] shortages

in Nevada and Arizona in 2016 if levels of Lake Mead and Lake Powell continue to drop.”

C.All of the data I have researched concludes that by as early as 2021, Las Vegas may have a major water shortage on its’ hands.

II.Thesis:

A.One of Las Vegas’ local reservation areas, Lake Mead, may soon cease to exist as its’ water levels continue to decrease and its’ replenishment looks unpromising.

III.Ethos:

A.From my experience over the course of at least 15 years, boating and playing on the shore lines each summer at Lake Mead, I am able to give a witness’s account of the condition of the lake since the drought began.

B.I’ve also gathered research from credible sources such as NASA, geophysicist experts and water conservation experts.

IV.Purpose:

A.By the end of this speech you will have a better understanding of the causes that have shrunk the size of Lake Mead.

B. In addition, hopefully, you will gain some insight into the effects the drought and water usage issues related to Lake Mead’s shrinking size have had and will continue to have.

V.Preview:

A.Today I’d like to share how dramatically different Lake Mead has become in relation to its’ size.

B.Then I’d like to cover the causes and effects of this dramatic difference.

C.Lastly, I’ll conclude by giving you an overall summary of the causes and effects associated with the decreasing water levels of Lake Mead.

[Transition 1: Now that I have given you a preview, I would like to go more in depth and further discuss the causes that can explain Lake Mead’s shrinking size.]

Body

I.Natural climate change has taken a toll on the flow of water entering Lake Mead.

A.According to Thomas McCann of the Central Arizona Project in his 2013 agenda which discusses the “Colorado River Update”, “the primary reason for Lake Mead’s decline since 2000 is not the ongoing drought, but rather the “structural deficit” that exists in the Lower Basin”(McCann).

1.This means that although there has been a normal flow of water from Lake Powell into Lake Mead since 2000, the outflow of water which results from evaporation (from high temperatures) and less rainfall has created a deficit or unequal return of water into Lake Mead.

II.Secondly, water conservation strategies have not been effective enough.

A.In CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy’s article “Lake Mead is shrinking -- and with it Las Vegas' water supply” last updated January 30, 2014 he says that despite our reputation as being a wasteful community, Las Vegas actually reuses 93 percent of its’ water (Tracy).

B.In his article, Tracy also says that Las Vegas has “added 400,000 people [in the] last decade but cut its water use by 33 percent” (Tracy).

C.How many here knew that we’ve cut our water usage by 33 percent already and that we reuse 93 percent of our water?

[Transition: Now that I’ve discussed the causes let’s talk about some of the effects this has had.]

III.Lake Mead’s record low water levels change how we use the lake for recreational purposes.

A.Lake Mead’s water levels are so low, Jesse Allen of NASA’s Earth Observatory in his November 13, 2003 article entitled, “Drought Lowers Lake Mead” claimed that “water level changes in this area have brought back to view the foundations and road grid of the flooded town of St. Thomas, left when the town was demolished to make way for the new lake.”

B.According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department on March 23, 2015 via their website, as of yesterday the lake was at just 40% of it’s capacity.

1.Those who use the lake for recreational purposes are noticing these effects.

a.The decreased water levels have affected how lake goers are able to use the lake.

1.I’ve personally witnessed the closing and relocation of boat marinas and ramps because the water was too low for where they were previously located.

a.The shore lines of some marinas, like Boulder Beach, have become barely tolerable as the receding water shore lines expose the murky sediment.

b.This murky sediment is unsafe as it can contain cement blocks from previous construction, sharp thistly plants and old beer cans and bottle caps.

i.As an avid lake goer, even I am less drawn to the lake as the years go by and the lake appears to be less safe and enjoyable.

IV.In the years leading up to 2021 there will be major efforts to restore the lake or find alternative methods of supplying water to Southern Nevada and other surrounding regions

A.In December 4, 2008 Bryan Walsh, who is a TIME magazine editor who covers stories related to energy and environmental issues, interviewed marine geophysicst Tim Barnett of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography who says, “If the water continues to decline...

"buckle up." Barnett co-authored a study estimating a 50% chance that a combination of climate change and increased demand could render Mead effectively dry by 2021” (qtd. Barnett).

B.Last updated on January 30, 2014, Ben Tracy of CBS news wrote an article called “Las Vegas is Shrinking--and with it Las Vegas’ Water Supply” and in it he states that, “Since 2000, the lake has lost 4 trillion gallons of water.”

1.To put that into perspective, Lake Mead has lost 36% of the total water needed to end the drought in California, 160 million swimming pools or four years worth of water that Americans waste per year due to leaky

faucets.

[Transition: Now that I have covered the causes and effects of the lake’s shrinking shore lines, I would like to conclude with a summary and review of today’s topic.]

Conclusion

I.Signal Ending:

A.After witnessing some of the effects and researching the causes, it’s obvious that Lake Mead has a limited amount of time before it completely loses water in its’ Lower Basin and ceases to supply water to Las Vegas locals.

II.Review Main Points:

A.Climate change and increased water usage have created a deficit in the flow of water into Lake Mead.

B.The lake has shrunk significantly and led to changes in how Las Vegas locals use the lake both recreationally and for water supply purposes.

C.How we obtain our water in Southern Nevada may drastically change as soon as 2021.

III.Memorable Ending:

A.While it is far-fetched to picture Las Vegas in that scene right out of “Resident Evil: Extinction” the reality is Las Vegas’ major water supply, Lake Mead is drying up.

B.In the words of J.C. Davis who is a spokesperson for the project to drill a third intake pipe into Lake Mead, “Without Lake Mead, there would be no Las

Vegas.”

Works Cited

Walsh, Bryan. “Dying for a Drink.” TIME. Time, Inc. 4 December, 2014. Web. 16 March, 2015.

Tracy, Ben. “Lake Mead is Shrinking -- And With It Las Vegas' Water Supply.” CBS NEWS. 30 January, 2014. Web. 11 March, 2015.

Tetreault, Steve. “Top Official Delivers Bleak Forecast for Lake Mead.”

Las Vegas Review-Journal. 25 February, 2015. Web. 13 March, 2015.

Allen, Jesse. “Drought Lowers Lake Mead.” NASA Earth Observatory.

13 November, 2003. Web. 11 March, 2015.

Water Operations Control Master. Reclamation: Managing Water in the West.

United States Department of the Interior. 23 March 2015. Web. 23 March 2015.