persuasive speech about natural disaster

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104 Environmental Speech Topics [Persuasive, Informative]

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

Environmental speech topics and essay writing on angles of view regarding different aspects of our ecology for public speaking. Hope these helpful ideas will sparkle your fantasy!

In this article:

Informative

Environmental.

• The danger of ocean oil spills.
• Recycling should be mandatory.
• Why oil needs to be conserved.
• Why we should use reusable bags.
• Why palm oil should be banned.
• Ban mining in environmentally sensitive areas.
• Disposable diapers are hazardous to the environment.
• The environment is more important than genetics in determining how a person will turn out.
• The danger of oil drilling in Alaska.
• Fishing regulations are necessary to preserve the environment.
• Endangered species need protection.
• We need to invest more in alternative fuels.
• Endangered oceans deserve protection.
• We should strive for a paperless society.
• Conserve our global resources.
• Rain forests need to be protected.
• The principal threats of land degradation in Asia / Africa / South America (choose one continent for your thesis focus).
• Ocean acidification (a decline in the pH degree of ocean waters) endangers marine organisms.
• The main causes of massive coral bleaching (the whitening of corals).
• The advantages of an intercropping system for sustainable plant production.
• Environmentalists are misusing the term sustainable development.
• Why we should be concerned about ozone depletion in Earth’s stratosphere.
• Bottom trawling (dragging huge nets along the sea floor) is killing for the benthic ecological organisms.
• The benefits of microbes to humans.
• Make you own Carbon Footprint and realize how polluting you are.
• Why the carbon tax should be the next stage in our capitalist world.
• How to manage E-waste streams in modern India.
• Emissions trading or exchangeable emission permits work contra-productive in the urgency to blow back global warming.
• Debt-for-nature swaps are natural friendly policies.
• Renewable energy technologies like wind energy, hydroelectricity, biomass and solar power should be stimulated by the government.
• How to apply green ecological sustainable computing (or green IT) at your home PC or Mac.
• The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the worst man-made mishap in American history. Environmental persuasive speech topics can also be found after that big crash at sea – e.g. in Nigeria.
• We should handle with care the dangers and risks of exhausting our fossil fuel resources on earth, and protect the innocent sea life.
• Global warming demands more joined global action than Kopenhagen did.
• Encourage livestock owners to adopt sustainable grazing systems.
• Environmental damage of energy consumption force us to use energy alternatives.
• Mankind is responsible for the large loss of biodiversity in nature.
• Avoid using plastic bags.
• Buy natural and organic produced, and fair trade products.
• Our ever-expanding consumerism has killed the earth.
• Sacrifice a little bit of the economic growth for the good of the environment.
• Give tax cuts to companies to develop solar, wind and forms of hydrogen energy.
• There should be a green tax on aviation fuel.
• Why stores need to stop supplying plastic bags
• Are green jobs really green and environmentally friendly?
• TV news program weather forecasts are not accurate at all.
• The only effective litter prevention method is to force recycling.
• Recycling helps with green house effects.
• Only energy efficient household appliances should be sold.
• Nuclear power is a good alternative energy source.
• Keep your thermostat at 68 F in Winter and 72 F in Summer.
• Hunting sports harm the biodiversity.
• Hundreds of thousands of species will go extinct by 2060.
• Buying durable goods will save the world.
• We are wasting the opportunity to waste less.
• Water pollution will be the world’s biggest problem in the next years.
• Natural disasters stimulate economic growth.
• We are killing the rainforest, our planet’s lungs.
• The change of our climate pattern is not natural.
• The effects of global warming are not overestimated by scientists and green activists.
• Restrict every household to 50 gallon can on trash and yard waste a week.
• Rural development is the main cause of wildfires and extensive damage in the past years.
• Energy alternatives are the only solution to the environmental damage.
• Paying higher energy prices is a sacrifice we have to make for cleaner fuels.
• Construction plans must include an environment-section.
• Promote earthfriendly cars by tax benefits.

Why can’t the discussion about nuclear energy just be about the sole bare facts instead of political bias all the time?

6 additional persuasive environmental speech topics

Persuasive environmental speech topics to increase the quality of your persuasive communication skills, detailed layouts on Natural Resources, Radio Active Waste Management, and Intensive Farming  are even applicable on essay writing goals.

Can We Write Your Speech?

Get your audience blown away with help from a professional speechwriter. Free proofreading and copy-editing included.

Examine the opportunities I offer, and assemble you own speaking text based on the sample series of reasons below.

That logic reasoning process in the end will result in a nice and substantial blueprint, and a sample argumentation scheme for a debate on good persuasive environmental speech topics.

Excessive Use of Natural Resources Leads to Depletion In The End.

Radioactive materials are – without exception I would state – firm persuasive environmental speech topics and essay discourse themes for students. E.g.:

Radio Active Waste Management.

Intensive farming has many pros and cons. In the next example I deal with the cons. Note that each of them could be used as single persuasive environmental speech topics for a debate or essay:

The Disadvantages of Intensive Farming.

You also could take the opposite side and defend the pro-intensive farming arguments by attacking and replacing them for reasons in favor of the supporters of intensive farming. That will provoke immediate discussion among your listeners. Furthermore I would like to share alternative options for persuasive environmental speech topics:

• Endangered species;
• Marine debris and microplastics;
• The sea level rise.

Endangered species – The international list of protected animals. E.g. the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature IUCN. Sharpen your persuasive communication skills and judge the conditions for protection.

Marine debris and microplastics – More and more are our ocean, seas, lakes and rivers polluted. Littering: plastic bottles, bags, and so on. Persuade your audience to act. Let them support coastal volunteer operations to remove and prevent debris.

The sea level rise – What is bad about it? What are the predictions of meteorologists regarding the reported weather and climate changes? What should we do to stop it? Is it possible to stop the rise of the sea level anyway?

• The fundamentals of logistics for oil and gas exploration.
• Wildlife protection programs.
• Plants, animals and organisms that live in the ocean.
• The greatest rainforests in the world.
• Facts and figures of littering in our community
• Domestic water waste treatment plans.
• Safety issues of nuclear power plants.
• Local communities can contribute to maintenance of fragile ecosystems.
• Global concern about climate change rose dramatically after Al Gore made his documentary.
• The importance of sustainable development for future generations.
• What is at stake with greenhouse carbon gas emissions?
• Water is the upcoming hot issue in the Middle East.
• Availability and purity of water.
• The Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai – the smart innovative energy reuser.
• South-American tropical forests.
• Global climate change is not only caused by humans.
• We need a healthy environment.
• The effects of global warming.
• Why conserving energy is important.
• The negative aspects of a polluted environment.
• The great Pacific garbage patch.
• The ways that water pollution is harmful.
• The effects of industrial and household waste.
• What is global warming?
• The benefits of organic farming.
• Why drought is a serious problem.
• The pollution of today’s world.
• The importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling.
• The effects of environmental degradation.
• Why should we save birds.
• Why we should save the Ganges.
• How to recycle different materials.

212 Speech Topics For College Students [Persuasive, Informative, Impromptu]

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Speech on Natural Disaster

Natural disasters are powerful events that can cause serious damage. They’re a part of Earth’s complex ecosystem and can happen anywhere. You might have heard of earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, or floods. All these are examples of natural disasters.

Each disaster is unique, with its own causes and effects. For instance, earthquakes shake the ground, while floods submerge it under water. Understanding these differences is key to staying prepared and safe.

1-minute Speech on Natural Disaster

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let’s talk about natural disasters today. These are severe events caused by the Earth itself. They include floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and many others. They are part of nature, and we cannot stop them from happening. Yet, they can cause massive destruction and loss of life.

Understanding these disasters is very important. When we know what causes them, we can take steps to protect ourselves and our homes from damage. For instance, if we know that a place is prone to earthquakes, we can construct buildings that can resist shaking. Similarly, in a flood-prone area, we can build our houses on higher ground.

Now let’s talk about preparedness. It is all about being ready before a disaster strikes. We should have emergency kits with food, water, and medicine at home. We should also know what to do during and after a disaster. For example, during an earthquake, you should drop, cover, and hold on to protect yourself from falling objects.

Lastly, we must understand the importance of helping each other. After a disaster, many people lose their homes and loved ones. They need food, clothes, and shelter. They may also need emotional support. We can help by donating to relief efforts or volunteering our time and skills.

In conclusion, natural disasters are a part of our world that we cannot change. What we can change is our response to them. With knowledge, preparedness, and a willingness to help others, we can reduce the harm caused by these events and recover quicker when they do happen. Thank you.

Also check:

• Essay on Natural Disaster
• 10-lines on Natural Disaster

2-minute Speech on Natural Disaster

Good day, everyone. Let’s talk about a topic that affects us all – natural disasters. You might think, “What are natural disasters?” They are events caused by nature, like floods, earthquakes, or hurricanes. They can cause a lot of harm to people and places.

In the first part of our talk, we’ll look at different types of natural disasters. Earthquakes shake the ground, and can damage buildings, roads, and bridges. Volcanoes can erupt, sending out hot lava and ash. Floods happen when there is too much rain, and the water can’t go away fast enough. Hurricanes are strong winds and rain that can damage houses and trees. There are many other types too, like tornadoes, tsunamis, and droughts.

Next, we’ll talk about why natural disasters happen. Much of it has to do with how our Earth is built. For example, earthquakes happen because the Earth’s crust, or outer layer, is made up of big pieces that move. When these pieces bump into each other, it can cause an earthquake. Volcanoes happen when hot rock from inside the Earth comes out. Floods and hurricanes happen because of changes in weather, like too much rain.

In the third part, we’ll look at what we can do to stay safe. It’s important to know what kind of natural disasters can happen where you live. Then, you can make a plan with your family about what to do if one happens. This might include knowing where to go, what to take with you, and who to contact. It’s also good to have supplies ready, like food, water, and a first-aid kit.

Lastly, we’ll talk about what we can do to help others after a natural disaster. People often need things like food, clean water, and a safe place to stay. We can donate these things, or money to buy them. We can also help clean up, rebuild, and give emotional support.

In conclusion, natural disasters are events caused by nature that can cause harm. But, we can learn about them, prepare for them, and help each other when they happen. Let’s remember, we are not powerless. Together, we can face any challenge that nature brings. Thank you.

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How To Write An Effective Speech On Climate Change

Hrideep barot.

• Speech Writing

Believe it or not, climate change is real–and it’s human beings who’re responsible for a majority of it. Despite how commonly known this information is, it’s surprising how little importance people give to the lasting impact of their seemingly trivial actions.

Over the years, so many people have spoken up about climate change. These include world leaders, celebrities, politicians, and even common people like you and me. If you’ve got a speech on climate change coming up, you’re probably wondering how to make your speech stand out from all of the ones before you.

And that’s exactly what we’re going to help you with today.

To write an effective speech on climate change, you need to keep in mind a couple of things. This includes choosing your purpose, keeping your audience in mind & making it personally relevant to them, emphasizing the immediacy of the situation, incorporating humor and stories.

Before we delve into writing down the speech, let’s first understand what climate change actually means.

What is climate change?

In simple words, climate change is a global phenomenon of climate transformation. It is characterized by unusual changes in the normal climate of the planet and is especially caused by human activities.

As a result of climate change, there is a rapidly rising instability in the earth’s weather. This is detrimental to the earth’s ecosystem and the overall sustainability of the planet. Climate change also puts the future of all living things under threat–and yes, that includes you too.

The warning signs of climate change can be easily observed in our surroundings.

Temperatures are rising rapidly across the globe as a result of global warming. Glaciers are melting at a faster rate. There is a tremendous rise in sea levels, which puts multiple communities as well as marine life at risk. Droughts too are occurring more frequently–and lasting longer.

The warning signs of climate change are all around us. Whether we choose to see them or not, however, is something that depends solely on us.

Things To Keep In Mind While Writing The Speech

1. Choose Your Purpose

Like I mentioned before, so many people have given speeches on climate change before. If you wish to stand out from them, you first need to understand your exact purpose behind delivering the speech.

What I mean is, what do you mean to achieve from delivering the speech? Is your goal to simply provide information to people? Are you trying to convince people about the urgency of climate change? Or maybe you’re participating in a debate competition and want to beat your opponent’s point of view?

The content of your speech is going to be vastly different in all three scenarios. So, before you sit down writing, make sure you’ve decided on the purpose of your speech.

2. Analyzing The Audience

Once you’ve settled your purpose, let’s move onto the next step: analyzing your audience. This is because your content will need to vary depending on what people are going to be filling the auditorium seats.

For instance, if your audience mainly consists of primary school children, then you’re going to need to significantly tone down all the complex stuff in your speech. On the other hand, if your audience consists of experts in the field, then dawdling over the basics is going to be unnecessary.

So, make sure to analyze your audience before you sit down to write your speech.

3. Understand The Occasion

Where and when, exactly, are you going to be giving the speech? Are you going to deliver it as an opening speech at a college event? Are you going to be delivering the speech for a school project? Are you a speaker at a climate change conference?

The occasion plays a vital role in determining the contents of your speech. The overall tone of your speech as well as the type of content you might want to include–or exclude– will depend on how serious or leisurely an event is.

4. Emphasize The Immediacy

A lot of people tend to believe that climate change is something that’s probably going to affect the earth in…a couple of centuries, maybe.

But that is not so. Climate change is already affecting us–and if we do nothing about it, the situation will continue to worsen over the next couple of decades.

Emphasize the immediacy of the problem. It’s when people start realizing how imminent the issue is that they’ll want to do something about it.

5. Why Should They Listen To You?

Why should the audience listen to you? What makes you different than all the other speakers before you? What will make you stand out in their eyes?

Before you sit down and start writing, answer this question to yourself.

There are many ways to be unique in the audience’s eyes. Maybe you’re someone who’s excellent with jokes. Why not structure your speech in a funny way? Or maybe you’re a puppeteer, or simply excellent with haiku. Why not include them in your speech?

6. Timing Your Speech

How long are you going to be speaking for? An hour? Thirty minutes? One minute?

If you’ve already been given a time limit, good. If not, then you need to decide how long you’re going to be speaking before you start writing. This will help you better structure your speech, as well as ensure that you don’t need to cut short your speech on the big day because you’ve run out of time.

7. Making It Resonate With Humor & Stories

As long as you do not manage to make your speech resonate with people, they’re going to forget what you said, just like they’ve forgotten countless speeches before you. So, make sure to include elements like storytelling, humor & statistics in your speech.

Is there a personal incident where you were affected by climate change? Or maybe you saw or heard a story from somewhere else and it really touched you. Well, maybe it will touch your audience too.

Adding elements such as these will increase the impact you have on people, and make it more likely that they will remember you–and your speech-even after you’ve finished speaking.

Check out our article on Guide To Use Humor In Your Speech for some inspiration on how to make your speech more light-hearted and enjoyable.

We can also use the Paraprosdokian technique to make our speeches funny. It’s a simple technique which means narrating a story and having a surprise twist at the end. Want to know how some of our most beloved celebrities go about using this technique (and how you can too)? Check out this (entertaining) video we made:

8. How Does It Personally Impact The Audience?

Almost every person in the world is aware of the negative impact of climate change. And yet, only a few are actually concerned about it–or do something to prevent it.

This is mostly because people do not feel a personal need to do anything about climate change, because they feel like if they’ve not been impacted with climate change yet, then why should they bother paying attention to it?

And this is exactly what you need to change. You need to make them realize that climate change does, in fact, impact them directly. In fact, it probably already has in the past.

This can be done in many ways.

For example: Ask them about their summer, and tell them about rising temperatures in their own city. Ask them if they’ve been under the weather recently, and then tell them how there is a global rise in infectious disease as a consequence of climate change.

Structuring The Speech

The structure of a speech on climate change is pretty similar to any other speech that you might give. That is, it consists of three main parts…

1. The Opening

The opening of a speech is perhaps its most important component. Unless and until you grab your audience’s attention right off of the bat, chances are that you’ve lost it for the rest of your speech.

So, it’s imperative to have an excellent speech opening. There are many ways in which you can customize an attention-grabbing opening for a speech on climate change.

You could start off with a shocking statistic, for one. Or you could include beginning with a story. You could also start with a joke. Another great opening would be using a prop: maybe a model of what the earth will look like fifty years from now.

2. The Content

Your content is going to comprise the majority of your speech. It should include all of your most important points and those points must be lined up in a logical sequence.

Your content shouldn’t go on for seemingly forever. Keep it to the point, and discard anything that you feel you can do without.

If you’ve managed to grab the audience’s attention in the beginning, they’ll be intrigued enough to listen to your actual message.

However, presenting your main content in such a manner that it continues to sustain their interest is your responsibility.

To do so, make sure to incorporate elements like humor, stories, jokes, and games. Make sure you’re using proper body language and appropriate visuals and cues like photos, videos, etc  Mix things up and figure out what works best for you.

3. The Conclusion

Finally, you get to the conclusion. While it might sound like a good idea to quickly thank the audience and get off of the stage, it’s not so.

Your conclusion needs to be as impactful as your speech. This will ensure that your speech remains in the audience’s mind. It will also make it likely that they will want to hear you speak again.

There are many ways to conclude a speech. Having a call to action is a must. You can also end with an impactful quote. Or, you could circle back to something that you said in your speech–maybe finish a story you left off in the beginning.

4. Post-Conclusion

Wait, wait…So it’s not over after the conclusion? I mean, isn’t that the entire POINT of a conclusion? To CONCLUDE?

A conclusion wraps up your speech, sure. But if you truly want to make a lasting impact on your audience’s mind and actually make them take climate change–or any other topic–seriously, then what you do after your speech ends is just as important.

Think of it as an added bonus, like Marvel’s post-credits scenes.

There are many ways to go about having an awesome post-conclusion. Networking is a must. Now that you’re off the stage, it’s time to move around the room. Meet the people in the audience & talk to them. Ask them questions, and answer any they might have for you.

You can also make presentation handouts and give them to the audience. This will help them remember your speech. You could even give them a reference list so that they can look in-depth into your topic.

You could also give them a list of steps that they can take to reduce their own harmful impact on the environment. Or, you could even make a funny handout–maybe a couple of memorable lines from your speech–and give it to them.

Whatever you do, the end goal should be to make them remember you–and to actually do something about what you said.

Sample Climate Change Speech

The Sci-Fi Reality of Climate Change

Indonesia’s capital is sinking. Yes, you heard it right. In 2019, Indonesia announced its plans to shift its capital city from Jatarka, largely because the city is struggling to shoulder a giant environmental burden that keeps getting bigger and bigger every year. Air quality in the city has plunged to new lows–the air in the city is now reported to be even more polluted than cities like Delhi and Beijing. And of course, parts of Jatarka–which is home to over ten million people, almost the same as the city of Los Angeles–are sinking as much as 25 centimeters per year. Climate change is making Indonesia shift its capital. Imagine what will it do to your city or town. Because Indonesia is not the only city on the cusp of being ravaged by climate change. Extreme weather fueled by climate change struck every corner of the globe–from Africa to Australia to Asia–in 2020, leaving in its wake a devastating trail of floods, storms, fires and destruction. While for those of us who are sitting in the comfort of our own homes, climate change might feel like a distant dream, for many people, climate change has already ravaged their fragile reality. John Smith, a farmer from Nevada, is one of them. “It was like hell had shifted to earth.” The Smith family has been growing apples in the foothills of Nevada since the 1950s. However, a couple of weeks ago, a seemingly unstoppable camp fire engulfed the forest near their farm–as well as all the three buildings on their property. They managed to escape with their livestock and what little possessions they could gather. Their dog, Hero, suffered third-degree burns while saving their five-year-old daughter from a collapsing roof. The family had to spend the next twelve months in a trailer near their friends’ property. Three years later, and they’ve managed to patch together bits of their old life. And yet, the threat of another careless camper–and another devastating fire–still looms. In the United States, climate change has been a leading factor for a rapid increase in the frequency & extent of wildfires. Rising temperatures, which is a key component of climate change, is the culprit. Elevated temperatures seep out moisture from the ground and dry up the ground. This makes vegetation more flammable. The wildfire season now lasts approximately three and a half months longer. The number of wildfires in the West has tripled–as has the devastation it leaves in its wake. Today, it is John. Tomorrow, it could be you. In almost every sphere of life, change is inevitable. Students finish high school and enter universities, people switch jobs, or maybe someone moves to a new place… Change is a part of life. And like all other changes, climate change is inevitable–at least, until we actually do something to prevent it.  Out of all the planets in our Galaxy, Earth is–so far–the only planet with a climate capable enough to sustain human life. And yet, human beings seem to find it perfectly alright to take advantage of the Earth’s hospitality. I imagine earth to be like an exhausted host and humans those annoying guests that eat up all your food and destroy your brand new carpet with their muddy feet and just-can’t-take-a-hint and, you know, get out. We need to understand that what actions we choose are solely our responsibility, and we are the ones who will have to bear its consequences–many of which we already are. Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect are the most pressing issues in the current time. And yet secondary consequences of climate change, like the impact of rising temperatures on human lifespan as well as the economic impact of having to deal with secondary damage related to climate change, often go unnoticed. Because, you know, we’ve got more pressing issues to pay attention to. Like, Tiktok getting banned. And whether a metor is going to destroy the earth in the next decade (I’m sure the earth will thank it). Or, the flat earth theory. If Google is to be believed, the interest in both: Flat Earth Conspiracy Theory & Climate Change Skepticism is on the rise. In fact, they’re two of the most popular conspiracy theories today. And yet the interest in the impact of climate change–and what we can do to prevent it–has dwindled to a percentage so abysmal that I don’t find it worth mentioning. Today, we’re on the cusp of tipping into the Sci-Fi movies that everybody loves to binge with a platoon of Doritos packets. And yet, watching a Sci-Fi and actually living in one are two different things.  For one, there is no director or writer shaping the course of our lives behind the scenes. We cannot blame the writer for a plotline going south or a disappointing end–or even the entire show getting canceled. There is no plot requirement or artistic freedom, either. So, just because you’re the favorite of many people doesn’t mean your contract will renew after three seasons and you won’t get killed off.  Unlike directors and authors, nature does not discriminate. When a natural disaster strikes, it strikes everyone and not just a select few. The world has witnessed a tenfold increase in disasters since the 1960s–and unless everybody does something, this number will keep on increasing. And if you’d rather watch a Sci-Fi from the comfort of your home rather than actually living in one, you need to get up from the sofa, step out of your house and do something.  There is a quote from the movie ‘Interstellar’ that I really love. The movie is a Sci-Fi epic from the point of view of a family. Or, more precisely from the eyes of a father and daughter. The quote goes, “Once you’re a parent, you’re the ghost of your child’s future.”  And yet, right now it is you who holds your child’s future in your hands. So maybe in that sense all of us are writers, too: writers of which direction the story of our children’s life will take. Indonesia’s capital is sinking. As is the earth’s future. Now the choice is yours: would you rather let it sink, or will you throw it a life jacket instead?

PS: The above speech can be highlighted much better with the use of visuals and a few Slides. Keep that in mind if you are required to deliver this speech at anypoint.

Powerful Climate Change Speeches

1. leonardo dicaprio at the opening of climate summit 2014.

Key Takeaway: As you watch the speech, notice how Leonardo starts it off. He tries to make a personal connection with the people listening to him by telling the viewers that he’s not an expert on climate change. Instead, he’s just like them.

Throughout the course of his speech, he maintains this stance and uses quotes, anecdotes, etc. to emphasize his point. He makes himself–and his speech–easily relatable to the viewer.

2. Climate Change: Simple, Serious, Solvable By James Rae

Key Takeaway: As you watch the speech, notice how James makes use of visual elements like GIFs and pictures to capture his audience’s attention. The entire speech is peppered with material relevant to his topic, and this addition of visual elements takes the speech to a whole other level. You can use it as a guideline to how to use visuals in your own speech.

3. Confessions Of A Climate Change Humorist: Jim Poyser At TedXIndianapolis

Key Takeaway: As you watch the video, keep an eye on the speaker’s body language. Also, notice how the speaker uses humor to drive forth his point. Humor is a great way to make the audience relate to the topic–and you can make note of how the speaker effectively employs it in his speech to get an idea about how to structure it into your own talk.

To sum up, you can easily write a speech on climate change by keeping in mind factors like making sure you have a distinct purpose, keeping your audience in mind, timing your speech in advance, figuring out what makes you unique, and incorporating humor and storytelling. Additionally, you can skim through the sample speech provided as well as watch Ted Talks to gain an idea of how to write your own speech.

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Philippines: Speech for Disaster Risk and Crisis Management Forum

Mara K. Warwick, World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand Disaster Risk and Crisis Management Forum Fuller Hall, Asian Institute of Management, Makati City, Philippines

As Prepared for Delivery

Dr. Jikyeong Kang, President & Dean, Asian Institute of Management

Senator Loren Legarda of the Philippine Senate

Amy Leung, Director-General, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department of the Asian Development Bank

Vinod Thomas, Special Adviser to AIM, and former Senior Vice President of the World Bank

Members of the Knowledge for Development Community

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen;

Good morning.

It’s an honor for me to open this international conference on climate change and disaster risk management. It is impressive to see such large participation in this conference from leaders and representatives from the private sector, civil society, development partners, the government, and other sectoral groups.  Your presence here today clearly shows the ever-increasing attention of the global community on these very important issues.

Climate change is an acute threat to global development and our collective efforts to end poverty and boost shared prosperity. Communities around the world are being devastated by droughts, floods, more intense and unpredictable storms, and sea-level rise.  And as we know, when disasters strike, it is always the poor who are most vulnerable and suffer the most.  Without urgent action, the impact of climate change could push an additional 100 million people into poverty by 2030.

The Philippines ranks high on most global indices for vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters. Over the long term, losses due to earthquakes, tropical cyclones and floods are estimated to be PHP206 billion or 1.8% of GDP in direct losses and PHP42.2 billion or 3.6% of total government expenditure in emergency losses per year.

Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda, is still fresh in our minds. It took more than 6,000 lives, displaced many more, devastated livelihood and properties, and pushed more than 2 million people below the poverty line.

The long - term vision of Filipinos for the future of the Philippines, embodied in Ambisyon 2040, is for “a high-trust society where families thrive in vibrant, culturally diverse, and resilient communities.” Typhoon Yolanda continues to remind all Filipinos of the important task ahead to build the resilience of Philippine society and protect the country and its people from future disasters. 

The government is working hard in a proactive and responsive manner to achieve this vision. Its enactment of a comprehensive set of policies, programs and institutions for dealing with climate change and improving resiliency to natural disasters is commendable, and contributes to global efforts.

As early as 2009, the passage of the Climate Change Act creating the Climate Change Commission to lead the development of policies and coordinate government programs on climate change, is noteworthy.

The Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act (DRRM) Act of 2010 is also critical, as it has played an important role in shifting the country’s focus from disaster response to more proactive disaster risk reduction and preparedness, also enhancing the convergence between adaptation and disaster risk reduction actions.

Moreover, the DRRM Act laid the legal foundation in the Philippines for a strong reform agenda to strengthen the institutional capacity for climate adaptation and disaster risk management of national and local governments, and to integrate disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in planning and investment prioritization at all levels of government.

The Philippines has also been a global leader in developing innovative financial solutions to mitigate the financial impacts of extreme climate and weather related events, as well as major earthquakes.  For example, just 5 months ago, the Philippines with support from the World Bank, launched a new catastrophe risk insurance program to help the country better respond to losses from climate and disaster risks.  This innovative insurance program, the first of its kind in East Asia, provides coverage for national government assets, and those of participating provinces, against losses from major typhoons and earthquakes.

But beyond planning and financing, there is also a strong recognition in the Philippines that much needs to be done on the ground to help Filipino citizens, especially the poor, adapt to the effects of climate change. On this front, the government is rolling up its sleeves and taking action. One important activity worth highlighting is the implementation of the flood management master plan for Metro Manila and surrounding cities.  The first stage in the implementation of this master plan - the Metro Manila Flood Management Project Phase 1 – will begin early  in 2018 with support from the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

In recent years the Philippines has also played a significant role within the global community, through the COP21 in Paris and subsequent Senate ratification this year of the Philippines’ commitment, and as an active participant and leader in the V20 – the Vulnerable 20 Group of Ministers of Finance.

A common thread through all of these accomplishments in the Philippines so far is convergence.  Climate change is a complex problem. Actions, whether they be policy or project implementation, require the convergence of efforts from many stakeholders.  Only through joint efforts, will the Filipino vision of a resilient society be realized.

I am proud to say that the World Bank Group, together with other development partners, has been supporting the Philippines in its efforts to increase resiliency to disasters and climate change. Reducing vulnerability, especially of the poor, to global challenges such as climate change is an important priority for the World Bank Group across the world including here in the Philippines.

I’d like to thank the Asian Institute of Management, a member of the Knowledge for Development Community of the World Bank Office in Manila, for co-organizing this event. I hope today’s conference will deepen our discussion and our understanding, strengthen our resolve, and promote greater collaboration toward a more resilient and prosperous Philippines.

Once again, thank you very much.

Natural Disasters Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on natural disasters.

A Natural disaster is an unforeseen occurrence of an event that causes harm to society. There are many Natural disasters that damage the environment and the people living in it. Some of them are earthquakes , cyclones, floods, Tsunami , landslides, volcanic eruption, and avalanches. Spatial extent measures the degree or severity of the disaster.

Levels of Disaster

The severity or degree of damage can be further divided into three categories:

Small Scale Disasters: Small scale disasters are those that extend from 50 Kms. to 100 Kms. So this kind of disasters does not cause much damage.

Medium-scale disasters: Medium Scale disasters extend from 100 Kms to 500 Kms. These cause more damage than a small scale disaster. Moreover, they can cause greater damage if they occur in colonial states.

Large Scale Disasters: These disasters cover an area of more than 1000 Kms. These cause the most severe damage to the environment. Furthermore, these disasters can even take over a country if the degree is high. For instance, the wiping out of the dinosaurs was because of a large scale natural disaster.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Types of Disasters

Causes: These can cause of releasing of the energy. This release is from the core of the earth. Furthermore, the release of energy causes seismic waves. Rupturing of geological faults causes earthquakes. But other events like volcanic eruptions, landslides mine blasts can also cause it.

Landslides: Landslides is the moving of big boulders of rocks or debris down a slope. As a result, landslides occur on mountains and hilly areas. Moreover, landslides can cause destruction to man-made things in many ways.

Causes: Gravitational pull, volcanic eruptions , earthquakes can cause landslides. Moreover, soil erosion due to deforestation is also a cause of landslides.

Avalanches: Avalanches are like landslides. But instead of rocks thousand tons of snow falls down the slope. Moreover, this causes extreme damage to anything that comes in its way. People who live in snowy mountains always have fear of it.

Causes: Avalanches takes places when there is a large accumulation of snow on the mountains. Moreover, they can also occur from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Furthermore, the chances of surviving an avalanche are very less. This is because people die of hypothermia in it.

Tsunami: Tsunami is the production of very high waves in oceans and seas. Moreover, the displacement of the ground causes these high waves. A tsunami can cause floods if it occurs near shores. A Tsunami can consist of multiple waves. Moreover, these waves have a high current. Therefore it can reach coastlines within minutes. The main threat of a tsunami is if a person sees a Tsunami he cannot outrun it.

Causes: Tsunami is unlike normal eaves that occur due to the wind. But Tsunami is waves that occur by ground displacement. Thus earthquakes are the main causes of Tsunamis.

FAQs on Essay on natural disaster

Q1.What are natural disasters?

A1. Natural Disasters are unforeseen events that cause damage to the environment and the people.

Q2.Name some Natural disasters.

A2. Some Natural Disasters are earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, Landslides, floods, Tsunami, avalanches. Natural disasters can cause great damage to human society. But preventive measures can be taken to reduce the damage from these disasters.

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Natural Disasters, Conflict, and Human Rights: Tracing the Connections

Subscribe to this week in foreign policy, elizabeth ferris elizabeth ferris former brookings expert, research professor, institute for the study of international migration - georgetown university @beth_ferris.

March 3, 2010

• 18 min read

Responding to natural disasters has traditionally been seen as a compassionate response to people in need. While compassion remains at the core of humanitarian action, relief agencies are increasingly conscious of the fact that assistance is rarely neutral and that their actions can have long-term consequences, as evidenced by the 2004 tsunamis in Asia, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the earthquake this year in Haiti. In this presentation, I’d like to explore some of the connections between sudden-onset natural disasters, conflicts, and human rights. In particular, I argue that incorporating a human rights perspective into natural disaster response is important not only because it affirms the rights and dignity of vulnerable people, but also because it can prevent conflicts in the aftermath of disasters.

A natural disaster is defined by the UN as: “the consequences of events triggered by natural hazards that overwhelm local response capacity and seriously affect the social and economic development of a region.” [1] In other words, a cyclone that strikes only an uninhabited island is not a natural disaster. Nor is it a natural disaster when municipal authorities are able to respond effectively to flooding in their community. There are questions about just how ‘natural’ are natural disasters. For example, the devastating toll on Haiti of 4 hurricanes in 2008 was obviously the result of the storms themselves, but certainly exacerbated by the long-term deforestation in that country and inadequate public response. In fact, in that year, deadly hurricanes hit both Haiti and Cuba, but while 800 people died in Haiti, only four fatalities in Cuba were reported. 

The evidence is clear that poverty is an important factor in understanding the effects of natural disasters. On 10 December 1988, an earthquake registering 6.9 on the Richter scale hit Armenia, killing some 55,000 people and leaving 500,000 homeless. Less than a year later, in October 1989, an even stronger earthquake, 7.1 on the Richter scale, hit San Francisco, California, killing 62 and leaving 12,000 homeless. [2] Within countries, it is almost always the poor and marginalized who are disproportionately affected by natural disasters. They tend to live in less safe environments and in less safe shelter. Shoddily-constructed slums are more vulnerable to earthquakes, landslides and flooding that the homes where the rich are more likely to live. Thus in the recent earthquake in Haiti, the homes of the country’s elite were located in neighborhoods which were less impacted by the tremors and their homes were more likely to withstand the shocks than those of poorer neighborhoods. [3]   

Natural disasters exacerbate existing gender inequalities and pre-existing vulnerabilities. The majority of those who die in natural disasters are women. Women also tend to have less access to essential resources for preparedness, mitigation, and rehabilitation. Assistance can often be discriminatory in impact even if not intended to be so. Government policies can reinforce social divisions. [4]   

The frequency and severity of sudden-onset natural disasters is increasing. Presently there are about 400 natural disasters per year, affecting 200 million people. This is double the number reported 20 years ago. In particular hydrometeorological events are increasing – most likely as the result of climate change. [5] Of the 200 million people whose lives are affected by natural disasters, around 36 million were forced to leave their homes in 2008 and are considered to be internally displaced persons. [6] Unlike those displaced by conflict, this displacement is usually temporary and almost always occurs within the borders of the country. However, as our own Hurricane Katrina demonstrates, displacement can last a long time. It is estimated that about a quarter of those displaced by Hurricane Katrina have not returned. [7]   

What is the relationship between natural disasters and conflict?  

There are several ways of exploring this relationship: What is the cumulative effect of natural disasters and conflict on people’s lives? Do natural disasters contribute to conflict? Does the response to natural disasters help resolve conflicts? Or make them worse?  

There are cases where natural disasters occur in places where conflict has already disrupted the lives of people, for example, the Philippines, Iraq, Somalia, Kenya, Colombia, and Haiti. Because the definition of a natural disaster is linked to the society’s response capacity, state and social structures which are weakened by conflicts are less likely to be able to respond to the effects of a natural hazard, making it more likely that a natural disaster will result. For example, the Somali government is extremely weak (controlling only a few blocks of the capital city) as a result of long-standing conflict and thus unable to respond to either the drought or flooding which has occurred in its country. If there were no conflict in Somalia, it is more likely that both the state and community institutions would be better able to cope with the natural hazards, perhaps avoiding disasters all together.  

Although the situations vary, the occurrence of a natural disaster in an area affected by on-going conflict can lead to: 

• increased misery for people whose lives have already been disrupted by conflict. For example, in the Philippines camps for people displaced by conflict in Mindanao were flooded in 2008, reportedly undermining their coping skills. [8]   
• further displacement as when people displaced by conflict are forced to move yet again because of the disaster. In the case of the Mindanao floods, some of the conflict IDPs were forced to move again as a result of the flooding. Or following the tsunami in Sri Lanka, some of those displaced by the conflict were displaced again by the storm surge. 
• increased hardship on communities hosting the displaced. Thus in Somalia, rural areas hard-hit by flooding in 2009 were already having difficulties growing sufficient food for their communities. The arrival of Somalis displaced by the fighting in Mogadishu increased the strain on these communities. The majority of recent IDPs from Mogadishu went to the nearby Afgooye corridor – making it the “highest density of internally displaced persons in the world – over half a million IDPs along a stretch of 15 kilometers of road.” [9]  
• more difficulties for relief agencies in accessing affected communities. This is particularly the case for countries in governments that are unwilling to extend access to humanitarian actors. For example, after the 1990 earthquake in Gilan province in Iran which measured 7.7 on the Richter scale, killed 50,000 people and decimated entire villages, [10] the government initially insisted that the country would handle the crisis on its own and turned away international assistance. By the time the government was willing to enlist assistance from abroad, a significant proportion of the affected had reportedly died from otherwise preventable deaths. [11] A similar initial rejection of international aid by the government of Burma/Myanmar following the May 2008 Cyclone Nargis complicated the relief effort. 

It seems to make intuitive sense to conclude that conflicts worsen the impact of natural disasters by weakening state, community and individual capacity to respond. 

There are surprisingly few long-term empirical studies on the relationship between conflict and natural disasters. Nel and Righarts looked at data for 187 countries and other political entities for the period 1950 to 2000 and found that rapid-onset natural disasters significantly increase the risk of violent civil conflict both in the short and medium-term, specifically in low- and middle-income countries that have high inequality, mixed political regimes (which are neither fully autocratic or democratic), and sluggish economic growth. [12] Similarly, Olson and Drury found that the more developed a country, the less likely a natural disaster is to have political consequences. [13]  

Rakhi Bhavnani argues that “sudden changes brought on by natural disasters exacerbate problems that people face on a daily basis, heightening conditions for conflict such as grievances, political opportunity, and mobilization. Disasters create grievances that lead to conflict by causing mass disruption, impacting individual behavior, community and political organizations, and the power relationships between individuals, groups, and the organizations that serve them. In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, a country’s physical infrastructure is affected often preventing the adequate distribution of food and medical supplies. Crops are destroyed, giving rise to food shortages, famines, and localized conflicts over resources. As a disaster destroys many key social and political

institutions, it threatens political stability and creates a power vacuum and opportunity for warlords and criminal gangs to usurp power…A natural disaster has the propensity to reshape society and along with it, its ability to manage risk, grievances, and political change.” [14] He tests this hypothesis with the use of EM-DAT International Disaster Database data on sudden and slow-onset disasters from 1991-1999 and various conflict databases and news reports to assess whether natural disasters increase the risk of conflict. Bhavnani concludes that natural disasters do “contribute to conflict because they create competition for scarce resources, exacerbate inequality with the unequal distribution of aid, change power relationships between individuals, groups, and the organizations that serve them, and can create power vacuums and opportunities for warlords to usurp power.” [15]   

In other words, it seems that particularly for developing countries with weak governments, a natural disaster can cause political instability. Indeed, in countries such as Guatemala (1976 earthquake) and Nicaragua (1976 earthquake), governments have fallen largely because of popular discontent over the way the disaster response was organized. Indeed, the poor response of the West Pakistan government to the 1970 typhoon in East Pakistan was a principal reason for the ensuing war which resulted in Bangladeshi independence the following year.  

One of the most interesting comparisons of the relationship between conflict and natural is disasters is the effect of the 2004 tsunamis on conflicts in Sri Lanka and Aceh, Indonesia. At the time the tsunamis struck, both countries were mired in protracted conflicts. In Aceh, the response to the tsunami seems to have contributed to the resolution of a long-term simmering conflict between Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM) and the government. In contrast, the response to the tsunami in Sri Lanka seems to have exacerbated tensions between the Tamil Tigers (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) and the government of Sri Lanka.  

What made the difference? As is usual in these situations, there are many factors which are responsible for both the conflict and for its resolution. Several researchers have made the point that these two cases were at different ‘stages’ of conflict and that the tsunami (and the response to the disaster) had different impacts on the warring parties. Bauman et al. argue that in the 30-year old Indonesia/Aceh conflict, both sides had come to realize that a military solution was unviable and were looking for a political solution, but lacked an exit strategy. [16] Both the government and the insurgents were seriously affected by the tsunami. The government lacked the capacity to rebuild Aceh without international support and was forced to allow international actors into the region – which had previously been largely denied because of the conflict. The international presence provided a sense of security to the population and coupled with both strong international support and committed political leadership, peace negotiations were re-started. In August 2005, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in which the Indonesian government recognized the right of Aceh to “special autonomy,” a solution short of the secession which had been demanded earlier. This agreement ended nearly 30 years of conflict which had caused 15,000 deaths and displaced up to 150,000-250,000 people. [17]  

In comparison, when the tsunami struck Sri Lanka, the peace process was similarly stalled, the LTTE held a strong position and the tsunami itself affected the Tamil and Sinhalese communities differently. At the time, the majority of the 390,000 conflict-induced IDPs lived in the North and East and were Tamil. But the majority – though by no means all – of those affected by the tsunami were Sinhalese living in the South. An estimated 457,000 Sri Lankans were displaced by the tsunami. [18] While there was a lot of talk in Sri Lanka about joining together to respond to the victims of the tsunami, in fact, there were tensions from the beginning as both sides sought to use the occasion – and the relief – to strengthen their own positions.  

As Hoffman et al report, the government was worried that the LTTE would utilize the tsunami to gain international sympathy, recognition, and direct assistance and, consequently, blocked opportunities that they thought would benefit the LTTE. At the same time, the LTTE did not trust the government to distribute assistance fairly and sought direct access to aid. [19] There was a strong sense of grievance among the Tamil population that assistance was going primarily towards tsunami-affected people in the South, mostly Sinhalese, while those affected by the tsunami in the North and East, mostly Tamil, did not receive a proportionate share. And the conflict-displaced, mostly Tamils in the North and East, were receiving much less. Efforts to develop a joint response between Sinhalese and Tamils failed. The discrimination in treatment between conflict-induced and tsunami-affected IDPs in Sri Lanka contributed to the tensions. Tamils complained that the government failed to provide adequate assistance and Muslims felt ignored and discriminated against. Inter-communal incriminations returned. Hope and expectations plummeted and the conflict re-ignited in late 2006, displacing still another 200,000 people. In 2009, the Sinhalese-dominated government defeated the LTTE in a brutal offensive.  

One of the lessons of the tsunami is an affirmation of Mary Anderson’s classic argument that humanitarian assistance can either mitigate or accelerate conflicts. [20] This is also a major factor in conflict-induced displacement as humanitarian assistance can be diverted to support armed groups and actually prolong the conflict.  

Natural disasters and human rights  

It was the 2004 tsunami which brought the issue of human rights and natural disaster response to the fore of the international agenda. In part this was because of the sheer magnitude of the disaster and the scale of the response. Unlike most natural disasters, the response to the tsunamis was well-funded. With sufficient funding, relief agencies were able to develop ambitious programs and generally did not need to coordinate their efforts with others. At its worst, this led to competition between agencies for beneficiaries and awareness of the discriminatory impact of assistance. While such discrimination has likely been a feature in most disaster relief efforts, the sheer presence of hundreds of NGOs, bilateral aid agencies, and international organizations made it more apparent to observers. The fact that relief agencies were generally well-resourced also made it possible for them to devote more resources to monitoring and evaluation – which also highlighted not only inequitable patterns of assistance, but a range of protection issues. [21]   

In response to the tsunami, the Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Walter Kälin, developed  Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and Natural Disasters which were adopted by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee in 2006 and focus on what humanitarian actors should do to implement a rights-based approach to humanitarian action in the context of natural disasters. They provide concrete guidance on how to ensure that the rights of those affected by disasters are respected, are currently being revised on the basis of feedback from the field, and serve as a basis for a number of training and awareness-raising initiatives. They are based on the conviction that human rights are the legal underpinning of all humanitarian work related to natural disasters and to most humanitarian work with victims of internal conflicts. 

These guidelines emphasize that:

• Persons affected by natural disasters should enjoy the same rights and freedoms under human rights law as others in their country and not be discriminated against.
• States have the primary duty and responsibility to provide assistance to persons affected by natural disasters and to protect their human rights.
• Organizations providing protection and assistance accept that human rights underpin all humanitarian action.
• All communities affected by the disaster should be entitled to easily accessible information concerning the nature of the disaster they’re facing, possible mitigation measures that can be taken, early warning information, and information about ongoing humanitarian assistance.

The problems that are often encountered by persons affected by natural disasters include: unequal access to assistance; discrimination in aid provision; enforced relocation; sexual and gender-based violence; loss of documentation; recruitment of children into fighting forces; unsafe or involuntary return or resettlement; and issues of property restitution. These are similar to the problems experienced by those displaced or otherwise affected by conflicts. 

Although there is considerable discussion within the human rights community about prioritizing certain rights, it is generally accepted that the first priority is to protect life, personal security, and the physical integrity and dignity of affected populations by:

• Carrying out evacuations and relocations when necessary in order to protect life
• Protecting populations against the negative impacts of natural hazards
• Protecting populations against violence, including gender-based violence
• Providing security in camps when these are necessary
• Protecting people against anti-personnel landmines and other explosive devices

A second category of rights are those related to basic necessities of life, including:

• Access to goods and services and humanitarian assistance
• Provision of adequate food, and sanitation, shelter, clothing and essential health services.

Protection of other economic, social and cultural rights, including

• Property and possessions
• Livelihood and work

Finally, other civil and political rights need to be protected:

• Documentation
• Freedom of movement and right to ret urn
• Family life and missing or dead relatives
• Expression, assembly and association, and religion
• Electoral rights

This offers concrete guidance to those responding to natural disasters – whether governments, international organizations, or non-governmental organizations. For example, in the immediate aftermath of a flood, governments are often not able to provide necessary educational facilities for affected children. This can (and must) come later, once the children are protected against violence and have access to the basic necessities of life. Similarly, the right to documentation is a crucial issue for many affected by emergencies, but affected communities have a more urgent need for sufficient food and water. 

Even with the best of intentions by all concerned, it is sometimes not possible to ensure that the rights of all those affected by an emergency are fully and immediately respected. For example, access to affected populations is often difficult, those responsible for responding to disasters may themselves be affected, groups who are already socially vulnerable are usually the most affected by disasters and the logistical demands of ensuring that needed assistance items are in the right place and are delivered may be significant. Resources are almost always limited in the initial phase of disaster response. However, in preparing for disasters, governments and relief agencies can and should carry out their planning in such a way as to ensure that human rights are respected. And with the passage of time, it is usually more feasible for disaster response to incorporate an explicitly human rights focus. 

More than treaties and checklists, planning for emergency response requires adoption of a human rights perspective or mindset. This means that responders should constantly be asking themselves questions such as: “who are the vulnerable groups in this community and how do our plans ensure that they are protected and assisted?” “Even as we’re working to supply water to this community, is someone else working on the next phase of providing education and protecting the property of those who have left?” “How will our actions affect the rights of those who are not living in camps?” Developing a human rights mindset requires not only an understanding of international and national standards, but also a commitment to ensuring that the inherent dignity and basic human rights of all people are upheld.  

Adopting a human rights-based response to those affected by natural disasters is a concrete way to ensure that natural disasters do not exacerbate existing or provoke new conflicts.

[1] InterAgency Standing Committee, Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and Natural Disasters . Washington: Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, June 2006.

[2] http://www.sfmuseum.org/alm/quakes3.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/10/newsid_2544000/2544077.stm

[3] Juan Carlos Chavez, “In wealthy enclave of Pétionville, another picture,” Miami Herald , 22 January 2010. Republished under title “Haiti quake made gap between rich and poor even bigger,” in McClatchy , available: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/01/22/82900/haiti-quake-made-gap-between-rich.html.

“The Earthquake Recovery Process in Haiti,” statement by Walter Kälin, UN Human Rights Commission Special Session on Haiti, 27 January 2010.

[4] Action Aid and People’s Movement for Human Rights Learning, Habitat International Coalition on Housing and Land Rights Network, Tsunami response: A human rights assessment , Jan 2006.

[5] See United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat (UNISDR), Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction , 2009.

[6] OCHA, IDMC and NRC, Monitoring disaster displacement in the context of climate change , September 2009.

[7] Kevin McGill, Associated Press, “Saints, parades overshadow New Orleans mayor race,” http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/02/05/saints_parades_overshadow_new_orleans_mayor_race/ . See also: https://gnocdc.s3.amazonaws.com/NOLAIndex/NOLAIndex.pdf

[8] http://www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/(httpEnvelopes)/4D72DEF161EAD3AFC125764F004C19D4?OpenDocument

[9] http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/idp/docs/RSG_on_IDPS_Mission_Somalia.pdf

[10] “When the world shook”, The Economist , 30 June 1990, p. 45, cited in Rohan J. Hardcastle, Adrian T. L. Chua, “Humanitarian assistance: towards a right of access to victims of natural disasters,” International Review of the Red Cross no 325, December 1998, p.589.

[11] See Hardcastle and Chua, ibid .

[12] Philip Nel and Marjolein Righarts, “National Disasters and the Risk of Violent Civil Conflict,” International Studies Quarterly , vol. 52, 1, March 2008, p. 159.

[13] R.S. Olson and A.C. Drury, “Un-Therapeutic Communities: A Cross-National Analysis of Post-Disaster Political Unrest,” International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters , vol. 15, p. 8, 1997, http://web.missouri.edu/~drurya/articlesandpapers/IJMED1997.pdf.

[14] Rakhi Bhavnani, “Natural Disaster Conflicts,” Harvard University, February 2006, p. 4. Available at: http://www.disasterdiplomacy.org/bhavnanisummary.pdf

[15] Ibid. p. 38.

[16] Peter Bauman, Mengistu Ayalew, and Gazala Paul, “Natural Disaster: War and Peace.

A comparative analysis of the impact of the tsunami and tsunami interventions on the conflicts in Sri Lanka and Indonesia/Aceh,” unpublished manuscript. Also see P. LeBillon and A. Waizenegger, “Peace in the wake of disaster?” Secessionist conflicts and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2007 and M. Renner and Z. Chafe, “Turning Disaster into Peacemaking Opportunities,” in the State of the World. New York: World Watch Institute, 2006.

[17] See also Peter Feith, “The Aceh Peace Process: Nothing Less than Success,” US Institute of Peace Briefing Paper, March 2007 http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr184.pdf . Also see Walter Kälin, op cit.

[18] http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004BE3B1/(httpInfoFiles)/FFBBFDF012F17ADEC1257227004203D7/$file/Sri%20Lanka%20-November%202006.pdf , p. 37.

[19] Susanna M. Hoffman and Anthony Oliver-Smith, (eds.) Culture and Catastrophe: The Anthropology of Disaster , Santa Fe, New Mexico: The School of American Research Press, 2002.

[20] Mary Anderson, Do No Harm: How Aid can Support Peace – or War., Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999. Also see www.disasterdiplomacy.org for discussion of the ways in which natural disasters create opportunities for diplomatic initiatives.

[21] See for example: Harry Masyrafah and Jock MJA McKean, Post-tsunami aid effectiveness in Aceh: Proliferation and Coordination in Reconstruction , Brookings Wolfensohn Center for Development, Working Paper 6, November 2008, p. 24. Also see East-West Center, Berkeley University, “After the tsunami: human rights of vulnerable populations,” October 2005.

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April 1, 2021

Climate Action: It’s time to make peace with nature, UN chief urges

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The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has described the fight against the climate crisis as the top priority for the 21st Century, in a passionate, uncompromising speech delivered on Wednesday at Columbia University in New York.

The landmark address marks the beginning of a month of UN-led climate action, which includes the release of major reports on the global climate and fossil fuel production, culminating in a climate summit on 12 December, the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

Nature always strikes back

Mr. Guterres began with a litany of the many ways in which nature is reacting, with “growing force and fury”, to humanity’s mishandling of the environment, which has seen a collapse in biodiversity, spreading deserts, and oceans reaching record temperatures.

The link between COVID-19 and man-made climate change was also made plain by the UN chief, who noted that the continued encroachment of people and livestock into animal habitats, risks exposing us to more deadly diseases.

And, whilst the economic slowdown resulting from the pandemic has temporarily slowed emissions of harmful greenhouse gases, levels of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane are still rising, with the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere at a record high. Despite this worrying trend, fossil fuel production – responsible for a significant proportion of greenhouse gases – is predicted to continue on an upward path.

‘Time to flick the green switch’

The appropriate global response, said the Secretary-General, is a transformation of the world economy, flicking the “green switch” and building a sustainable system driven by renewable energy, green jobs and a resilient future.

One way to achieve this vision, is by achieving net zero emissions (read our feature story on net zero for a full explanation, and why it is so important). There are encouraging signs on this front, with several developed countries, including the UK, Japan and China, committing to the goal over the next few decades.

Mr. Guterres called on all countries, cities and businesses to target 2050 as the date by which they achieve carbon neutrality – to at least halt national increases in emissions - and for all individuals to do their part.

With the cost of renewable energy continuing to fall, this transition makes economic sense, and will lead to a net creation of 18 million jobs over the next 10 years. Nevertheless, the UN chief pointed out, the G20, the world’s largest economies, are planning to spend 50 per cent more on sectors linked to fossil fuel production and consumption, than on low-carbon energy.

Put a price on carbon

For years, many climate experts and activists have called for the cost of carbon-based pollution to be factored into the price of fossil fuels, a step that Mr. Guterres said would provide certainty and confidence for the private and financial sectors.

Companies, he declared, need to adjust their business models, ensuring that finance is directed to the green economy, and pension funds, which manage some $32 trillion in assets, need to step and invest in carbon-free portfolios.

Far more money, continued the Secretary-General, needs to be invested in adapting to the changing climate, which is hindering the UN’s work on disaster risk reduction. The international community, he said, has “both a moral imperative and a clear economic case, for supporting developing countries to adapt and build resilience to current and future climate impacts”.

Everything is interlinked

The COVID-19 pandemic put paid to many plans, including the UN’s ambitious plan to make 2020 the “super year” for buttressing the natural world. That ambition has now been shifted to 2021, and will involve a number of major climate-related international commitments.

These include the development of a plan to halt the biodiversity crisis; an Oceans Conference to protect marine environments; a global sustainable transport conference; and the first Food Systems Summit, aimed at transforming global food production and consumption.

Mr. Guterres ended his speech on a note of hope, amid the prospect of a new, more sustainable world in which mindsets are shifting, to take into account the importance of reducing each individual’s carbon footprint.

Far from looking to return to “normal”, a world of inequality, injustice and “heedless dominion over the Earth”, the next step, said the Secretary-General, should be towards a safer, more sustainable and equitable path, and for mankind to rethink our relationship with the natural world – and with each other.

You can read the full speech here .

Our planet is in a state of climate emergency.But I also see hope.There is momentum toward carbon neutrality. Many cities are becoming greener. The circular economy is reducing waste. Environmental laws have growing reach. And many people are taking #ClimateAction. pic.twitter.com/dDAHH279Er António Guterres, UN Secretary-General antonioguterres December 2, 2020

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Whether people prepare for natural disasters depends on how the message is sent

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Carmen Elrick-Barr acknowledges support from Australian Government through the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects Funding Scheme (Projects FT180100652 and DP1093583).

Tim Smith acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council's Discovery Projects Funding Scheme (Projects FT180100652 and DP1093583). The views expressed herein are those of the authors, and are not necessarily those of the University of the Sunshine Coast, the Australian Research Council, or the Australian Government.

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Coastal areas are at the frontline of natural hazards – a fact now thrown into sharp relief as flooding devastates parts of southeastern Australia.

Providing information is one of the most important ways governments can help communities cope with these events. Such information aims to encourage people to make more informed decisions about the risks they face and act accordingly.

But as our new research shows, simply providing information is not enough. We found when authorities deliver generic information about natural hazards via passive means, such as radio ads and brochures, most households did not change their behaviour.

To ensure our communities remain resilient in the face of worsening natural disasters, governments must find better ways to deliver important messages.

Barriers to being prepared

Numerous studies have suggested providing the public with information can overcome knowledge gaps, overcome inertia and prompt people to change their behaviour.

But even if a person is informed about the risks of natural hazards, other factors can influence their willingness to prepare for them.

For example, financial constraints might mean a person cannot stock up on food supplies before a storm hits.

Some people may simply not consider themselves to be at risk. Others may have competing priorities such as work or child care.

That means we need to better understand what types of information best lead to behaviour change and how barriers to action can be overcome.

Does passive information work?

Information can be categorised into three types:

passive (seeks to reach a wide audience through, for example, online communication, pamphlets or radio ads)

interactive (information derived through interactions with other people)

experiential (information gleaned from personal life experiences).

Information provided by governments to coastal households is predominantly passive. For example, households are often encouraged to access information on natural hazards such as floods , and how to prepare for climate change.

We set out to test the effectiveness of this passive approach to delivering information.

Read more: Weather forecasts won't save us – we must pre-empt monster floods years before they hit

What we found

Our study focused on two Australian coastal communities: Mandurah in Western Australia and Moreton Bay in Queensland.

We surveyed households and conducted interviews with locals. We explored the types of information that shape responses to three hazard scenarios: a heatwave, a severe storm and sea-level rise.

People who wanted more information about their exposure to future climate risks were more likely to:

• perceive their local area as vulnerable to environmental hazards
• consider local environmental health important to their households’ wellbeing.

Likewise, people who wanted information on preparing for climate hazards believed:

• households were very capable of managing the impacts
• their local council was capable of preventing harm.

However, passive information rarely informed a person’s response to natural hazards. Instead, people tended to believe in the power of “common sense”, especially when dealing with short-term impacts of hazards.

For example, one interviewee said no response to a heatwave was required, but “if you do have to go out you don’t go out for very long”.

Household action was also informed by past experience. One Mandurah resident told us:

We did have a scenario here […] we had a pretty severe storm and were out of power. So I have lots of candles and you just get by.

Conversely, a Moreton Bay resident drew on their past exposure to a storm to justify the limited need for action:

The area has never been affected by those sort of floods […] it hasn’t stopped us from doing the day-to-day things like getting kids to school.

But as extreme weather worsens under climate change, basing decisions on past experiences may not be sufficient.

When it came to responding to hazards, most people adopted short-term coping strategies, such as securing loose items in their yard.

Other more proactive actions, such as installing window protection, were limited. There was also a lack of collective actions such as joining local recovery or conservation efforts.

Read more: The floods have killed at least 21 Australians. Adapting to a harsher climate is now a life-or-death matter

Where to from here?

Prior exposure to a climate hazard appears to drive some people to adapt. But most households generally employ coping strategies, informed by perceptions of common sense.

So what type of information best promotes the transition from short-term coping with natural hazards to longer-term adaptation?

The answer may lie in promoting adaptation well before natural disasters hit as a “common sense” response to the climate threat.

Passive information rarely contains targeted information that can capture the interest of all households. So there’s value in moving beyond this approach.

Two-way communication tools such as workshops, demonstrations, community events and harnessing opinion leaders offer promise. They enable collective discussion where participants can share experiences, beliefs and values, building trust and collaboration.

Read more: Under-resourced and undermined: as floods hit south-west Sydney, our research shows councils aren't prepared

Some households value passive information. But if resilience to climate hazards is indeed the objective, communication promoting household response must change.

Whether information resonates with a household depends on various factors, including their capacity to respond. So improving people’s confidence in their capability to act may also trigger better adaptation.

But households should not be seen solely as individual units acting to reduce their personal risk. They are also part of a broader system and can contribute to social change through collective action.

This might include collectively lobbying politicians, sharing experiences and strategies, and helping each other during times of crisis.

As climate change threatens to bring more severe and frequent natural disasters, more research is needed into information that encourages people to cope and adapt – both individually and together.

• Climate change
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• government messaging

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Persuasive Speech: How to Write an Effective Persuasive Speech

Most often, it actually causes the other person to want to play “Devil’s advocate” and argue with you. In this article, we are going to show you a simple way to win people to your way of thinking without raising resentment. If you use this technique, your audience will actually WANT to agree with you! The process starts with putting yourself in the shoes of your listener and looking at things from their point of view.

Background About How to Write a Persuasive Speech. Facts Aren’t Very Persuasive.

Most people think that a single fact is good, additional facts are better, and too many facts are just right. So, the more facts you can use to prove your point, the better chance you have of convincing the other person that you are right. The HUGE error in this logic, though, is that if you prove that you are right, you are also proving that the other person is wrong. People don’t like it when someone proves that they are wrong. So, we prove our point, the other person is likely to feel resentment. When resentment builds, it leads to anger. Once anger enters the equation, logic goes right out the window.

In addition, when people use a “fact” or “Statistic” to prove a point, the audience has a natural reaction to take a contrary side of the argument. For instance, if I started a statement with, “I can prove to you beyond a doubt that…” before I even finish the statement, there is a good chance that you are already trying to think of a single instance where the statement is NOT true. This is a natural response. As a result, the thing that we need to realize about being persuasive is that the best way to persuade another person is to make the person want to agree with us. We do this by showing the audience how they can get what they want if they do what we want.

You may also like How to Design and Deliver a Memorable Speech .

A Simple 3-Step Process to Create a Persuasive Presentation

The process below is a good way to do both.

Step One: Start Your Persuasive Speech with an Example or Story

When you write an effective persuasive speech, stories are vital. Stories and examples have a powerful way to capture an audience’s attention and set them at ease. They get the audience interested in the presentation. Stories also help your audience see the concepts you are trying to explain in a visual way and make an emotional connection. The more details that you put into your story, the more vivid the images being created in the minds of your audience members.

This concept isn’t mystical or anything. It is science. When we communicate effectively with another person, the purpose is to help the listener picture a concept in his/her mind that is similar to the concept in the speaker’s mind. The old adage is that a “picture is worth 1000 words.” Well, an example or a story is a series of moving pictures. So, a well-told story is worth thousands of words (facts).

By the way, there are a few additional benefits of telling a story. Stories help you reduce nervousness, make better eye contact, and make for a strong opening. For additional details, see Storytelling in Speeches .

I’ll give you an example.

Factual Argument: Seatbelts Save Lives

• 53% of all motor vehicle fatalities from last years were people who weren’t wearing seatbelts.
• People not wearing seatbelts are 30 times more likely to be ejected from the vehicle.
• In a single year, crash deaths and injuries cost us over $70 billion dollars.

These are actual statistics. However, when you read each bullet point, you are likely to be a little skeptical. For instance, when you see the 53% statistic, you might have had the same reaction that I did. You might be thinking something like, “Isn’t that right at half? Doesn’t that mean that the other half WERE wearing seatbelts?” When you see the “30 times more likely” statistic, you might be thinking, “That sounds a little exaggerated. What are the actual numbers?” Looking at the last statistic, we’d likely want to know exactly how the reporter came to that conclusion.

As you can see, if you are a believer that seatbelts save lives, you will likely take the numbers at face value. If you don’t like seatbelts, you will likely nitpick the finer points of each statistic. The facts will not likely persuade you.

Example Argument: Seatbelts Save Lives

When I came to, I tried to open my door. The accident sealed it shut. The windshield was gone. So I took my seatbelt off and scrambled out the hole. The driver of the truck was a bloody mess. His leg was pinned under the steering wheel.

The firefighters came a few minutes later, and it took them over 30 minutes to cut the metal from around his body to free him.

A Sheriff’s Deputy saw a cut on my face and asked if I had been in the accident. I pointed to my truck. His eyes became like saucers. “You were in that vehicle?”

I nodded. He rushed me to an ambulance. I had actually ruptured my colon, and I had to have surgery. I was down for a month or so, but I survived. In fact, I survived with very few long-term challenges from the accident.

The guy who hit me wasn’t so lucky. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. The initial impact of the accident was his head on the steering wheel and then the windshield. He had to have a number of facial surgeries. The only reason he remained in the truck was his pinned leg. For me, the accident was a temporary trauma. For him, it was a life-long tragedy.

The Emotional Difference is the Key

As you can see, there are major differences between the two techniques. The story gives lots of memorable details along with an emotion that captures the audience. If you read both examples, let me ask you a couple of questions. Without looking back up higher on the page, how long did it take the firefighters to cut the other driver from the car? How many CDs did I have? There is a good chance that these two pieces of data came to you really quickly. You likely remembered this data, even though, the data wasn’t exactly important to the story.

However, if I asked you how much money was lost last year as a result of traffic accidents, you might struggle to remember that statistic. The CDs and the firefighters were a part of a compelling story that made you pay attention. The money lost to accidents was just a statistic thrown at you to try to prove that a point was true.

The main benefit of using a story, though, is that when we give statistics (without a story to back them up,) the audience becomes argumentative. However, when we tell a story, the audience can’t argue with us. The audience can’t come to me after I told that story and say, “It didn’t take 30 minutes to cut the guy out of the car. He didn’t have to have a bunch of reconstructive surgeries. The Deputy didn’t say those things to you! The audience can’t argue with the details of the story, because they weren’t there.

Step 2: After the Story, Now, Give Your Advice

When most people write a persuasive presentation, they start with their opinion. Again, this makes the listener want to play Devil’s advocate. By starting with the example, we give the listener a simple way to agree with us. They can agree that the story that we told was true. So, now, finish the story with your point or your opinion. “So, in my opinion, if you wear a seatbelt, you’re more likely to avoid serious injury in a severe crash.”

By the way, this technique is not new. It has been around for thousands of years. Aesop was a Greek slave over 500 years before Christ. His stories were passed down verbally for hundreds of years before anyone ever wrote them down in a collection. Today, when you read an Aesop fable, you will get 30 seconds to two minutes of the story first. Then, at the conclusion, almost as a post-script, you will get the advice. Most often, this advice comes in the form of, “The moral of the story is…” You want to do the same in your persuasive presentations. Spend most of the time on the details of the story. Then, spend just a few seconds in the end with your morale.

Step 3: End with the Benefit to the Audience

So, the moral of the story is to wear your seatbelt. If you do that, you will avoid being cut out of your car and endless reconstructive surgeries .

Now, instead of leaving your audience wanting to argue with you, they are more likely to be thinking, “Man, I don’t want to be cut out of my car or have a bunch of facial surgeries.”

The process is very simple. However, it is also very powerful.

How to Write a Successful Persuasive Speech Using the “Breadcrumb” Approach

Once you understand the concept above, you can create very powerful persuasive speeches by linking a series of these persuasive stories together. I call this the breadcrumb strategy. Basically, you use each story as a way to move the audience closer to the ultimate conclusion that you want them to draw. Each story gains a little more agreement.

So, first, just give a simple story about an easy to agree with concept. You will gain agreement fairly easily and begin to also create an emotional appeal. Next, use an additional story to gain additional agreement. If you use this process three to five times, you are more likely to get the audience to agree with your final conclusion. If this is a formal presentation, just make your main points into the persuasive statements and use stories to reinforce the points.

Here are a few persuasive speech examples using this approach.

An Example of a Persuasive Public Speaking Using Breadcrumbs

Marijuana Legalization is Causing Huge Problems in Our Biggest Cities Homelessness is Out of Control in First States to Legalize Marijuana Last year, my family and I took a mini-vacation to Colorado Springs. I had spent a summer in Colorado when I was in college, so I wanted my family to experience the great time that I had had there as a youth. We were only there for four days, but we noticed something dramatic had happened. There were homeless people everywhere. Keep in mind, this wasn’t Denver, this was Colorado City. The picturesque landscape was clouded by ripped sleeping bags on street corners, and trash spread everywhere. We were downtown, and my wife and daughter wanted to do some shopping. My son and I found a comic book store across the street to browse in. As we came out, we almost bumped into a dirty man in torn close. He smiled at us, walked a few feet away from the door, and lit up a joint. He sat on the corner smoking it. As my son and I walked the 1/4 mile back to the store where we left my wife and daughter, we stepped over and walked around over a dozen homeless people camped out right in the middle of the town. This was not the Colorado that I remembered. From what I’ve heard, it has gotten even worse in the last year. So, if you don’t want to dramatically increase your homelessness population, don’t make marijuana legal in your state. DUI Instances and Traffic Accidents Have Increased in Marijuana States I was at the airport waiting for a flight last week, and the guy next to me offered me his newspaper. I haven’t read a newspaper in years, but he seemed so nice that I accepted. It was a copy of the USA Today, and it was open to an article about the rise in unintended consequences from legalizing marijuana. Safety officials and police in Colorado, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon, the first four state to legalize recreational marijuana, have reported a 6% increase in traffic accidents in the last few years. Although the increase (6%) doesn’t seem very dramatic, it was notable because the rate of accidents had been decreasing in each of the states for decades prior to the law change. Assuming that only one of the two parties involved in these new accidents was under the influence, that means that people who aren’t smoking marijuana are being negatively affected by the legalization. So, if you don’t want to increase your chances of being involved in a DUI incident, don’t legalize marijuana. (Notice how I just used an article as my evidence, but to make it more memorable, I told the story about how I came across the article. It is also easier to deliver this type of data because you are just relating what you remember about the data, not trying to be an expert on the data itself.) Marijuana is Still Largely Unregulated Just before my dad went into hospice care, he was in a lot of pain. He would take a prescription painkiller before bed to sleep. One night, my mom called frantically. Dad was in a catatonic state and wasn’t responsive. I rushed over. The hospital found that Dad had an unusually high amount of painkillers in his bloodstream. His regular doctor had been on vacation, and the fill-in doctor had prescribed a much higher dosage of the painkiller by accident. His original prescription was 2.5 mg, and the new prescription was 10 mg. Since dad was in a lot of pain most nights, he almost always took two tablets. He was also on dialysis, so his kidneys weren’t filtering out the excess narcotic each day. He had actually taken 20 MG (instead of 5 MG) on Friday night and another 20 mg on Saturday. Ordinarily, he would have had, at max, 15 mg of the narcotic in his system. Because of the mistake, though, he had 60 MGs. My point is that the narcotics that my dad was prescribed were highly regulated medicines under a doctor’s care, and a mistake was still made that almost killed him. With marijuana, there is really no way of knowing how much narcotic is in each dosage. So, mistakes like this are much more likely. So, in conclusion, legalizing marijuana can increase homelessness, increase the number of impaired drivers, and cause accidental overdoses.

If you use this breadcrumb approach, you are more likely to get at least some agreement. Even if the person disagrees with your conclusion, they are still likely to at least see your side. So, the person may say something like, I still disagree with you, but I totally see your point. That is still a step in the right direction.

For Real-World Practice in How to Design Persuasive Presentations Join Us for a Class

Our instructors are experts at helping presenters design persuasive speeches. We offer the Fearless Presentations ® classes in cities all over the world about every three to four months. In addition to helping you reduce nervousness, your instructor will also show you secrets to creating a great speech. For details about any of the classes, go to our Presentation Skills Class web page.

For additional details, see Persuasive Speech Outline Example .

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How to Write an Effective Persuasive Speech Outline: 5 Key Elements

• The Speaker Lab
• April 14, 2024

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If you’re a speaker, you are probably well familiar with the path from initial speech drafts to the day you actually present. By its nature, speech delivery is a journey filled with obstacles, yet it’s simultaneously an adventure in persuasion. With a well-crafted persuasive speech outline , you can do more than just present facts and figures to your audience. You can weave them into a narrative that captivates, convinces, and converts.

A meticulously planned persuasive speech outline isn’t just helpful; it’s essential. Crafting this blueprint carefully lets you deliver your message more effectively, making sure each point lands with the impact you’re aiming for. To help you achieve this impact, we have some tips and tricks for you to try.

Writing an Effective Persuasive Speech Outline

When we talk about persuasive speeches , we’re diving into the art of convincing others to see things from a certain point of view. Your speech is your one shot to grab attention, build your case, and inspire action. Your secret weapon for achieving this is your speech outline. In your speech outline, you want to touch on several key elements.

• Pick your fight: Start by zeroing in on what you really want to change or influence with this speech.
• Support your claim with evidence: Identify those key points that back up your stance to appeal to your audience’s rational side .
• The emotional hook: Weave in stories or facts that hit home emotionally .
• Avoid the kitchen sink approach: Don’t throw everything at them hoping something sticks. Be selective and strategic with the info you share.
• Nail that closer: Your conclusion isn’t just goodbye; it’s where you charge your audience with a call to action.

These elements form the backbone of your persuasive speech. By including these in your talk’s outline, you can’t go wrong.

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Establishing Your Main Objective and Structuring Your Points

Now that you have a general idea of what goes into a persuasive speech outline, let’s break a couple of these pieces down and look at them a little more closely.

Identifying the Purpose of Your Persuasive Speech

When writing your speech, you first need to nail down why you’re doing this in the first place. In other words, identify your main objective. After all, choosing to speak up isn’t merely about the desire to express oneself; it’s deeply rooted in understanding the effect you hope your discourse will unleash. Do you hope to sway opinions towards the belief that animal experimentation is a relic of the past? Or perhaps persuade them that social media does more good than harm? Whatever your cause, identifying your main objective will help keep you on track and avoid rambling.

Organizing Key Points for Maximum Impact

Once you’ve determined what you want to persuade your audience of, you can start building your argument. Specifically, you can determine your key points. Key points support your position on a topic, proving to your audience that you have actual reasons for taking your position.

To pack the most punch, arrange these key points in a logical order. Consider how you might connect your key points. Are there some that can be grouped together? The flow of your argument matters just as much as the argument itself, and a disjointed argument won’t do anyone any favors. As you organize your key points, consider these tips:

• Lead with strength, but don’t throw all your cards out at once.
• Build upon each point; important transitions between them can make or break audience engagement.
• Finish strong by tying back everything to the emotional chord you struck at the beginning.

Nailing these steps will ensure that when you speak, your message doesn’t just echo—it resonates.

Selecting Compelling Topics for Your Persuasive Speeches

Let’s face it, picking the right topic for your persuasive speech outline is half the battle. But what makes a topic not just good, but great? First off, it needs to spark interest, both yours and your audience’s. If you’re not fired up about it, chances are they won’t be either. Second, make sure the topic is something relevant. It should resonate with your listeners’ experiences or touch on their concerns and aspirations. Lastly, your topic has to be something you can research and back up with solid facts and expert opinions.

For ideas to get you started, check out a variety of speech topics here .

Enhancing Persuasion Through Rhetorical Appeals

The art of persuasion is something that’s been studied since ancient Greece. Back then, Greek philosopher Aristotle came up with the three rhetorical appeals . Each one described a different way of convincing your audience of your position. Together, these appeals help you form a rock-strong argument, making them worth learning.

Building Credibility with Ethos

To get people on your side, you first need to win their trust. That’s where ethos comes into play. Demonstrating to your listeners that you’re both trustworthy and deserving of their attention hinges on transparency about your qualifications, genuine self, and the wisdom gained from occasional setbacks. Letting folks know why they should listen can make all the difference.

Connecting with the Audience Through Pathos

At some point, we’ve all been moved by a story or an ad because it hit right in the feels. That sort of emotional appeal is called pathos , and it’s powerful stuff. If you want people really invested in what you’re saying, then be sure to use this appeal in your presentation. To harness the power of pathos, try telling a story , especially one your audience can relate to. The key is authenticity—sharing true experiences resonates more than anything fabricated ever could.

Strengthening Arguments with Logos

Last but not least, we have logos, our logical appeal. Oftentimes, this logical appeal entails facts and data points, which are used to back up what you’re selling, turning skeptics into believers. But just because you’re listing facts and figures doesn’t mean this part has to be boring. To keep your audience engaged, craft persuasive narratives and then ground them in robust proof. Giving your story to go with your numbers doesn’t just help keep them engaged, it also helps the information stick.

The Importance of Supporting Evidence and Counterarguments

In your persuasive speech outline, you need to note compelling evidence for each key point. In addition, you’ll want to address opposing views.

Gathering and Presenting Convincing Evidence

No matter how trustworthy you seem, or how compelling your stories are, most people need tangible proof. That’s where concrete evidence steps into the spotlight. To fortify your argument and boost its believability, sprinkle in a mix of hard data, customer stories, numerical evidence, and endorsements from authorities. To illustrate this data for your audience, you may find it helpful to create a slideshow . Supporting every assertion with research is an essential part of any persuasive speech. Without it, arguments inevitably sound flimsy and unconvincing.

Addressing Opposing Views Effectively

Although it may seem counterintuitive, address counter-arguments head-on in your persuasive speech outline. It might feel like walking into enemy territory but it actually strengthens your own argument. By acknowledging opposing views, you’re showing that not only do you know what they are, but also that they don’t scare you.

When you address these counter-arguments, demonstrate your understanding. Again, this is where your good research skills are going to come in handy. Present the facts, and ditch biased explanations. In other words, don’t mock or belittle the other side’s viewpoint or you’ll undermine your own trustworthiness. Instead, explain opposing viewpoints with neutrality.

Adopting this strategy not only neutralizes possible objections but also enhances your stance. Plus, this makes for an engaging dialogue between both sides of any debate, which keeps audience members hooked from start to finish.

In essence, tackling counter-arguments is less about winning over naysayers and more about enriching discussions around hot-button issues. At its core, persuasion isn’t just convincing folks; it’s sparking conversations worth having.

Crafting a Captivating Introduction and Conclusion

Now that you have the body of your persuasive speech outline, it’s time to talk beginning and end. To really hit your message home, you want to grab your audience’s attention at the beginning and call them to action at the end.

Creating an Engaging Hook to Capture Attention

The opening of your speech is where you need a good first impression. To hook your audience, consider starting with an intriguing question, a surprising fact, or even a short story related to your topic. Whatever route you choose, keep it interesting and concise, so that you can transition into the rest of your persuasive speech outline.

Concluding with a Strong Call to Action

Crafting strong conclusions is about leaving your readers feeling pumped and ready to jump into action. After all, if you’ve argued convincingly enough, your audience should be ready to act. To channel this energy, urge listeners towards specific actions. Here are some strategies:

• Suggest clear next steps: Don’t leave your audience hanging wondering what’s next. Give them concrete steps they can take immediately after reading.
• Create urgency: Why wait? Let folks know why now is the perfect time to act.
• Show benefits: Paint vivid pictures of how taking action will positively impact their lives or solve their problems.

With that captivating hook and a decisive call-to-action, you are one step closer to presenting an unforgettable speech.

Utilizing Monroe’s Motivated Sequence for Persuasive Structure

As you finish off your persuasive speech outline, you may be wondering how best to structure your speech. If that’s you, then Purdue University professor Alan H. Monroe has some answers. In his book “Monroe’s Principles of Speech,” the professor outlines Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, the best structure for persuasive speeches. Each step is broken down below.

Attention: Grabbing the Audience’s Focus

You’ve got something important to say. But first, you need them to listen. Start with a bang. Throwing out a shocking truth, posing a thought-provoking query, or sharing an enthralling tale could work magic in grabbing their attention. It’s all about making heads turn and ears perk up.

Need: Highlighting the Issue at Hand

Now that they’re listening, show them there’s a gaping hole in their lives that only your message can fill. Paint a vivid picture of the problem your speech addresses.

Satisfaction: Proposing a Solution

This is where you come in as the hero with a plan. Introduce your solution clearly and convincingly. How does it patch things up? Why does it outshine merely applying quick fixes to deep-rooted issues? Give your audience hope.

Visualization: Helping the Audience Visualize Benefits

Show them life on the other side of adopting your idea or product—brighter, easier, better. Use vivid imagery and relatable scenarios so they can see themselves reaping those benefits firsthand.

Action: Encouraging Audience Action

Last step: nudge them from “maybe” to “yes.” Make this part irresistible by being clear about what action they should take next—and why now’s the time to act. Whether signing up, voting, or changing behavior, make sure they know how easy taking that first step can be.

Learn more about Monroe’s Motivated Sequence here .

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Overcoming Public Speaking Fears for Effective Delivery

Let’s face it, the thought of public speaking can turn even the most confident folks into a bundle of nerves. But hey, you’ve got this. Dive into these expert strategies and you’ll find yourself delivering speeches like a seasoned orator in no time.

Techniques to Build Confidence in Public Speaking

If you’re feeling nervous on the big day, these three techniques are perfect for you. Take a look!

• Breathe: Deep breathing is your secret weapon against those pesky nerves. It tells your brain that everything is going to be okay.
• Pose like a superhero: Stand tall and strike a power pose before you go on stage. This isn’t just fun; science backs it up as a confidence booster .
• Kick perfectionism to the curb: Aim for connection with your audience, not perfection. Mistakes make you human and more relatable.

The goal here is to calm yourself enough to be able to deliver your persuasive speech outline with confidence. Even if you still feel a little nervous, you can still present an awesome speech. You just don’t want those nerves running the show.

Practicing Your Speech for Perfect Execution

If you know that you tend to get nervous when public speaking, then you don’t want to be running through you speech for the first time on the big day. Instead, practice beforehand using these techniques.

• The mirror is your friend: Practice in front of a mirror to catch any odd gestures or facial expressions.
• Vary your voice: As you deliver your speech, let your voice rise and fall to match what you’re sharing. Avoid speaking in a monotone.
• Say no to memorization: Rather than memorizing every word, learn key points by heart. You want to sound natural out there.

Remembering these steps won’t just help you tackle public speaking fear, but will also polish those all-important public speaking skills .

Once you’ve honed the skills you need to write a persuasive speech outline, the only thing left to do is to get out there and practice them. So take the rhetorical appeals—ethos, logos, and pathos—and practice weaving each element into your speech. Or take Monroe’s Motivated Sequence and work on structuring your outline accordingly.

Prepare well and when you hit the stage, you have not just a well-prepared persuasive speech outline, but also the power to alter perspectives, challenge the status quo, or even change lives.

• Last Updated: April 11, 2024

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Speech by Administrator Samantha Power on The End of Climate Shocks

Administrator Power delivers remarks at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center. The speech “The End of Climate Shocks” highlights the increasing frequency of climate-related disasters and discusses what the world can do to build climate resilience and help impacted communities better prepare.

With 2023 marked by near-constant record-breaking heat waves, floods, fires, and storms, climate shocks have now become so regular that they can hardly be called “shocks” any longer. Yet despite the regularity of climate-driven disasters, we are not prepared for them, allowing them to “shock” systems and destroy infrastructure, crops, and communities. Administrator Power discusses steps policymakers and business leaders can take to increase climate resilience, help communities prepare and respond to climate disasters, and end this era of repeat deadly shock.

The End of Climate Shocks

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Administrator samantha power calls for increased focus and funding to prepare communities around the world for increasingly deadly and dangerous climate shocks.

• January 30, 2024 | Press Release

Administrator Samantha Power on “The End of Climate Shocks”

• January 30, 2024 | Speech

Administrator Samantha Power to Deliver Speech on the End of Climate Shocks

• January 25, 2024 | Media Advisories

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Short Speech on Natural Diaster in English for Students and Children

Good morning to our respected Principal, teachers and my fellow schoolmates. Today on this special occasion, I would like to speak on the topic- Natural disaster.

We all know that a natural disaster is an unforeseen occurrence of an event in society that causes harm in society. There are many natural disasters that affect our environment such as earthquakes , cyclones, Tsunami , hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, etc.

Over these past years, natural disasters have been seen around the world taking the lives of many people in the world. People have been losing their friends, property, relatives, shelter, etc. For example, a tsunami in 2004, Earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, and the Haiti Earthquake in 2010.

It is an inevitable event that affects our environment. It has a long history of occurrence that cannot be predicted nor it can be avoided. But having full knowledge about a disaster can help us control the losses if we are fully prepared for it.

In some countries, there are disaster management cells that are functional. There are recovery plans for disasters too. Then there are people in the country that come forward to help the affected people. Disaster management has also become a part of the school syllabus now. All these are helpful in minimizing the losses from a natural disaster.

Basically, awareness of a disaster is the key! Other than this requirement for successful disaster management activity is cooperation by the affected people. Monitoring is also important after the measures as affected people settlement may take years.

In the end, I would like to add that we should take as many precautions as we can for any and every natural disaster happening in the world. We should also study them for better preparedness and take the necessary steps to stay safe.

Thank you for lending me your ears.

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85 Tornado Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best tornado topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 good essay topics on tornado, 🔎 most interesting tornado topics to write about, ❓ research questions about tornadoes.

• Natural Disasters: Tornadoes, Earthquakes, and Hurricanes Hence the loss may depend on the population of the area affected and also the capacity of the population to support or resist the disaster.
• Bobsville’s Emergency Plan for Tornado Disaster It shows, to the best extent, actions Bobsville and its’ municipalities government should take, working together with private and public organizations, seeking to develop the capacity for the government to protect citizens from tornadoes.
• The Tornado Super Outbreak of 2011 The event was catastrophic; however, the presence of the imagery looping played a crucial role in giving out data regarding the situation.
• The Tornado Incident in Southern Ontario The Tornado incident that occurred in Southern Ontario in 2009 is described as a sequence of various rigorous thunderstorms that led to a chain of many tornadoes leading to the South West regions of Ontario, […]
• Hurricanes and Tornadoes: Prevention of Failures In addition, mobile radio stations may be installed, and public safety services may develop appropriate protocols to assign shared emergency channels.
• Managing Future Risks of Tornado The first loss experienced by the bank is business interruption, as the property from where the business operates had to close because of the tornado.
• The US Tornado Outbreak of 16-17 December 2019 Tornadoes being part of the worst occurrences that are always witnessed within the country, the paper explored one of the worst tornadoes to hit the majority regions of the United States on December 16-17, 2019.
• “Oklahoma’s Deadliest Tornadoes” Documentary In this case, large scale damage to business facilities and homes means the destruction of the building itself along with all forms of production equipment and machinery.
• Tornado: “Hunt for the Super Twister” Documentary Based on the documentary and the supposed increase in the number of tornadoes, that are occurring, I have come up with the assumption that the higher amounts of tornadoes are due to the adverse weather […]
• How AlphaPet Dealt With the Ala Tornadoes? When considering this sphere, it is essential to make sure that the facility will have the necessary power to communicate with different departments and facilities, as well as the rest of the world.
• Community Hazard: Tornado in Joplin Missouri Transport system and utility disruption hazards were witnessed due to impact of natural hazard of the tornado in the form of storms and heavy downpour.
• Hackleburg, Alabama Tornado It is worth to note that the April 28 2011 tornado did have three major tracks in the state of Alabama.
• Tornado’s Variations and Formation As a result, the formation of tornadoes can be affected by Bernoulli’s principle since most tornadoes show a local vortex flow whereby the velocity of the flow is greatest at the center of the vortex.
• School Preparedness Plan for Tornado, Earthquakes, Fire Emergency In case of an earthquake emergency, the school should be prepared to keep the students safe. In case of a tornado emergency the school should be prepared to keep the students safe.
• Difference Between Hurricanes and Tornados
• Disaster Management Plan for Tornado
• Employment Dynamics and the Nashville Tornado
• Engineering-Based Tornado Damage Assessment
• Numerical Tool for Assessing Tornado Vulnerability of Residential Structures
• Hindcasting Community-Level Building Damage for Tornado
• How Storms Develop the Middle of Tornado Alley
• Iowa Tornado Outbreak 2008 and Its Outcomes
• Embracing Technology in Tornado Recovery
• Exploring Transformational Learning Following a Tornado
• Machine-Learning Classifiers for Imbalanced Tornado Data
• Perceptions and Expected Immediate Reactions to Tornado Warning Polygons
• Spider Plots Versus Tornado Diagrams for Sensitivity Analysis
• Stochastic Track Model for Tornado Risk Assessment in the U.S.
• The Great Tri-State Tornado, the Most Devastating Tornado in American History
• Greensburg Tornado Before and After
• Tornado and the Importance of Be Prepared
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration About Tornado
• The Super Tornado Outbreak of 1974
• The Temporal Trends and Spatial Pattern of Tornado Activity
• The Tragedy and Horror of the Joplin Tornado
• The Worst Tornado That Hit Pennsylvania in 1985
• Tips for Tornado Emergency Preparation
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• Facts and Statistics About Tornado
• Tornado and Its Effect on Coastal Areas
• The Most Extreme U.S. Tornado Outbreaks
• Differences and Similarities Between Hurricanes and Tornados
• Can More Than One Tornado Form at a Time?
• What Are the Wind Speeds in a Tornado?
• How Many Tornadoes Occur in the U.S. Each Year?
• When Are Tornadoes Most Likely to Occur?
• What Is the Most Famous Tornado in History?
• Are There Different Types of Tornadoes?
• What Is the Most Harmful Tornado?
• How Long Is a Tornado Usually on the Ground?
• Which Country Has the Most Tornadoes?
• Do Tornadoes Create Negative Pressure?
• Where Is the Safest Place to Be During a Tornado?
• How Do Tornadoes Affect the Environment?
• What Is the Most Common Type of Tornado?
• How Can Tornadoes Affect Air Quality?
• What Are the Short-Term Effects of Tornadoes?
• Is Tornado Effects of Global Warming?
• What Is the Dynamic Pipe Effect of a Tornado?
• How Is Heat Transferred in a Tornado?
• What Is the Difference Between a Funnel Cloud and a Tornado?
• How Much Force Does a Tornado Have?
• What Are the Best Conditions for a Tornado?
• Why Does the United States Have the World’s Highest Tornado Risk?
• Do European Countries Experience Tornadoes?
• What Types of Pressure Do Tornadoes Have?
• How Long Did the Longest Tornado Last?
• Which Level of Tornadoes Causes the Greatest Damage?
• When Was the Largest Tornado Outbreak in Europe?
• Has Anyone Ever Lived Through a Tornado?
• What’s the Best Way to Survive Being Picked Up by a Tornado?
• How Did Native Americans Survive Tornadoes?
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Speech on floods (a natural disasters) | flood management.

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A flood, as defined by the National Flood Insurance Program (USA) is: A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties (at least one of which is your property) from:

i. Overflow of inland or tidal waters,

ii. Unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source, or

iii. A mudflow.

The collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels that result in a flood.

Water is one of the most useful things on Earth. We drink it, bathe in it, clean with it and use it to cook food. Most of the time, it is completely benign. But in large enough quantities, the very same stuff we use to rinse a toothbrush can overturn cars, demolish houses and even kill. Flooding has claimed millions of lives in the last hundred years alone, more than any other weather phenom­enon.

To understand how floods work, you have to know something about how water behaves on our planet. The total amount of water on Earth has remained fairly constant for millions of years (though its distribution has varied considerably in that time).

Every day, a very small amount of water is lost high in the atmos­phere, where intense ultraviolent rays can break a water molecule apart, but new water is also emitted from the inner part of the Earth, by volcanic activity. The amount of water that is created and the amount that is lost are pretty much equal.

At any one time, this volume of water is in many different forms. It can be liquid, as in oceans, rivers and rain; solid, as in the glaciers of the North and South Poles; or gaseous, as in the invisible water vapor in the air. Water changes from state to state as it is moved around the planet by wind currents. Wind currents are generated by the heating activity of the sun.

The sun shines more on the area around Earth’s equator than it does on areas farther north and south, causing a heat discrepancy over the surface of the globe. In warmer re­gions, hot air rises up into the atmosphere, pulling cooler air into the vacated space. In cooler regions, cold air sinks, pulling warmer air into the vacated space. The rotation of the Earth breaks this cycle up, so there are several, smaller air-current cycles all along the globe.

Driven by these air-current cycles, Earth’s water supply moves in a cycle of its own. When the sun heats the oceans, liquid water from the ocean’s surface evapo­rates into water vapour in the air. The sun heats this air (water vapour and all) so that it rises through the atmosphere and is carried along by wind currents. As this water vapour rises, it cools down again, condensing into droplets of liquid water (or crystals of solid ice). Collections of these droplets are called clouds.

If a cloud moves into a cooler environment, more water may condense onto these droplets. If enough water accumulates in this way, the droplets be­come heavy enough that they fall through the air as precipitation (rain, snow, sleet or hail). Some of this water collects in large, underground reservoirs, but most of it forms rivers and streams that flow into the oceans, bringing the water back to its starting point.

Overall, wind currents in the atmosphere are fairly consistent. At any particu­lar time of year, currents tend to move in a certain way across the globe. Conse­quently, specific locations generally experience the same sort of weather condi­tions year to year.

But on a day-to-day basis, the weather is not so predictable. Wind currents and precipitation are affected by many factors, chiefly geogra­phy and neighboring weather conditions. A huge number of factors combine in an infinite variety of ways, producing all sorts of weather.

Occasionally, these factors interact in such a way that an atypical volume of liquid water collects in one area. For example, conditions occasionally cause the formation of a hurri­cane, which dumps a large quantity of rain wherever it goes. If a hurricane lingers over a region, or multiple hurricanes happen to move through the area, the land receives much more precipitation than normal.

Since waterways are formed slowly over time, their size is proportionate to the amount of water that normally accumulates in that area. When there is sud­denly a much greater volume of water, the normal waterways overflow, and the water spreads out over the surrounding land. At its most basic level, this is what a flood is — an anomalous accumulation of water in an area of land. A series of storms bringing massive amounts of rain is the most common cause of flooding, but there are other factors also.

The sort of flooding that most people are familiar with occurs when an unusu­ally large number of rainstorms hit an area in a fairly short period of time. In this case, the rivers and streams that divert the water to the ocean are simply overwhelmed.

The varying temperatures of different seasons lead to different weather patterns. In the winter, for example, the air over the ocean might be warmer than the air over the land, causing the wind flow to move from the land out to sea.

But in the summer, the air over the land heats up, becoming warmer than the air over the ocean. This causes the wind current to reverse, so that more water from the ocean is picked up and carried over land. This monsoon wind system can cause a period of intense rain that is completely out of step with the climate the rest of the year. In some areas, this flooding may be exac­erbated by excess water from melting snow.

Another common source of flooding is unusual tidal activity that extends the reach of the ocean farther inland than normal. This might be caused by particu­lar wind patterns that push the ocean water in an unusual direction.

Floods may also occur when a man-made dam breaks. We build dams to modify the flow of rivers to suit our own purposes. Basically, the dam collects the river water in a large reservoir so that we can decide when to increase or decrease the river’s flow, rather than letting nature decide.

Engineers build dams that will stand up to any amount of water that is likely to accumulate. Occasionally, however, more water accumulates than the engineers predicted, and the dam structure breaks under pressure. When this happens, a massive amount of water is released all at once, causing a violent “wall” of water to push across the land.

The severity of a flood depends not only on the amount of water that accumu­lates in a period of time, but also on the land’s ability to deal with this water. As we’ve seen, one element of this is the size of rivers and streams in an area.

But an equally important factor is the land’s absorbency. When it rains, soil acts as a sort of sponge. When the land is saturated — that is, has soaked up all the water it can — any more water that accumulates must flow as runoff.

Some materials become saturated much more quickly than others. Soil in the middle of the forest is an excellent sponge. Rock is not so absorbent — it doesn’t seem to soak up any water at all. Hard clay falls somewhere in between.

Gener­ally, soil that has been tilled for crops is less absorbent than uncultivated land, 80 farm areas may be more likely to experience flooding than natural areas. One of the least absorbent surfaces around is concrete.

The worst damage from floods, the loss of life and homes, is caused primarily by the sheer force of flowing water. In a flood, two feet (61 cm) of water can move with enough force to wash a car away, and 6 inches (15 cm) of water can knock you off your feet.

Flood waters are more dangerous because they can apply much more pressure than an ordinary river or a calm sea. This is due to the massive differences in water volume that exist during many floods. In a flood, a lot of water may col­lect in an area while there is hardly any water in another area. Water is fairly heavy, so it moves very quickly to “find its own level.” The bigger the difference between water volumes across an area, the greater the force of movement.

But at a particular point, the water doesn’t look so deep, and so doesn’t seem par­ticularly dangerous — until it’s too late. Nearly half of all flood deaths result from people attempting to drive their cars through rushing water. There is much more water in the ocean than in a flood, but it doesn’t knock us over because it is fairly evenly distributed — water in a calm sea isn’t rushing to find its own level.

The most dangerous floods are flash floods, which are caused by a sudden, intense accumulation of water. Flash floods hit an area soon after water begins to accumulate (whether from excessive rain or another cause), so a lot of the time, people don’t see them coming.

Since there is a great deal of water col­lected in one area, flash-flood waters tend to move with a great deal of force, knocking people, cars and even houses out of the way. Flash floods can be par­ticularly devastating when a heavy thunderstorm dumps a high volume of rain on a mountain. The water moves down the mountain at tremendous speed, plowing through anything in the valleys below.

A less catastrophic sort of damage is simple dampness. Most buildings can keep out the rain, but they aren’t built to be water-tight. If the water level is high enough, loads of water seeps into houses, soaking everything.

But in most cases, the major damaging element is not the water itself, but the mud it brings with it. As water flows over the landscape, it picks up a lot of junk. When the flood is over, the water level drops and everything-eventually dries out, but the mud and debris stick around.

Another sort of flood damage is the spread of disease. As water flows over an area, it can pick up all sorts of chemicals and waste products, leading to ex­tremely unsanitary conditions. Essentially, everything and everyone in a flood is floating along in one big soup. While diseases usually aren’t created by these conditions, they are more easily transferred (most diseases spread through water more readily than they move through the air).

We’ll never be able to stop flooding. It is an unavoidable element in the complex weather system of our atmosphere. We can, however, work to minimize the damage inflicted by flooding, by building sophisticated dams, levees and canal systems. But the best way to avoid flood damage may be to back out of flood- prone areas altogether. As with many natural phenomena, the most sensible reaction to flooding may be to get out of the way.

Floods have been an integral part of the human experience ever since the start of the agricultural revolution when people built the first permanent settlements on the great riverbanks of Asia and Africa.

Seasonal floods deliver valuable topsoil and nutrients to farmland and bring life to otherwise infertile regions of the world such as the Nile River Valley. Flash floods and large 100-year floods, on the other hand, are responsible for more deaths than tornadoes or hurri­canes.

There have been a number of examples of havoc caused by floods. Most re­cently, on October 13, 2004, the rivers of northeastern India and Bangladesh remained swollen after a tropical depression dumped heavy rain over the re­gion for several days.

The storm is being called the worst non-monsoon storm in a decade, and the floods it triggered were deadly. Over 150 people were con­firmed dead as a direct result of the floods, according to media reports.

Related Articles:

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FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell Delivers Speech at National Hurricane Conference

WASHINGTON -- Today, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell delivered a speech on hurricane and disaster preparedness at the National Hurricane Conference in New Orleans. Other speakers were Ken Graham, Director, National Hurricane Center, Miami;  James Waskom, Director, Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, Baton Rouge, La.;  and Kevin Guthrie, Director, Florida Division of Emergency Management, Tallahassee, Fla.

Below is the administrator’s speech as prepared for delivery.

Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be here – in person – with all of you today.

I am so proud of this community because you embody the resilience this nation demonstrated during the last 18 months. We all know how difficult the last year and a half has been for everyone as we carried out our “normal” responsibilities AND simultaneously navigated the pandemic.

All of us have personal stories of how this pandemic affected our families, our friends, and our communities.

However, I have also seen this pandemic bring out the best in our communities; people adapting to new technologies to stay in contact with one another, and helping their family, friends, and neighbors through a situation none of us could have envisioned a year ago.

That spirit of community, of partnership, and caring for each other are going to be critical as we enter what is slated to be an extremely active hurricane season. It’s critical that the entire emergency management family – federal, state, tribal, local, and territorial - take the lessons we have learned and the innovative ways of delivering our mission during COVID and apply them moving forward.

This professional community of emergency managers is more than just people who help our neighbors during disasters. For many of us here today, our involvement in emergency services goes beyond the title. It represents a calling.

This dedication to our shared calling is an attribute our communities will continue to count on when they need support.

During my Senate confirmation hearing, I shared a goal to elevate and professionalize the field of emergency management by better defining what it means to be an emergency manager and building career paths for the nation's emergency management workforce.

As a firefighter in Colorado, the Commissioner of emergency management in New York City, a member of the Air National Guard, and through my previous work at FEMA, I recognize the diverse skill set necessary to be successful in our profession.

We are perpetual students of our craft, continually learning to be ready for and adapting to new missions.  We demonstrate the value of teamwork, critical thinking, and creative problem solving.  We are civic leaders who remember our past while planning for the future.

Emergency managers and first responders are the foundations of the communities we serve because we value the people in them. During disasters, the people who are impacted are not just survivors; they are our colleagues, our friends, our neighbors, and our families.

While we think through how to better serve our communities, we must also acknowledge where we have opportunities to improve.

We are at a pivotal point where we, as the emergency management community, have the opportunity to address two key priorities: climate change and equity.

In 2020, our nation not only endured one of the most active hurricane seasons in its history – but called on us to perform our duties amid a global pandemic.

We are now getting accustomed to a ‘new normal’ while the world continues to change before our eyes. Many of these challenges are exacerbated because of climate change. Weather patterns are telling us that the 2021 hurricane and wildfire seasons could be busy again. Now is the time to have honest and real conversations about what we can do together to achieve a more resilient and prepared nation.

As FEMA Administrator, I am committed to furthering FEMA’s role in addressing the effects of changing climate.   

To accelerate this process, our resilience and mitigation efforts must be focused at the community and household level. With that in mind, I am excited to highlight two of our newest initiatives for building community resilience through hazard mitigation.

First, I’m pleased to announce a new mitigation funding program to help homeowners. Under the Individuals and Households Program (IHP), homeowners in areas covered by Presidential Disaster Declarations may now repair their homes in ways that will reduce the likelihood of future disaster damage.

These measures – which include enhanced roof repairs and elevating or relocating water heaters, furnaces and electrical panels -- will allow homeowners to recovery and make their homes more resilient to severe weather events, reducing disaster suffering and the likelihood future federal assistance will be needed.

Second, I am also excited that President Biden announced $1 billion in support of our Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program for pre-disaster hazard mitigation projects. This is double the amount of funding provided last year and a portion of these funds are targeted to historically underserved communities.

• I’m thrilled the BRIC program will begin to shift the federal focus from reactive disaster mitigation spending towards a proactive investment in system-wide community mitigation so when the next hurricane, flood, or wildfire comes, communities can better withstand the impacts.

We must also build a culture that understands resilience is a critical part of our day-to-day lives. Together, we can make this a reality by focusing on continuous improvement while striving toward local and national mitigation and preparedness goals.

For example, flooding is the most common and costly type of disaster in the United States. In fact, flooding and coastal storms account for roughly 70 percent of all Presidential Disaster Declarations over the past decade. Where it rains, it floods.

Knowing the true flood risk of a property is critical for homeowners to secure adequate insurance coverage, FEMA has made several improvements to transform the National Flood Insurance Program by reducing complexity and increasing transparency. These changes include a new pricing methodology for a more equitable program called Risk Rating 2.0 - Equity in Action.  

The current rating methodology, while actuarially sound, has not changed since the 1970s. Since then, technology has evolved and so has FEMA’s understanding of flood risk.

Risk Rating 2.0 allows FEMA to provide individuals and communities with information to make more informed decisions on purchasing flood insurance and taking mitigation actions that may help lower rates. This may include elevating a structure on piles, installing flood openings, or moving machinery and equipment such as HVAC units above the first floor.

Risk Rating 2.0 will allow FEMA to distribute premiums more equitably across all policyholders based on the replacement cost vale and individual property’s flood risk.

It is impossible to do the work that FEMA does without our partners – federal agencies; the state, local, tribal and territorial partners; and others in the nonprofit and private sectors.

From the smallest rural volunteer fire department to emergency management agencies in our nation’s urban centers, this system of support strengthens our preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts.  

You know your communities best because these are places you call home.

Our ability to partner across the emergency management system helps us do our jobs better and makes our response more effective. 

However, we must also admit where we have more work to do. We cannot be shy about asking the equity question.  It is a fact that disasters exacerbate pre-existing inequities that already existed before these events occur.

The question we have to ask ourselves is what we can do to provide all survivors, not just those who have the means, access to assistance.

Sometimes this inequity happens because certain communities don’t receive as much post-disaster aid. Sometimes it’s because these groups are in areas that are more susceptible to the impacts of climate change. Sometimes these groups have limited access to recovery programs or resources to help them get the assistance they seek.

In order to start addressing these systemic barriers, we are asking for your help. Through the end of July, we have a Request for Information on the FEMA dot gov webpage aimed at collecting your ideas for how to tackle this issue.

We also have to acknowledge our own limitations in this effort. FEMA’s assistance is not designed to solve societal inequities; however, we have an obligation as both stewards of taxpayer dollars, and to our mission of helping people before, during, and after disasters, of making sure that we focus on our historically disadvantaged and underserved communities.

A truly resilient nation can only exist when all communities reap the benefits of the help our emergency management system can provide.

For me, equity is not only about what we do for others, it’s also about the workforce I lead each and every day.

As we execute on our mission, we must also ensure equity across all FEMA operations. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not optional for us, they must be a core component of how we conduct ourselves.

One of the greatest FEMA strengths is our diverse workforce. We understand that to help individuals, we need to create an environment that is welcoming and takes our values beyond abstract concepts.

Just as diversity in our communities strengthens the fabric of our country, diversity in our workforce strengthens our agency. And as we want to hear from the nation through the RFI, we also want to make sure every FEMA employee has a voice and an opportunity to be heard.

We do this through a robust set of Federal Employee Resource Groups which allow staff from across the agency to take part in meaningful discussions and hear about the varied experiences and cultures we have at FEMA. For example:

• With our LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group, I was pleased to be able to take part in this first ever ceremony to display the rainbow flag in FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center to mark the start of Pride Month.
• Our African American Employee Resource Group hosted listening sessions and discussions on the tragic death of George Floyd and the subsequent civil rights demonstrations. On Monday, the agency held a virtual Juneteenth event to help celebrate this important anniversary and African American heritage.
• These resource groups are not only for celebration purposes. In fact, following the tragic shooting and murder of Asian women in Georgia, our Asian American Employee Resource Group hosted listening sessions and discussions, which gave our staff a safe space to discuss their feelings and get support.

Equity is not just a lens for us internally at FEMA; we hope that you will embrace this challenge in your communities as well.

Another key priority is readiness. We know that preparedness is the cornerstone for a resilient community.

And within our communities, it’s also important to remember that preparedness starts at the individual level.

As everyone in this room is aware, there are simple guidelines all of us should follow to ensure our safety and the safety of our family, friends, and neighbors.  But even though these actions are simple, they are worth repeating:

First, get vaccinated : The more people who are vaccinated, the more it will help us face the challenge of another hurricane season with pandemic conditions.

Second, make a plan: We need your help to make preparedness an important part of the conversation. Use your influence to elevate messages that help people learn how to prepare for disasters that might happen where you live, work, or visit.

Every one of us has a responsibility to prepare for disasters that are likely in our communities. No one knows this better than the Gulf Coast region.

Preparing for disasters can take some time to complete. The most important part of this step is that people start the planning process now, well before disasters strike.

Third, stay informed: We live in the most connected time in the history of our nation. We also know that timely and accurate information is critical to promoting the safety of our communities and we must use every tool at our disposal to get information to our communities to help protect them from harm. 

• During COVID-19, FEMA made great strides in promoting accessibility - we provided phone interpretation services in more than 180 languages for non-English speakers who visited vaccination centers.
• While this is just a start, it will help promote our final safety guideline of:

Heeding evacuation warnings from local officials: If you have your community following the first three steps, this one follows naturally. … When told to evacuate – evacuate.

As emergency managers, it’s up to us to set the example in our communities. Help amplify the message and encourage those who may be hesitant to follow state/local evacuation orders.

Encourage individual preparedness at the local level and share your evacuation plans and other preparedness steps with family, friends, and neighbors and help them craft their own.

While everyone may not be able to keep a tank filled with gas or create “go bags” with emergency supplies it is possible to do some things little by little over time to increase preparedness every day.

The challenges some individuals have with preparedness may stem from how our messages are reaching their communities – if the messages are reaching them at all.

We deployed 18 mobile vaccination units to help reach traditionally underserved and more remote communities. We want to get the message – and help – to those that need it the most.

We also know that there will be times when a “one size fits all” approach doesn’t apply. One of the lessons we learned is that sometimes we need to make an extra effort to meet people where they are.

By working collaboratively with our state and local partners, we are proud to say that almost 58 percent of the vaccines in federal pilot CVCs were delivered to historically underserved populations.

And because we are still operating in a pandemic environment, we all need to be prepared to continue to protect public health during disaster response and recovery operations.

FEMA recently rereleased the Pandemic Operational Guidance based on your feedback in order to provide emergency managers with actionable guidance, resources, and lessons learned to prepare for response and recovery operations amidst COVID-19.

We will continue to adapt our operations and program delivery to expedite services, support, and assistance to your communities while protecting the health and safety of disaster survivors and our workforce.

In closing , COVID-19 challenged the ways emergency managers across the country needed to think, react, and execute. The unprecedented scale of the pandemic produced challenges that we collectively innovated, collaborated, and managed ourselves through.

These lessons must not be forgotten, and we owe it to ourselves and the nation to internalize them in both theory and practice as we strive to build a more holistic emergency management system. Our collective mission is too important not to.

As we continue to persevere, we take solace in coming away from this experience smarter, stronger and more resilient than ever. Our work as emergency managers is the epitome of courage and a shining example of what it means to serve our nation every single day.

Just as you have demonstrated bravery in your work. I challenge everyone here today to be brave in our efforts to address climate change, to embrace diversity, equity and inclusion, and to continue delivering our missions with dignity and respect.

Persuasive Speeches — Types, Topics, and Examples

What is a persuasive speech?

In a persuasive speech, the speaker aims to convince the audience to accept a particular perspective on a person, place, object, idea, etc. The speaker strives to cause the audience to accept the point of view presented in the speech.

The success of a persuasive speech often relies on the speaker’s use of ethos, pathos, and logos.

Ethos is the speaker’s credibility. Audiences are more likely to accept an argument if they find the speaker trustworthy. To establish credibility during a persuasive speech, speakers can do the following:

Use familiar language.

Select examples that connect to the specific audience.

Utilize credible and well-known sources.

Logically structure the speech in an audience-friendly way.

Use appropriate eye contact, volume, pacing, and inflection.

Pathos appeals to the audience’s emotions. Speakers who create an emotional bond with their audience are typically more convincing. Tapping into the audience’s emotions can be accomplished through the following:

Select evidence that can elicit an emotional response.

Use emotionally-charged words. (The city has a problem … vs. The city has a disease …)

Incorporate analogies and metaphors that connect to a specific emotion to draw a parallel between the reference and topic.

Utilize vivid imagery and sensory words, allowing the audience to visualize the information.

Employ an appropriate tone, inflection, and pace to reflect the emotion.

Logos appeals to the audience’s logic by offering supporting evidence. Speakers can improve their logical appeal in the following ways:

Use comprehensive evidence the audience can understand.

Confirm the evidence logically supports the argument’s claims and stems from credible sources.

Ensure that evidence is specific and avoid any vague or questionable information.

Types of persuasive speeches

The three main types of persuasive speeches are factual, value, and policy.

A factual persuasive speech focuses solely on factual information to prove the existence or absence of something through substantial proof. This is the only type of persuasive speech that exclusively uses objective information rather than subjective. As such, the argument does not rely on the speaker’s interpretation of the information. Essentially, a factual persuasive speech includes historical controversy, a question of current existence, or a prediction:

Historical controversy concerns whether an event happened or whether an object actually existed.

Questions of current existence involve the knowledge that something is currently happening.

Predictions incorporate the analysis of patterns to convince the audience that an event will happen again.

A value persuasive speech concerns the morality of a certain topic. Speakers incorporate facts within these speeches; however, the speaker’s interpretation of those facts creates the argument. These speeches are highly subjective, so the argument cannot be proven to be absolutely true or false.

A policy persuasive speech centers around the speaker’s support or rejection of a public policy, rule, or law. Much like a value speech, speakers provide evidence supporting their viewpoint; however, they provide subjective conclusions based on the facts they provide.

How to write a persuasive speech

Incorporate the following steps when writing a persuasive speech:

Step 1 – Identify the type of persuasive speech (factual, value, or policy) that will help accomplish the goal of the presentation.

Step 2 – Select a good persuasive speech topic to accomplish the goal and choose a position .

Step 3 – Locate credible and reliable sources and identify evidence in support of the topic/position. Revisit Step 2 if there is a lack of relevant resources.

Step 4 – Identify the audience and understand their baseline attitude about the topic.

Step 5 – When constructing an introduction , keep the following questions in mind:

What’s the topic of the speech?

What’s the occasion?

Who’s the audience?

What’s the purpose of the speech?

Step 6 – Utilize the evidence within the previously identified sources to construct the body of the speech. Keeping the audience in mind, determine which pieces of evidence can best help develop the argument. Discuss each point in detail, allowing the audience to understand how the facts support the perspective.

Step 7 – Addressing counterarguments can help speakers build their credibility, as it highlights their breadth of knowledge.

Step 8 – Conclude the speech with an overview of the central purpose and how the main ideas identified in the body support the overall argument.

Persuasive speech outline

One of the best ways to prepare a great persuasive speech is by using an outline. When structuring an outline, include an introduction, body, and conclusion:

Introduction

Attention Grabbers

Ask a question that allows the audience to respond in a non-verbal way; ask a rhetorical question that makes the audience think of the topic without requiring a response.

Incorporate a well-known quote that introduces the topic. Using the words of a celebrated individual gives credibility and authority to the information in the speech.

Offer a startling statement or information about the topic, typically done using data or statistics.

Provide a brief anecdote or story that relates to the topic.

Starting a speech with a humorous statement often makes the audience more comfortable with the speaker.

Provide information on how the selected topic may impact the audience .

Include any background information pertinent to the topic that the audience needs to know to understand the speech in its entirety.

Give the thesis statement in connection to the main topic and identify the main ideas that will help accomplish the central purpose.

Identify evidence

Summarize its meaning

Explain how it helps prove the support/main claim

Evidence 3 (Continue as needed)

Support 3 (Continue as needed)

Restate thesis

Review main supports

Concluding statement

Give the audience a call to action to do something specific.

Identify the overall importan ce of the topic and position.

Persuasive speech topics

The following table identifies some common or interesting persuasive speech topics for high school and college students:

Persuasive speech examples

The following list identifies some of history’s most famous persuasive speeches:

John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address: “Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You”

Lyndon B. Johnson: “We Shall Overcome”

Marc Antony: “Friends, Romans, Countrymen…” in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

Ronald Reagan: “Tear Down this Wall”

Sojourner Truth: “Ain’t I a Woman?”

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Speech on Deforestation

Introduction

Deforestation is a growing problem in the world today. Deforestation continues to be one of the most destructive forces on Earth, and it can't be ignored any longer. Deforestation has many negative effects that affect our environment as well as human society. Deforestation also has many positive aspects that are beneficial for certain people, but these benefits usually come at the expense of others. Deforested areas are more prone to droughts, floods, soil erosion, and pollution, which all have their own consequences on humans and animals alike. Deforestation areas also destroy habitats for animals which can cause the extinction of species that we may never be able to recover from.

A warm welcome to everyone present. Today I would like to present a speech on deforestation, a trend currently in practice which is proving to be more hazardous with each passing day. We as a generation are witnessing the effects of climate change and one of the major causes responsible for it is deforestation.

The continuously increasing world population has been termed as one of the main reasons for deforestation. As the world population continues to grow, the demand for spaces increases, be it for livelihood, rearing animals, raising livestock or agricultural practices. Studies have shown that a vast majority of lands are being cleared out for agricultural practices as the demand for crops and food products are on the rise to meet the demand of the ever-growing population. Other activities such as clearing forest cover to facilitate mining, creation of roads etc., also contribute to deforestation. A significant factor contributing to deforestation also includes forest fires.

Now, as we have learnt about some of the main causes of deforestation, let us understand how losing forest cover adversely affects us in this deforestation presentation speech. Carbon dioxide, used up by plants during photosynthesis, is among the natural captors of the sun’s rays radiating back from the earth’s surface to keep the earth’s temperature sustainable, a phenomenon termed the greenhouse effect. However, with the loss of forest cover, there is an excessive amount of carbon dioxide on the surface of the earth. This results in a higher percentage of the sun’s rays being trapped which raises the temperature on earth significantly thus, contributing to global warming. Recent studies have shown that deforestation in tropical areas contributes about 12 percent of the total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. 

Dry, arid climates are also among the adverse effects of deforestation. With forests being cleared up, the water cycle is altered, the groundwater is not being extracted and released in the form of water vapor to the atmosphere which subsequently leads to a drier climate. 

While agricultural practices require clearing of forest cover, an excess of the same in turn affects soil fertility and leads to erosion. Trees help to hold the soil moisture and keep it fertile. Quite many agricultural plants such as soybean, coffee, cotton, etc., are unable to hold on to the soil firmly as they are planted on deforested grounds. This, in turn, aggravates soil erosion and the fertile topsoil layer gets eroded to rivers, lakes and surrounding water bodies. 

In recent decades, the tropical rainforests regarded as the ecosystem with the highest diversity have been majorly subjected to deforestation. Significant areas of these forests have been lost owing to a number of factors that have reduced the ecosystem diversity. As per estimates, deforestation results in the loss of about 137 plant and animal species on a daily basis, amounting to the loss of 50,000 species in a year and the numbers are only rising. Public health has also witnessed a high level of deterioration as a result of deforestation. Experts have said that deforestation is also associated with the rapidly increasing number of disease outbreaks across the world. 

It is important that we are aware of deforestation and the major threats it poses to the environment and humanity. Efforts are already being made to replant trees in several places to restore the ecological balance. We should also make conscious efforts to contribute towards the aversion of deforestation practice in our best possible capacity.  

Points to Remember when Preparing for Speech about Deforestation

It Destroys our Environment: Deforestation has many negative effects on the environment, including soil erosion, floods, and droughts. Deforested areas are also more susceptible to pollution. Deforestation has its roots in the industrial revolution, where people started to cut down trees for wood and supplies such as paper. Deforesting these areas causes soil erosion because plants hold onto water and nutrients that would otherwise be carried away by rainwater runoff. Deforestation also causes floods since forests help soak up excess rainfall, so it doesn't run off into rivers and streams. Deforestation can also lead to droughts because it reduces the amount of water that forests would normally store. Deforestation has many negative environmental consequences, but humans continue to destroy the forest at an alarming rate.

Deforestation causes the extinction of species and destroys habitats for animals. Deforestation areas also reduce the amount of food and water available to these species, putting them at risk even more so than before deforestation occurred. Deforestation has been a major reason that animal populations have decreased dramatically over the past few decades. Deforested regions are prone to soil erosion which causes flooding in surrounding forested areas. Deforestation also causes a lack of food and water resources, which can lead to the extinction of animal species. Deforested areas put animals at an increased risk for extinction, and humans are largely to blame.

It Destroys Habitats for Animals- Deforestation areas are prone to soil erosion which causes flooding in surrounding forested areas. Deforestation also destroys habitats for animals, leading many species to extinction. Deforesting these regions can cause an increase in natural disasters such as floods and droughts, which lead to habitat destruction even more so than deforestation itself. Deforestation continues at the same rate.

It has many negative effects on human society. Deforestation has many negative effects on human society, including the increased likelihood of floods and droughts. Deforesting areas are also more likely to cause soil erosion because plants hold onto water and nutrients that would otherwise be carried away by rainwater runoff. Deforestation has many negative effects on human society, but humans continue to destroy the forest at an alarming rate

Deforestation is an important topic that we should all be aware of. It's crucial to understand the negative effects that deforestation has on our environment and society so that we can take steps to prevent it from happening in the future. Deforestation is a major problem that needs to be addressed.

Here are Some Tips for Studying Deforestation

Know the Causes- It is important to know the causes of why Deforestation occurs. Deforestation areas are more likely to cause soil erosion because plants hold onto water and nutrients that would otherwise be carried away by rainwater runoff. Deforestation also destroys habitats for animals which can lead to the extinction of species that we may never recover from

Taking Preventive Measures- Deforestation areas around the world has caused our environment, society, and animal populations to suffer significantly. By taking preventative measures against deforestation, we can help stop it in its tracks before serious damage occurs. If you're interested in learning about how deforestation affects humans, then check out this post.

FAQs on Speech on Deforestation

1. What is the main cause of deforestation? What preventive measures should everyone take?

Deforestation is mainly caused by the need for land to create new agricultural land, expand cities, and mine minerals. There are many preventive measures that everyone can take in order to stop deforestation from happening. These include reducing consumption, supporting sustainable forestry initiatives, and advocating for government policies that promote forest conservation.

2. What are some of the negative effects of Deforestation?

Deforestation has a number of serious environmental consequences, including the loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, and climate change. It also has negative impacts on human society, including increased risk of natural disasters and the depletion of resources. Deforestation is an important topic that we should all be aware of so that we can take steps to prevent it from happening in the future.

3. Deforestation has many negative effects on human society, but humans continue to destroy the forest at an alarming rate. So is deforestation inevitable?

Deforesting areas are also more likely to cause soil erosion because plants hold onto water and nutrients that would otherwise be carried away by rainwater runoff. Deforesting these regions can cause an increase in natural disasters such as floods and droughts, which lead to habitat destruction even more so than deforestation itself. Deforestation continues at the same rate, but hopefully, with increased awareness, we can help prevent it from happening any further.

4. What can I do to help stop deforestation?

There are many things you can do to help stop deforestation from happening. These include reducing consumption, supporting sustainable forestry initiatives, and advocating for government policies that promote forest conservation. If we all work together, we can hopefully slow down or even stop Deforestation from happening.