Project 3 Outline

In the following post I will be providing a rough outline for my Project 3 paper.

Italian-Pitbull. "Canaan Dog Female Lineart" 3/18/2015 via Deviantart.com. CC BY 3.0 License. 

Introduction:

1. Background on why the demand for natural gas has increased recently. 
2. Define what fracking is. 
3. State opinion: fracking is harmful to the environment. 
4. Explain why fracking is important to them--the state of the environment is our problem (college students) and the problems of our children and their children and so on. 

Main Body 

1. Major Supporting Arguments. 
1. Fracking causes large methane emissions.
2. Fracking leads to water contamination.
3. Fracking causes things like Earthquakes.
2. Major Criticisms. 
1. Natural gas is a cleaner burn product than gas/oil. 
3. Key Support and Rebuttal Points.
1. The three points under "Major Supporting Arguments." 
4. Tentative Topic Sentence.
1. While fracking produces natural gas, a cleaner-burn alternative to oil, it also produces high levels of methane emissions, a very efficient greenhouse gas. 
2. Not only does fracking leach toxins into the atmosphere, but fracking contributes to contaminated ground water. 
3. Forcing highly pressurized water underground is bound to have consequences, and fracking has been linked to earthquakes in fracking sites. 
5. Gather Evidence.
1. Methane Emissions 
1. Methane Emissions in Texas are 50% higher than estimated. 
2. Ingraffea and Howarth talk about methane emissions 
2. Contaminated Ground Water
1. GreenPeace
2. Flammable water 
3. Earthquakes 
1. Man-made earthquakes 
2. Earthquakes caused by the water disposal not fracking process 
6. Map Out the Argument. 
1. Fracking causes large amounts of methane to be released into the atmosphere. 
1. evidence 1- elevated levels of methane in Texas
1. commentary- why methane emissions are so harmful
1. very strong greenhouse gas, and the increased levels of methane may cancel out the "clean-burn" properties of natural gas 
2. evidence 2- Ingraffea and Howarth talk about methane  
1. commentary on the speakers credentials
1. Ingraffea has experience in the field.  
2. Fracking and its related processes can lead to groundwater contamination. 
1. evidence 1- contamination of water Pennsylvania 
1. commentary-what types of chemicals are leaching into the water
2. how the water is being contaminated 
2. evidence 2- flammable water
1. commentary- water is being tainted with methane 
2. how is the water being contaminated
3. health effects if people were to drink the tainted water
3. Earthquakes 
1. evidence 1- man-made earthquakes
2. evidence 2- earthquakes caused by water disposal not fracking process
1. how fracking causes these earthquakes
1. connection to fault lines
2. frequency of the earthquakes
3. where the earthquakes are occurring

Conclusion 

Call to action--in the introduction I pointed out to my audience how this issue affects them, and after I have explained the issue to them I can tell them what they can do to act on it.