| 09/22/2012 | Tournament: UMKC | Round: 2 | Opponent: | Judge: Barber, Chief Analyst for Energy Central, 8-30
~[Wayne Barber, Chief of Generation for Energy Central’s Generation Hub, "IAEA Report Finds Fukushima Didn’t Cripple Nuclear Future," August 30th 2012, http://www.energybiz.com/article/12/08/iaea-report-finds-fukushima-didnt-cripple-nuclear-future~~]
Less than 18 months after the meltdown accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s
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years, "although there is room for further improvement," IAEA said. Loudermilk, Senior Energy Associate @ NDU, ’11
~[Micah J. Loudermilk, Senior Associate for the Energy %26 Environmental Security Policy program with The Institute for National Strategic Studies at The National Defense University, "In Defense of Small Reactors: A Response," February 23rd 2011, http://csis.org/blog/defense-small-reactors-response~~]
Smith’s final contention takes issue with the argument that DOD needs to operate as a
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security standpoint, but also from a mindset of preserving the nonproliferation agenda. Macalister, Guardian Energy Editor, ’09
~[Terry Macalister, Energy Editor of The Guardian, Recipient of The Energy of Word Award, International Media Award organized by The Global Energy Prize, "New generation of nuclear power stations ’risk terrorist anarchy’," March 16th 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/16/nuclearpower-nuclear-waste-http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/16/nuclearpower-nuclear-waste~]
The new generation of atomic power stations planned for Britain, China and many other
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low-carbon energy and a stable nuclear weapons environment," he said. New proliferators will develop offensive postures that increase the risk of conventional and nuclear conflict
Horowitz, professor of poli sci, 9 —Professor of Political Science at University of Pennsylvania (Michael Horowitz, "The Spread of Nuclear Weapons and International Conflict: Does Experience Matter?" Journal of Conflict Resolution, Volume 53 Number 2, April 2009 pg. 234-257) This section focuses on how acquiring nuclear weapons influences both the new nuclear state and
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to be effective, increasing the probability that an adversary will not reciprocate. Below 08
~[Tim D.Q., Wing Commander, RAF; MA in Defence Studies, King’s College London; "Options for US nuclear disarmament: exemplary leadership or extraordinary lunacy?," June 2008, Thesis for School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Air University Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama~]
Proliferation. Roger Molander, of RAND Corporation, asserts that "in the near
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which is subsequently escalated into nuclear warfare by its allies or their opponents. Williams, Utilities Management Consultant, 8-17
~[Glenn Williams, Management Consultant for Regulated Utilities and Energy Service Organization, 30 years of expereinece in startup and operation of large-scale power projects including coal plants, natural gas facilities and half of the nation’s nuclear power facilities, Masters in Technology Management from the University of Maryland, "The Nuclear Renaissance Has Arrived," August 17th 2012, http://realmoney.thestreet.com/articles/08/17/2012/nuclear-renaissance-has-arrived~~]
If you thought the U.S. would see a nuclear renaissance, you
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the nuclear renaissance arrived. Unfortunately, it’s over there and not here. Russell, National Security Prof @ NDU, August ’12
~[Richard L. Russell, Professor of National Security Affairs at the National Defense University’s Near East and South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, Special Advisor to the U.S. Central Command, the U.S. Special Operations Command, and the Joint Special Operations University, Former Adjunct Professor of Security Studies at Georgetown, Former Political-Military Analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency, "CHAPTER 6: THE MIDDLE EAST’S NUCLEAR FUTURE," The Next Arms Race, August 2012~]
The great danger is that the United States is "cutting off its nose to
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that in the last century were clandestinely harnessed for military nuclear weapons programs.
Even if Western nuclear technology is not directly harnessed for military nuclear weapons programs,
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determined to keep pace—even though the Emirates got a late start. Edelman %26 Krepinevich, Former Undesecretary for Defense, ’11
~[Eric Edelman, Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, Former Undersecretary for Defense, Andrew Krepinevich, President of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment, Evan Montgomery, Research Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, "The dangers of a nuclear Iran," http://www.csbaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010.12.27-The-Dangers-of-a-Nuclear-Iran.pdf~~]
During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union only needed to
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a single intelligence compromise could leave their weapons vulnerable to attack or theft. Russell, National Security Professor Naval Postgraduate School, ’09
~[James Russell, Associate Professor of National Security at the Naval Postgraduate School, "Strategic Stability Reconsidered: Prospects for Escalation and Nuclear War in the Middle East," Security Studies Center Proliferation Papers, http://www.analyst-network.com/articles/141/StrategicStabilityReconsideredProspectsforEscalationandNuclearWarintheMiddleEast.pdf~~]
Strategic stability in the region is thus undermined by various factors: (1)
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the peoples of the region, with substantial risk for the entire world. Madia, Chairman Stanford National Accelerator Lab, ’12
~[Dr. Madia, Chairman of the Board of Overseers %26 Vice President for the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University, Former Laboratory Director at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Former Laboratory Director at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, "SMALL MODULAR REACTORS: A POTENTIAL GAME-CHANGING TECHNOLOGY," Stanford Energy Journal, Spring 2012, http://energyclub.stanford.edu/index.php/Journal/Small_Modular_Reactors_by_William_Madia~~]
Throughout the history of NPP development, plants grew in size based on classic "
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the heavy politics of nuclear waste, corporate welfare, or carbon taxes. The DOD market is the only way to quickly get SMR’s through financial and regulatory barriersAndres %26 Breetz, Security Prof @ National War College, ’11
~[Richard B. Andres, Professor of National Security Strategy at the National War College, Senior Fellow and Energy and Environmental Security and Policy Chair in the Center for Strategic Research, Institute for National Strategic Studies, at the National Defense University, Hanna L. Breetz, Political Science PhD Candidate at MIT, "Small Nuclear Reactors for Military Installations: Capabilities, Costs, and Technological Implications," Strategic Forum, INSS, February 2011~]
Thus far, this paper has reviewed two of DOD’s most pressing energy vulnerabilities—
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leadership would likely have a profound effect on the industry’s timeline and trajectory. Loudermilk, Senior Energy Associate @ NDU, ’11
~[Micah J. Loudermilk, Senior Associate for the Energy %26 Environmental Security Policy program with The Institute for National Strategic Studies at The National Defense University, "Small Nuclear Reactors and US Energy Security: Concepts, Capabilities, and Costs," Journal of Energy Security, May 2011, http://www.ensec.org/index.php?option=com_content%26view=article%26id=314:small-nuclear-reactors-and-us-energy-security-concepts-capabilities-and-costs%26catid=116:content0411%26Itemid=375-http://www.ensec.org/index.php?option=com_content%26view=article%26id=314:small-nuclear-reactors-and-us-energy-security-concepts-capabilities-and-costs%26catid=116:content0411%26Itemid=375~]
Problematically, despite the immense energy security benefits that would accompany the wide-scale
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advance the technology broadly and eventually lead to their wide-scale adoption. Loudermilk, Senior Energy Associate @ NDU, ’11
~[Micah J. Loudermilk, Senior Associate for the Energy %26 Environmental Security Policy program with The Institute for National Strategic Studies at National Defense University, "Small Nuclear Reactors and US Energy Security: Concepts, Capabilities, and Costs," Journal of Energy Security, May 2011, http://www.ensec.org/index.php?option=com_content%26view=article%26id=314:small-nuclear-reactors-and-us-energy-security-concepts-capabilities-and-costs%26catid=116:content0411%26Itemid=375-http://www.ensec.org/index.php?option=com_content%26view=article%26id=314:small-nuclear-reactors-and-us-energy-security-concepts-capabilities-and-costs%26catid=116:content0411%26Itemid=375~]
Combating proliferation with US leadership: Reactor safety itself notwithstanding, many argue that the
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reactors are mitigated and concerns over the widespread distribution of nuclear fuel allayed. Sanders, Associate Director Savannah National Lab, ’12
~[Tom Sanders, Associate Laboratory Director for Clean Energy Initiatives at the Savannah River National Laboratory, Department of Energy, Former President of the American Nuclear Society, "Tom Sanders: Great expectations for small modular reactors," Nuclear News, July 2012, pg. 48-49~]
That’s a good question. One of the things that concerned me most in the
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with a large plant doesn’t make any sense if you can’t afford it. Wallace and Williams, Senior Adviser on U.S. Nuclear Energy Project at CSIS and Nuclear Policy Analyst at Partnership for Global Security, 12
(Nuclear Energy in America:Preventing its Early Demise, csis.org/files/publication/120417_gf_wallace_williams.pdf)
Second, setting global norms and standards for safety, security, operations, and
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.S. nuclear industry and take action to prevent its early demise. Chossudovsky, Professor of Economics at University of Ottawa, 12
(1/25, Fukushima: A Nuclear War without a War: The Unspoken Crisis of Worldwide Nuclear Radiation, www.globalresearch.ca/fukushima-a-nuclear-war-without-a-war-the-unspoken-crisis-of-worldwide-nuclear-radiation/)
The World is at a critical crossroads. The Fukushima disaster in Japan has brought
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University Researchers Challenge Official Data, Global Research, April 11, 2011) ===Advantage Two is Bases=== Electrical power disruption on military bases is inevitable – aging infrastructure, severe weather, and cyberattacks; Purchasing electricity from SMR’s solveRobitaille, Army Environmental Center, ’12
~[George E. Robitaille, Department of Army Civilian, US Army Environmental Center, Master of Strategic Studies from The US Army War, "Small Modular Reactors: The Army’s Secure Source of Energy?," March 21st 2012~]
According to a recent report by the Defense Science Board, the DoD gets ninety
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associated with building coal or natural gas fired power plants on the environment. Power disruption severely compromises global military operations – safeguards will fail - only power from SMRs ensures sustained reliability and deters cyber attacksAndres %26 Breetz, Security Prof @ National War College, ’11
~[Richard B. Andres, Professor of National Security Strategy at the National War College, Senior Fellow and Energy and Environmental Security and Policy Chair in the Center for Strategic Research, Institute for National Strategic Studies, at the National Defense University, Hanna L. Breetz, Political Science PhD Candidate at MIT, "Small Nuclear Reactors for Military Installations: Capabilities, Costs, and Technological Implications," Strategic Forum, INSS, February 2011~]
The DOD interest in small reactors derives largely from problems with base and logistics vulnerability
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grid. As explained in a recent study from the Defense Science Board:
DOD’s key problem with electricity is that critical missions, such as national strategic awareness
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in order to win an ongoing battle or war would be greatly reduced. Lawson, Professor of Communication at Utah, 09
(Cross-Domain Response to Cyber Attacks and the Threat of Conflict, 5/13, http://www.seanlawson.net/?p=477)
At a time when it seems impossible to avoid the seemingly growing hysteria over the
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lethal agent is regarded with the same or greater seriousness." ~[7~] Defense Science Board, The DSB is a Federal Advisory Committee established to provide independent advice to the Secretary of Defense, 08
(More Fight – Less Fuel, http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/ADA477619.pdf)
Historically, the mission of DoD installations has been to train combat forces and deploy
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defense mission for DoD has also expanded the critical loads at some installations. Snider 12
~[Annie Snider, Reporter for Environment %26 Energy Daily, "Pentagon still can’t define ’energy security,’ much less achieve it," January 16th 2012, http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/01/16/1-http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/01/16/1~]
A terrorist attack that caused a long-term grid disruption "could significantly affect
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it is also likely to send waves through civilian energy and technology industries. Bloomberg 12
(2/26, China-Taiwan Tensions Could Loom Over U.S. ’Pivot’ to Asia: View, www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-27/china-taiwan-tensions-could-loom-over-u-s-pivot-to-asia-view.html)
As China’s economic and military power grows, and Taiwan’s long-term future remains
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the U.S. temptation to advance those ties at Taiwan’s expense. Gerson, Research analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses, 09
(Conventional Deterrence in the Second Nuclear Age http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/Articles/09autumn/gerson.pdf)
Deterrence is once again a topic of discussion and debate among US defense and policy
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neighbors if the regime believes it can accomplish its objectives before US forces respond Hunkovic, Professor American Military University, 09
(Lee J, 2009, "The Chinese-Taiwanese Conflict Possible Futures of a Confrontation between China, Taiwan and the United States of America", http://www.lamp-method.org/eCommons/Hunkovic.pdf-http://www.lamp-method.org/eCommons/Hunkovic.pdf)
A war between China, Taiwan and the United States has the potential to escalate
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outcome, therefore, other countries will not be considered in this study. SMRs are competitive with large reactors – will be adopted in developed and developing economiesSolan et al., Public Policy Prof @ Boise State, ’10
~[David Solan, Director, Energy Policy Institute (EPI), Associate Director, Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES), Assistant Professor, Public Policy and Administration, Boise State, Geoffrey A Black, PhD, Associate Professor, Department Chair, Economics, Boise State, et al. "Economic and Employment Impacts of Small Modular Reactors," June 2010~]
Other advantages of SMRs over conventional nuclear reactor designs include less risk for cost overrun
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highlight the applications that have the most potential for large-‐scale commercialization. Westenhaus, Editor of New Energy %26 Fuel, ’12
~[Brian Westenhaus, Editor of New Energy and Fuel, "A Government Divided Against Itself Is a Mess," January 27th 2012, http://newenergyandfuel.com/http:/newenergyandfuel/com/2012/01/27/a-government-divided-against-itself-is-a-mess/~~]
World Nuclear News is reporting that the U.S. Department of Energy (
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the start and a market distortion for decades, perhaps centuries to come. |
| 09/26/2012 | Tournament: UMKC | Round: Doubles | Opponent: Texas | Judge:
===AT: T – Financial Incentive === Webb, – lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, 93
("Thumbs, Fingers, and Pushing on String: Legal Accountability in the Use of Federal Financial Incentives", 31 Alta. L. Rev. 501)
In this paper, "financial incentives" are taken to mean disbursements of public
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In effect, these programs are assistance, but they are not incentives. Words and Phrase 04
(Words and Phrases Permanent Edition, "For," Volume 17, p. 338-343)
W.D.Tenn. 1942. The Fair Labor Standards Act of
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which only "affects" a certain purpose which implies an indirect relation. Carroll, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Terra-Gen Power, 05
(January, International Power %26 Utilities Finance Review, New nuclear power plants in the US: Governmental incentives for non-recourse project finance)
In its report dated January 10, 2005, the NETF identified the unavailability of financing as a significant obstacle to new nuclear power plant construction. The NETF recommended that the US government offer a range of financial incentives for the construction of the first few reactors, such as: secured loans, loan guarantees, accelerated depreciation, investment tax credits, production tax credits and government power purchase agreements. |
| 09/26/2012 | Tournament: UMKC | Round: Doubles | Opponent: Texas BK | Judge: Morrissey, 9/18 (Ed, 9/18/2012, "Will this become a foreign-policy election?" http://hotair.com/archives/2012/09/18/will-this-become-a-foreign-policy-election/-http://hotair.com/archives/2012/09/18/will-this-become-a-foreign-policy-election/ ) We’ve assumed throughout this election cycle that the economy and jobs would drive voter choice, but that would mean a referendum on the current incumbent, something Democrats desperately wanted to avoid. Two weeks ago, Democrats promised us that they would make foreign policy the focus of the election. As I note in my column for The Week, that didn’t come from low-level party functionaries, but from the prime-time speakers — including Barack Obama himself:
Ironically, Democrats had promised a fight on foreign policy just a week earlier
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, and a transparent attempt to deflect the election away from the economy.
As an old axiom warns, be careful what you wish for — you just
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a stark indicator of just how badly Obama has failed on this front:
What lessons can be learned from events in Libya? That nothing good will come out of the Arab Spring? That Arabs are volatile, easily excitable and prone to acting out? That the United States, Mitt Romney notwithstanding, cannot control everything or that the United States, Mitt Romney more to the point, has tried to control nothing? In other words, is this what happens when the United States is "leading from behind"?
This phrase, you might remember, was coined in reference to Barack Obama’s
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. Benghazi was saved from Gaddafi’s bloody reprisals, but not from mayhem.
The notion that the United States can lead from behind is pitiful, the
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left to fend for itself. It has not fended all that well.
Cohen predictably rips Romney for pointing this out, but concludes that Romney is very much right about Obama’s foreign policy of passivity:
Romney was wrong and ham-fisted and alarmingly premature to criticize Obama for
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behind is not a nifty phrase. In Libya, it’s an indictment.
Michael Ramirez distills the lessons from a week of making the Obama foreign-policy expertise the center of attention:
But will this become a foreign-policy election? In my column, I argue no — at least not for now — but that it might end up backfiring on Obama anyway:
By Monday, the Washington Post reported that the Obama campaign would shift its focus to the economy, a stark about-face from just a fortnight earlier in Charlotte, N.C.
Have events changed the nature of the election from a focus primarily on domestic
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create the kind of narrative that made Carter a one-term president.
In short, the argument for an economy-based election always relied on making
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the White House and State missed opportunities to prevent what happened in Benghazi. Chambers, 9/18 (Dean, 9/18/2012, "Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama: An unskewed look at the latest polls," http://www.examiner.com/article/mitt-romney-vs-barack-obama-an-unskewed-look-at-the-latest-polls-http://www.examiner.com/article/mitt-romney-vs-barack-obama-an-unskewed-look-at-the-latest-polls) There are exactly seven weeks left today before election day in November. As we
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by only one percent, at 47 percent to 46 percent for Romney.
The UnSkewed Average of polls released today shows a Mitt Romney lead over Barack Obama of 51.5 percent to 43.7 percent. The UnSkewed average of polls includes the unskewed data from several mainstream media and other major polls of the presidential race along with the QStarNews presidential poll. Here is an example illustrating the process of "unskewing" a skewed poll that over-sampled Democrats.
New Jersey-based Monmouth University released a new poll of the presidential race yesterday showing President Obama leading 48 percent to 41 percent among registered voters and 48 percent to 45 percent over Mitt Romney among likely voters. Unskewing this poll leads to a result showing Romney leading with a 46 percent to 45 percent margin over President Obama with registered voters, and likewise a 50 percent to 45 perfect Romney lead among likely voters.
The QStarNews Quick Poll of the presidential race released yesterday shows Mitt Romney with a
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of President Obama while 45 percent approved of the president’s job in office.
The latest New York Times/CBS News poll of the presidential race released recently is yet another doctored poll that shows President Obama leading when its data indicates a Mitt Romney lead. The survey of 1170 registered voters, polled between September 8-12, has Obama leading over Romney by a 49 percent to 46 percent margin. Unskewing the data indicates a Romney lead over Obama by 51 percent to 44 percent.
The new Democracy Corps survey of the presidential race released recently shows President Obama leading
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Obama by a 52 percent to 43 percent with about five percent undecided.
The Fox News poll released today continues the trend of skewed polls that over-
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Obama by a 48 percent to 45 percent with about seven percent undecided.
More so than past election cycles the national polls, especially those conducted by mainstream
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electorate in the interest of producing the most accurate measures of public opinion.
The current UnSkewed Average of Polls reported today by UnSkewedPolls.com shows Mitt Romney
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, in unskewed form, are included in the UnSkewed Average of Polls. Obama’s lead is just a sugar high from the convention —- and Republican voters are more enthusedWSJ, 9/20 (Patrick O’Connor and Janet Hook, 9/20/2012, "Headwinds for Romney in Latest Poll Results," http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443890304578008773934388786.html?mod=googlenews_wsj-http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443890304578008773934388786.html?mod=googlenews_wsj ) The Romney camp dismisses most of the recent polling as a "sugar high" for Mr. Obama left over from the party conventions. "Polls are going to go this way and that way," Mr. Romney’s running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, told donors during a fundraiser Thursday night in Washington. "But at the end of the day, if we do our jobs right, and we will, the country will have a really clear choice."
Among other factors, Romney supporters point to polling that shows Republicans hold a modest edge in voter enthusiasm and data that shows a large percentage of Americans still think the country is moving in the wrong direction. "We feel like we’re in a very close contest," said Ed Gillespie, a senior adviser to the Romney campaign. "We feel like Romney is likely to win." Rogers, 9/17 (Ed, 9/17/2012, "Obama’s 21st-century Teflon is working," http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-insiders/post/obamas-21st-century-teflon-is-working/2012/09/17/82b05da8-00bf-11e2-bbf0-e33b4ee2f0e8_blog.html?wprss=rss_opinions-http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-insiders/post/obamas-21st-century-teflon-is-working/2012/09/17/82b05da8-00bf-11e2-bbf0-e33b4ee2f0e8_blog.html?wprss=rss_opinions )
It is safe to say that America’s outreach to the world under President Obama has been a complete failure. Does America enjoy more or less respect than it did four years ago? If you think more, please let me know where.
Last weekend was the end of Obama’s foreign policy. Diplomats are being called in and troops are being sent out — at least to where our enemies will allow them. The likes of Sudan know they can refuse Obama’s wish for more troops to protect our embassies. Obama will probably tell us the Sudanese promise to provide adequate protection for Americans was a hard-fought concession.
Anyway, for the first time since the 2012 campaign began, Obama might want to talk about the economy. The images of the fires burning and the angry crowds on the Arab streets all underscore the complete failure of Obama’s foreign policy, reminding us of his naivete and the price we pay for his on-the-job-training. Remember, this is a man who thought he was worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize just for being who he was.
The planet would heal because of his desire for it to do so. His very presence meant tension in the Middle East would subside. And why not? He had some new ideas: Remember his instructions to his NASA administrator that there was no higher priority than to make Arabs feel better about themselves?
With the world mostly either disrespecting America or just sadly shaking its head and wondering where America has gone, perhaps the Obama campaign could use a few days of blaming George W. Bush for the Obama administration’s economic failures.
Foreign policy can’t win elections, but it can lose them. Obama is pushing
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and generate the jobs that Obama’s policies haven’t — and won’t — deliver.
So as the campaign heads for the debates, voters must be asking themselves what
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century coat of Teflon that makes Reagan’s legendary resilience look small-time. Norris, Executive director of Sustainable Security program at Center for American Progress, 12
(7/31, Money Pit on the Potomac, www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/07/31/money_pit_on_the_potomac?page=0,0)
July was a tough month for the Pentagon. The Washington Post revealed that three
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everything from domestic road building to arts funding into the behemoth defense budget. WNA 12
(September, World Nuclear Association, US Nuclear Power Policy, www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf41_US_nuclear_power_policy.html)
Public opinion regarding nuclear power has generally been fairly positive, and has grown more
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operating nuclear power plant is supported by 67% and opposed by 28%. Dadush, et. al, 8/2 —-director of Carnegie’s International Economics Program (8/2/2012, Uri Dadush, Shimelse Ali —- economist in the International Economics Program, and Zaahira Wyne —- managing editor of Carnegie’s International Economic Bulletin, "What Does the U.S. Election Mean for the World Economy?" http://carnegieendowment.org/2012/08/02/what-does-u.s.-election-mean-for-world-economy/d5mp-http://carnegieendowment.org/2012/08/02/what-does-u.s.-election-mean-for-world-economy/d5mp ) Few things are certain, especially given the threat to the U.S.
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Representatives and may also regain control of the Senate by a small margin.
Two crucial points emerge. First, even if Obama wins and Democrats retain the
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may differ on a particular issue, in order to pass meaningful legislation.
It follows that the implications of the U.S. elections for the global
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May or even last year’s Conservative/Liberal Democrat victory in the UK. |
| 09/26/2012 | Tournament: UMKC | Round: 2 | Opponent: KCKCC | Judge: Lee, Philosophy Professor at Bloomsburg, ’9 (Wendy, Spring, "Restoring Human-Centerednes to Environmental Conscience: The Ecocentrist’s Dilemma, the Role of Heterosexualized Anthropomorphizing, and the Significance of Language to Ecological Feminism" Ethics and the Environment, Vol 14 No 1, Project Muse)
Bender undertakes this task in the course of promoting his specific version of ecocen trism
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anything but an argument for nondualism—and this Bender does not provide. Harman, 2005 (Graham, critically acclaimed Heidegger scholar who spent 10 years reading everything Heidegger wrote ~[even in German,~] Associate Provost for Research Administration at the American University of Cairo, "Guerrilla Metaphysics: Phenomenology and the Carpentry of Things," p. 241-245)
The theme of representation is one of the recurrent problems of philosophy. Certain special
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and sensual objects lie always and only on the interior of real ones. Harman, 2005 (Graham, critically acclaimed Heidegger scholar who spent 10 years reading everything Heidegger wrote ~[even in German,~] Associate Provost for Research Administration at the American University of Cairo, "Guerrilla Metaphysics: Phenomenology and the Carpentry of Things," p. 238-241)
What must be rejected from the start is the prevailing model of humans as transcending
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the counter-wizard, or to pave the way for him oneself. Lee, Philosophy Professor at Bloomsburg, ’9 (Wendy, Spring, "Restoring Human-Centerednes to Environmental Conscience: The Ecocentrist’s Dilemma, the Role of Heterosexualized Anthropomorphizing, and the Significance of Language to Ecological Feminism" Ethics and the Environment, Vol 14 No 1, Project Muse)
However plastic and evolving the somatic, perceptual, cognitive, psychological, epistemic and
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a shell. It doesn’t go in for self-representation at all. Given that inevitability, the attempt of the alternative causes us to give up and abandon all ethical engagement with the environmentLee, Philosophy Professor at Bloomsburg, ’9 (Wendy, Spring, "Restoring Human-Centerednes to Environmental Conscience: The Ecocentrist’s Dilemma, the Role of Heterosexualized Anthropomorphizing, and the Significance of Language to Ecological Feminism" Ethics and the Environment, Vol 14 No 1, Project Muse)
A second difficulty is that if Bender is correct that the centeredness of human consciousness predisposes (or just is) chauvinistic, then either we really are doomed to continue the ecocidal trajectory of our history or, as Bender argues, we must disavow our human-centeredness in favor of an ecocentric ("non-dualist") perspective and practice (2003
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presumably egoistic self and permanently redirect consciousness towards the eco-centric.3 Lee, Philosophy Professor at Bloomsburg, ’9 (Wendy, Spring, "Restoring Human-Centerednes to Environmental Conscience: The Ecocentrist’s Dilemma, the Role of Heterosexualized Anthropomorphizing, and the Significance of Language to Ecological Feminism" Ethics and the Environment, Vol 14 No 1, Project Muse)
By insisting that the only way to escape ecocide is to disavow precisely that which
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the responsibility only human beings can take (1953, para.19). Lee, Philosophy Professor at Bloomsburg, ’9 (Wendy, Spring, "Restoring Human-Centerednes to Environmental Conscience: The Ecocentrist’s Dilemma, the Role of Heterosexualized Anthropomorphizing, and the Significance of Language to Ecological Feminism" Ethics and the Environment, Vol 14 No 1, Project Muse)
Second, then, is that however indigenous, no necessary implications for ethnicity,
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of human consciousness, the ways in which we realize it is not. |
| 09/26/2012 | Tournament: UMKC | Round: 3 | Opponent: Cal State Chico | Judge: ====Oil price decline won’t end until 2013====
Fontevecchia , writer @ Forbes, 6-5-12,
Agustino, "Remember How Oil Prices Threatened The Recovery? Look At Them Now," http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2012/06/05/remember-how-oil-prices-threatened-the-recovery-look-at-them-now/-http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2012/06/05/remember-how-oil-prices-threatened-the-recovery-look-at-them-now/ These latest, and dramatic, declines in prices are the consequence of traditional supply
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a global recession. Things, in oil markets, move very quickly. Wagner, economist @ Environmental defense fund, 2008,
September 26, Gernot, economist at the Environmental Defense Fund. Teaches energy economics as adjunct faculty at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. Served on the editorial board of the Financial Times as a Peter Martin Fellow. Holds a bachelor’s in environmental science and a master’s and Ph.D. in political economy and government from Harvard, as well as a master’s in economics from Stanford. "Do demand and supply still drive oil prices?" http://www.env-econ.net/2008/09/do-demand-and-s.html-http://www.env-econ.net/2008/09/do-demand-and-s.html Much of that increase (if not all) was driven by simple economics.
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to curb demand, ideally through a cap-and-trade system. ====Russian oil prices low - New global oil reserves and high production costs ====
Mead 7/8 (Walter Russell, James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College and Editor-at-Large of The American Interest magazine, "The Energy Revolution Part One: The Biggest Losers." http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2012/07/08/the-energy-revolution-part-one-the-biggest-losers/-http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2012/07/08/the-energy-revolution-part-one-the-biggest-losers/) If the US, Canada and Israel are the likeliest big winners, the biggest
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to be less special when supplies are more abundant and more broadly distributed. Mufson, Staff Writer @ The Washington Post, 2007
Steven, Staff Writer @ the Washington Post, Oil Price Rise Causes Global Shift in Wealth, November 10th http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/09/AR2007110902573_pf.html
Russia, the world’s No. 2 oil exporter, shows oil’s transformational impact in
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, and forge an independent approach to contentious issues like Iran’s nuclear program. High oil prices hurt the Russian economy —- demand destruction, inflation, and market volatilityHulbert, Senior Fellow @ Center for Security Studies, 2011
~[Matthew, Senior fellow at the Center for Security Studies in Zurich, The Downside of High Oil Prices, February 2nd, http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/the-downside-of-high-oil-prices/430204.html~~] High prices might sound like good news for producers like Russia that want to replenish
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of oil, or it will surely take its vengeance out on you. Ulatov et al., Economists, 2011
(Sergei (Economist), Karlis Smits (Economist), Olga Emelyanova (Research Analyst
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the Oil Windfall, Russian Economic Report, Number 24, March 2011)
Fiscal policy – return of the "oil curse?"¶ The fiscal outcome for 2010
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GDP (see Russian Economic Report No. 23, ¶ November 2010). High prices result in economic stagnation and civil disorder.Tsyvinski, Professor @ Yale, 2010
~[Aleh and Sergei Guriev, Professor of economics at Yale University, Director of the New Economic School in Moscow, July – August, Russia’s "Resource Curse": How High Oil Prices Are Stunting Reforms, http://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/articles/p/123/article/1273/~~]
Can Russia escape the "resource curse" implied by high oil prices, or
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only choice will be genuine economic reform or decline and dangerous civil disorder. |
| 09/26/2012 | Tournament: UMKC | Round: 3 | Opponent: Cal State Chico | Judge: This means that the neg should have to answer the following questions – what is the alternative institution/social order that should be put into place? Is that feasible? What would have to be done to create that change and what would be the consequences of those actions?Absent these questions shifts in knowledge production are useless – governments’ obey institutional logics that exist independently of individuals and constrain decisionmaking – that’s true regardless of this debateWight – Professor of IR @ University of Sydney – 6
(Colin, Agents, Structures and International Relations: Politics as Ontology, pgs. 48-50 One important aspect of this relational ontology is that these relations constitute our identity as
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upon it, upon its specific characteristics, its constants and its variables’. Greta Gaard, assistant professor of composition and women’s studies at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, "Living Interconnections with Animals and Nature," Ecofeminism: Women, Animals, Nature, 1993, p. 2-3
It is now common knowledge that rights-based ethics (most characteristic of dominant
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choice, homelessness, militarism, and political strategies for creating change globally. No link – our aff doesn’t set up environmental standardsLee, Philosophy Professor at Bloomsburg, ’9 (Wendy, Spring, "Restoring Human-Centerednes to Environmental Conscience: The Ecocentrist’s Dilemma, the Role of Heterosexualized Anthropomorphizing, and the Significance of Language to Ecological Feminism" Ethics and the Environment, Vol 14 No 1, Project Muse)
Acampora and Bender could also object that such an expansion doesn’t require a disavowal of
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is not the enemy of environmental responsibility, but its most vital ally. The aff is a giant case turn – have to use uranium and other resources to provide energy, that’s key to check back ChinaLoader – Criminology Prof at Oxford – 7
(Civilizing Security, Pg. 5) Faced with such inhospitable conditions, one can easily lapse into fatalistic despair, letting
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social democratic politics, even for renewing the activity of politics at all. Turn – the alt causes coal fill-in – that’s 100x worse for the environment – critiques of nuke production are idealistic and treat the energy in a vacuum, not in contextMonbiot ’11
(George, columnist for The Guardian, has held visiting fellowships or professorships at the universities of Oxford (environmental policy), Bristol (philosophy), Keele (politics), Oxford Brookes (planning), and East London (environmental science), March 21, 2011, "Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power", http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/21/pro-nuclear-japan-fukushima) But the energy source to which most economies will revert if they shut down their
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The crisis at Fukushima has converted me to the cause of nuclear power. |
| 09/26/2012 | Tournament: UMKC | Round: 3 | Opponent: Cal State Chico | Judge: Busch, Professor of Government at Christopher Newport University, ’4 (Nathan, "No End in Sight: The Continuing Menace of Nuclear Proliferation" p 281-314) Until now, the proliferation debate has largely taken place on an abstract, theoretical
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a relentlessly empirical foundation for—and testing of— social science theory.
While abstract theorizing can be found on both sides of the debate, it is
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are inappropriate models for predicting specific policies and actions that NWSs will take.
Having oversimplified the causes and motivations of state action, the optimists make highly inappropriate
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of the policymaker, would lead to policy recommendations that are more sound.
Absent a nuclear exchange, or a series of nuclear exchanges, we will lack
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areas, we will make progress toward making the world a safer place. Jeffrey W. Knopf, Professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, October 2002, "Recasting the proliferation optimism-pessimism debate," Security Studies, Vol. 12, No. 1, p. 60-61 The second implication of pressures to seek damage limitation is therefore that optimists are too
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other side’s forces to make a meaningful difference in the damage one suffers.
Waltz simply does not get this point. In the revised version of the debate
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chances of such a choice are even greater than RDT would anticipate.57
This reveals the problem with phrasing the second requirement for deterrence stability as the existence
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that the opponent will have some forces that could survive and strike second. Prolif increases tension that results in escalation – changed perceptions of motivation and posturingJeffrey W. Knopf, Professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, October 2002, "Recasting the proliferation optimism-pessimism debate," Security Studies, Vol. 12, No. 1, p. 57-58 Nuclear weapons can exacerbate tensions in two ways: by creating an increased perception of
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pursuit of nuclear weapons may also change how other states view its intentions.
This is especially likely because new and aspiring nuclear states are not always circumspect in
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resolve, and any such demonstration carries with it some risk of escalation. |
| 09/26/2012 | Tournament: UMKC | Round: 5 | Opponent: | Judge: Absent these questions shifts in knowledge production are useless – governments’ obey institutional logics that exist independently of individuals and constrain decisionmakingWight – Professor of IR @ University of Sydney – 6
(Colin, Agents, Structures and International Relations: Politics as Ontology, pgs. 48-50 One important aspect of this relational ontology is that these relations constitute our identity as
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upon it, upon its specific characteristics, its constants and its variables’. ====Global starvation DA – failure to utilize nature means no one can eat==== ====Even if they win discourse first, you should evaluate impacts within the framework of neoliberal knowledge production – market relations are stable social constructions that people assume to be true – only using them as a starting point is politically productive====
Jones %26 Spicer ’9
(Campbell, Senior Lecturer in the School of Management at U of Leicester, Andre, Associate Professor in the Dept of Industrial Relations @ Warwick Business School U of Warwick, Unmasking the Entrepreneur, pgs. 22-23) The third strand in our proposed critical theory of entrepreneurship involves questions of the ’extra
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of social structure for understanding entrepreneurship (see for example Swedberg, 2000). We solve better – current big nuclear tech is unsafe, the plan is key to shift to small reactors that reduce potential for extinction level accidents and provide energy to developing countries – don’t let them get away with saying the alt does anything, no way to resolve big oil in the USDebating the aff is key to solve it – imaginative familiarity with nuclear power creates trust and overcomes public misunderstanding – creates tipping point for new facilitiesButler, Parkhill, %26 Pidgeon 11
(Catherine, Research Fellow at Cardiff University, Karen, Research Fellow at Cardiff University, Nicholas, Professor of Environmental Psychology at Cardiff University, "Nuclear Power After Japan: The Social Dimensions", November-December 2011, http://www.environmentmagazine.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/2011/November-December%202011/Nuclear-full.html) Nuclear power has, beyond its beginnings where "glamorous reactors" were anticipated with
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plants (and trust in plant operators) rather than undermining it.29 Turn – the alt causes coal fill-in – that’s 100x worse for the environment – critiques of nuke production are idealistic and treat the energy in a vacuum, not in contextMonbiot ’11
(George, columnist for The Guardian, has held visiting fellowships or professorships at the universities of Oxford (environmental policy), Bristol (philosophy), Keele (politics), Oxford Brookes (planning), and East London (environmental science), March 21, 2011, "Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power", http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/21/pro-nuclear-japan-fukushima) But the energy source to which most economies will revert if they shut down their
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The crisis at Fukushima has converted me to the cause of nuclear power. Frame the alternative within consequentialism – our framing is most ethical because all practical alternatives are worse and cause violecne-coming up with an alternative economic system matters
-don’t take a leap of faith
-any alternative is utopian and unachievable
-capitalism can be reformed
Richards 9 – PhD in Philosophy @ Princeton
Jay Richards, PhD with honors in Philosophy and Theology from Princeton, "Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution and Not the Problem," pg. 31-32 Myth no. 1: The Nirvana Myth (contrasting capitalism with an unrealizable ideal
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worst way to do that is to try to create an egalitarian utopia. Economic rationality is ethical and solves war – self-interest motivates individuals to sacrifice some autonomy to produce security and protect the rights of othersAasland ’9
(Dag, Prof. of Economics @ U of Agder, Norway, Ethics and Economy: After Levinas, pgs. 65-66) Business ethics, in the sense of ethics for business, illustrates this: its
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laws and regulations set up by society (Burggraeve, 2003: 77). Loader – Criminology Prof at Oxford – 7
(Civilizing Security, Pg. 5) Faced with such inhospitable conditions, one can easily lapse into fatalistic despair, letting
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social democratic politics, even for renewing the activity of politics at all. Levy 99- PhD @ Centre for Critical Theory at Monash
Neil, "Discourses of the Environment," ed: Eric Darier, p. 215
If the ’technological fix’ is unlikely to be more successful than strategies of limitation
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and of those with whom we share this planet, will be decided? |
| 09/26/2012 | Tournament: UMKC | Round: 5 | Opponent: | Judge: Applying complexity theory leads to policy paralysis and numerous other failuresHENDRICK ’9 (Diane; Department of Peace Studies – University of Bradford, "Complexity Theory and Conflict Transformation: An Exploration of Potential and Implications," June, http://143.53.238.22/acad/confres/papers/pdfs/CCR17.pdf-http://143.53.238.22/acad/confres/papers/pdfs/CCR17.pdf) It is still relatively early days in the application of complexity theory to social sciences
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make itself useful yet. Even that it encourages woolly thinking and imprecision.
In terms of application in the field, it could be argued that it may
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prestige, etc. Such attempts appear, therefore, unrealistic or unfeasible. Defer to best evidence to resolve impacts – only way to avoid dogmatism and create effective policy analysisSil ’2k
Rudra Sil, assistance professor of Political Science @ the University of Pennsylvania. "Beyond boundaries?: disciplines, paradigms, and theoretical integration in International Studies. 2001. P. 161.
In the end, there may be no alternative to relying on the judgment of
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in validating propositions by scholars embracing all but the most extreme epistemological positions. Their epistemology K is flawed – social constructions are knowable – they pre-exist individuals and constrain action in predictable ways – prefer the specificity of the aff to broad philosophical indictmentsFluck, PhD in International Politics from Aberystwyth, ’10 (Matthew, November, "Truth, Values and the Value of Truth in Critical International Relations Theory" Millennium Journal of International Studies, Vol 39 No 2, SagePub) Critical Realists arrive at their understanding of truth by inverting the post-positivist attitude
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. 44 It therefore remains possible to pursue the truth about social reality. ====That’s most ethical – failure of preventative action and predictions drives structural violence and inequality, only actions that act to preserve future generations can resolve power relations====
Kurasawa’4,
(Fuyuki, Assistant Prof. of Sociology @ York University, Cautionary Tales, Constellations Vol. 11, No. 4, Blackwell Synergy) In the previous section, I described how the capacity to produce, disseminate,
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the basis of which civic associations can enact the work of preventive foresight. Ethic of farsightedness key to solve all global threats – even if our specific predictions are bad, future-oriented projections are a good method and a DA to the altKurasawa 4
(Fuyuki, Assistant Prof. of Sociology @ York University, Cautionary Tales, Constellations Vol. 11, No. 4, Blackwell Synergy) In addition, farsightedness has become a priority in world affairs due to the appearance
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case of the spiraling African and Asian AIDS pandemics, appear particularly glaring. Perm do the plan and all non-mutually exclusive parts of the alternative – Scenario Planning is consistent with complexity theoryKAVALSKI ’7 (Emilian; University of Alberta, "The fifth debate and the emergence of complex international relations theory: notes on the application of complexity theory to the study of international life," Cambridge Review of International Affairs, v. 20 n. 3, September) In a further examination of the cognitive perspective, some proponents of CIR theory have
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distinction between human and nonhuman complex systems (Geyer 2003b, 26).14
The intellectual considerations of these epistemological frameworks suggest the challenging conceptual and methodological problems facing
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suggests intriguing heuristic devices that both challenge conventional wisdom and provoke analytical imaginations.
Complex international relations theory, therefore, proffers analytical tools both for explaining and understanding
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knowledge of the dynamics of complexity (Smith and Jenks 2006, 273).
In this respect, CIR theory sketches the fifth debate in the study of international
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and uncertainty straight in the face’ (Smith and Jenks 2006, 4). de MESQUITA ’11 (Bruce Bueno; Silver Professor of Politics – New York University and Senior Fellow – Hoover Institution, "Fox-Hedging or Knowing: One Big Way to Know Many Things," http://www.cato-unbound.org/2011/07/18/bruce-bueno-de-mesquita/fox-hedging-or-knowing-one-big-way-to-know-many-things/-http://www.cato-unbound.org/2011/07/18/bruce-bueno-de-mesquita/fox-hedging-or-knowing-one-big-way-to-know-many-things/, 7/18) Given what we know today and given the problems inherent in dealing with human interaction
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were rising swiftly in 2010 in Egypt while the expected costs were not.
This is but one example that highlights what Nobel laureate Kenneth Arrow, who was
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to anticipate the consequences of alternative choices in many aspects of human interaction.
How can game theory be harnessed to achieve reliable prediction? Acting like a fox
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and evaluated through replicable tests of evidence, we progress toward better prediction. |
| 09/26/2012 | Tournament: UMKC | Round: 7 | Opponent: UMKC AG | Judge: Donny Peters This means that the neg should have to answer the following questions – what is the alternative institution/social order that should be put into place? Is that feasible? What would have to be done to create that change and what would be the consequences of those actions?Absent these questions shifts in knowledge production are useless – governments’ obey institutional logics that exist independently of individuals and constrain decisionmakingWight – Professor of IR @ University of Sydney – 6
(Colin, Agents, Structures and International Relations: Politics as Ontology, pgs. 48-50 One important aspect of this relational ontology is that these relations constitute our identity as
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upon it, upon its specific characteristics, its constants and its variables’. Jarvis 2k – Lecturer in IR @ U of Sydney
Darryl Jarvis (Director of the Research Institute for International Risk and Lecturer in International Relations, The University of Sydney) 2000 "International relations and the challenge of postmodernism" p. X
Just because we acknowledge that the state is a socially fabricated entity, or that
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has long taken care of these ontological dilemmas that otherwise seem to preoccupy Ashley ====Even if they win discourse first, you should evaluate impacts within the framework of neoliberal knowledge production – market relations are stable social constructions that people assume to be true – only using them as a starting point is politically productive====
Jones %26 Spicer ’9
(Campbell, Senior Lecturer in the School of Management at U of Leicester, Andre, Associate Professor in the Dept of Industrial Relations @ Warwick Business School U of Warwick, Unmasking the Entrepreneur, pgs. 22-23) The third strand in our proposed critical theory of entrepreneurship involves questions of the ’extra
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of social structure for understanding entrepreneurship (see for example Swedberg, 2000). Defer to best evidence to resolve impacts – only way to avoid dogmatism and create effective policy analysisSil ’2k
Rudra Sil, assistance professor of Political Science @ the University of Pennsylvania. "Beyond boundaries?: disciplines, paradigms, and theoretical integration in International Studies. 2001. P. 161.
In the end, there may be no alternative to relying on the judgment of
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in validating propositions by scholars embracing all but the most extreme epistemological positions. Ontology doesn’t come first: ontological unity is a mirage and judging the impacts of our actions is key to environmental ethics, and human survivalNorton, 96 – Professor of Philosophy at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Bryan, "Environmental Pragmatism," Edited by Light and Katz, pg. 106
Thus ends my explanation of, and please for, a practical environmental ethic that
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on larger spatio-temporal scales, essential to human and ecological communities. Graham 99
Phil Graham, Graduate School of Management , University of Queensland, Heidegger’s Hippies: A dissenting voice on the "problem of the subject" in cyberspace, Identities in Action%21 1999, http://www.philgraham.net/HH_conf.pdf
Societies should get worried when Wagner’s music becomes popular because it usually means that distorted
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which "subjective death" and ontology are the least of all worries. Economic calculations are good – ethics requires choices between competing demands – economics creates a system for stabilizing the demands of the Other as preferences, allowing for ethical dialogue through market competition and negotiationAasland ’9
(Dag, Prof. of Economics @ U of Agder, Norway, Ethics and Economy: After Levinas, pgs. 65-66) What is original in Levinas compared to other authors who also have defined being a
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, because they have no needs and thus no need to help each other Norberg 3 – MA in History
Johan Norberg, Fellow at Timbro, MA with a focus in economics and philosophy, In Defense of Global Capitalism, p. 225-237
All over the world, economic progress and growth are moving hand in hand with
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construction and heating of cattle pens for the purpose of native meat production. Frame the alternative within consequentialism – neoliberalism is most ethical because all practical alternatives are worse and cause violecne-coming up with an alternative economic system matters
-don’t take a leap of faith
-any alternative is utopian and unachievable
-capitalism can be reformed
Richards 9 – PhD in Philosophy @ Princeton
Jay Richards, PhD with honors in Philosophy and Theology from Princeton, "Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution and Not the Problem," pg. 31-32 Myth no. 1: The Nirvana Myth (contrasting capitalism with an unrealizable ideal
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worst way to do that is to try to create an egalitarian utopia. Santoni 85 – Professor of Philosophy
Ronald E. Santoni, Phil. Prof @ Denison, 1985, Nuclear War, ed. Fox and Groarke, p. 156-7
To be sure, Fox sees the need for our undergoing "certain fundamental changes
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wll ultimate violence be removed as the final arbiter of our planet’s fate. No transition – institutional complexity and impersonal nature of systems cause cultural assimilation – only growth can solve social conflictBarnhizer, 6
David, Prof of Law, Cleveland State U, ’Waking from Sustainability’s "Impossible Dream",’ Geo Int’l Envtl L Rev, pg. l/n Devotees of sustainability pin their hopes on an awakening by an enlightened populace that will
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to the dictates of the powerful systems that govern our lives and culture. Economic rationality is ethical and solves war – self-interest motivates individuals to sacrifice some autonomy to produce security and protect the rights of othersAasland ’9
(Dag, Prof. of Economics @ U of Agder, Norway, Ethics and Economy: After Levinas, pgs. 65-66) Business ethics, in the sense of ethics for business, illustrates this: its
AND
laws and regulations set up by society (Burggraeve, 2003: 77). |
| 10/27/2012 | Tournament: Harvard | Round: 2 | Opponent: | Judge: The plan won’t pass before the election —- the affirmative only has to defend the most realistic and likely means of passage. Forcing the affirmative to defend abnormal means undermines political decision making skills.Stoddard, 10/18 —- associate editor of The Hill (10/18/2012, A.B., "Obama spinning toward a loss,"
http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/ab-stoddard/262925-obama-spinning-toward-a-loss) President Obama is losing. So says the latest Gallup poll, and so do those swelling numbers in key states like Wisconsin, Florida, Virginia and Ohio.
Democrats say wait, he won the second debate. They are holding their breath
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(see Mitt Romney: Gallup) has ever gone on to lose.
Perhaps Obama lost the presidency weeks ago, on Oct. 3, when he
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the sale for anyone who still cannot make up his or her mind.
Romney is arguing Obama has still failed to articulate a reason, plan or purpose for a second term. He is correct. But Obama has indeed, late in the game, come up with a more forceful defense of his first term, and an argument about the economy growing from the middle out instead of the top down.
In addition, Democrats finally did their research and came up with some embarrassing changes in policy positions by Romney to debut at the debates and are cutting new flip-flop ads around the clock. Stunned by the loss of female support the Romney debate surge has cost him, Obama is focusing intently on shoring up the votes of suburban women and giving them binders full of reasons not to buy what Romney is selling.
Romney too is running new ads about his abortion flexibility, his support for contraception
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he compiled to locate qualified women for his Cabinet as governor of Massachusetts.
Indeed, though President Obama was deemed the debate winner by numerous snap polls this week, the polls show just how firm Romney’s support has grown. In every poll he beat Obama by a wide margin on who is stronger on the economy.
Obama can expect, even if he wins another debate on Oct. 22,
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three weeks to go it’s hard to see where he finds that excitement. Freed %26 Fitzpatrick, October (Oct. 2012, Josh Freed and Ryan Fitzpatrick, "US Election Note: Energy Policy after 2012," http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/Americas/1012usen_energy.pdf-http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/Americas/1012usen_energy.pdf) The growth in domestic shale oil and gas production seems inevitable. But the broader
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America’s energy industries and the fate of international efforts to stem climate change. Pew, 9/24 (Pew Research Center, 9/24/2012, "For Voters It’s Still the Economy; Energy, Terrorism, Immigration Less Important Than in 2008," http://www.people-press.org/2012/09/24/for-voters-its-still-the-economy/-http://www.people-press.org/2012/09/24/for-voters-its-still-the-economy/) Energy Falls in Importance
Energy emerged as a major issue during the 2008 campaign. In August, as gas prices surged, 77% of voters said the issue of energy would be very important to their vote. Currently, just 55% view energy as very important.
Just 52% of Republican voters now say energy is very important, down from 74% four years ago when the phrase "drill baby drill" became a political slogan at the 2008 GOP convention. The declines have been comparable among independents (25 points) and Democrats (20 points). Feldmann, 10/3 (Linda, 10/3/2012, "Why Mitt Romney trails in polls, as presidential debates begin," http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2012/1003/Why-Mitt-Romney-trails-in-polls-as-presidential-debates-begin-video-http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2012/1003/Why-Mitt-Romney-trails-in-polls-as-presidential-debates-begin-video) Fully two-thirds of voters know that it was Romney who made the statement, and among those voters, 55 percent reacted negatively, versus 23 percent who saw it positively, according to Pew. Most damaging to Romney is the reaction of independent voters. Some 55 percent of independents who are aware of Romney’s comment say they had a negative reaction to it, while only 18 percent viewed it positively.
But Gallup asked voters if the 47 percent comment has made them more or less likely to vote for Romney, and a plurality said it made no difference.
Indeed, analysts say it’s nearly impossible to isolate an individual event or comment as being decisive in turning a race.
"Voters are confronting a big wide Mississippi River of information flowing at them, and as a consequence it’s difficult to isolate the effect of any one thing," says John Sides, an associate professor of political science at George Washington University in Washington. "That said, there’s no question it’s been several weeks of relatively bad news for the Romney campaign. It hasn’t enabled him to close the post-convention gap. If anything, that gap has grown." Rogers, 9/17 (Ed, 9/17/2012, "Obama’s 21st-century Teflon is working," http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-insiders/post/obamas-21st-century-teflon-is-working/2012/09/17/82b05da8-00bf-11e2-bbf0-e33b4ee2f0e8_blog.html?wprss=rss_opinions-http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-insiders/post/obamas-21st-century-teflon-is-working/2012/09/17/82b05da8-00bf-11e2-bbf0-e33b4ee2f0e8_blog.html?wprss=rss_opinions )
It is safe to say that America’s outreach to the world under President Obama has been a complete failure. Does America enjoy more or less respect than it did four years ago? If you think more, please let me know where.
Last weekend was the end of Obama’s foreign policy. Diplomats are being called in and troops are being sent out — at least to where our enemies will allow them. The likes of Sudan know they can refuse Obama’s wish for more troops to protect our embassies. Obama will probably tell us the Sudanese promise to provide adequate protection for Americans was a hard-fought concession.
Anyway, for the first time since the 2012 campaign began, Obama might want to talk about the economy. The images of the fires burning and the angry crowds on the Arab streets all underscore the complete failure of Obama’s foreign policy, reminding us of his naivete and the price we pay for his on-the-job-training. Remember, this is a man who thought he was worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize just for being who he was.
The planet would heal because of his desire for it to do so. His very presence meant tension in the Middle East would subside. And why not? He had some new ideas: Remember his instructions to his NASA administrator that there was no higher priority than to make Arabs feel better about themselves?
With the world mostly either disrespecting America or just sadly shaking its head and wondering where America has gone, perhaps the Obama campaign could use a few days of blaming George W. Bush for the Obama administration’s economic failures.
Foreign policy can’t win elections, but it can lose them. Obama is pushing
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and generate the jobs that Obama’s policies haven’t — and won’t — deliver.
So as the campaign heads for the debates, voters must be asking themselves what
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century coat of Teflon that makes Reagan’s legendary resilience look small-time. ~insert specific link defense~ WNA 12
(September, World Nuclear Association, US Nuclear Power Policy, www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf41_US_nuclear_power_policy.html)
Public opinion regarding nuclear power has generally been fairly positive, and has grown more
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operating nuclear power plant is supported by 67% and opposed by 28%. ~insert specific impact answer ~ Armbruster, 9/14 (Ben, 9/14/2012, "Romney Aligns Himself With Obama On Key Aspect Of Iran Policy," http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/09/14/849521/romney-iran-red-line-obama/-http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/09/14/849521/romney-iran-red-line-obama/) In an interview that aired on ABC’s Good Morning America on Friday, MItt Romney said that his "red line" on Iran — the point that would trigger a U.S. military response to Iran’s nuclear program — is the same as President Obama’s, despite a Romney adviser’s assertion that Iran represents "the sharpest foreign policy difference" between the two candidates.
After Romney told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that his "red line" on Iran is that the Islamic Republic "may not have a nuclear weapon," the host pointed out that his policy is the same as Obama’s. The GOP presidential nominee agreed:
STEPHANOPOULOS: President Obama said exactly the same thing. He said it’s unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. So your red line is the same as his.
ROMNEY: Yeah, and I laid out what I would do to keep Iran from reaching that red line. ~...~
STEPHANOPOULOS: But your red line going forward is the same?
ROMNEY: Yes. And recognize that when one says that it’s unacceptable to the United States of America that that means what it says. You’ll take any action necessary to prevent that development, which is Iran becoming nuclear.
Watch the clip:
Romney’s statement illustrates the confusion from Romney’s team on Iran, and indeed on the Romney camp’s wider foreign policy. (Romney’s foreign policy director would neither confirm nor deny that Romney is a neoconservative.) On one hand, the Romney campaign struggles to differentiate its Iran policy from President Obama’s, and on the other, his team sounds more like a neocon revival committee pushing for another war in the Middle East.
The New York Times noticed this contradiction as well, reporting in an article on Friday that a senior foreign policy adviser to Romney said the former Massachusetts governor "would not be content with an Iran one screwdriver’s turn away from a nuclear weapon." But, the Times added, the adviser "stopped short of saying exactly where, in the development of nuclear capability, Mr. Romney would draw the line."
President Obama has said that he won’t allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.
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the "best and most permanent way" to solve the nuclear crisis. No significant foreign policy differences between Obama and RomneySmith, 10/6 —- former editor of the (U.S.) Guardian Newsweekl (Jack A., "Obama and Romney: Similar Views on Foreign/Military Policy," 10/6/2012 http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2012/10/06/obama-and-romney-similar-views-on-foreignmilitary-policy/-http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2012/10/06/obama-and-romney-similar-views-on-foreignmilitary-policy/) Despite the sharp charges and counter-charges about foreign/military and national security policy, there are no important differences on such matters between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney. The back and forth between the candidates on international issues is largely about appearance, not substance.
The Washington Post noted on Sept. 26 that the two candidates "made clear this week that they share an overriding belief — American political and economic values should triumph in the world." Add to that uplifting phrase the implicit words "by any means necessary," and you have the essence of Washington’s international endeavors.
There are significant differences within the GOP’s right wing factions — from neoconservatives and ultra nationalists to libertarians and traditional foreign policy pragmatic realists — that make it extremely difficult for the Republicans to articulate a comprehensive foreign/military policy. This is why Romney confines himself to criticizing Obama’s international record without elaborating on his own perspective, except to imply he would do everything better than the incumbent.
Only nuances divide the two ruling parties on the principal strategic international objectives that determine the development of policy. Washington’s main goals include:
• Retaining worldwide "leadership," a euphemism for geopolitical hegemony.
• Maintaining the unparalleled military power required to crush any other country, using all means from drones to nuclear weapons. This is made clear in the incumbent administration’s 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), and the January 2012 strategic defense guidance titled, "Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense."
• Containing the rise of China’s power and influence, not only globally but within
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fleets, air bases, troops and treaties in place for the celebration.
• Exercising decisive authority over the entire resource-rich Middle East and adjacent North Africa. Only The Iranian and Syrian governments remain to be toppled. (Shia Iraq, too, if it gets too close to Iran.)
• Provoking regime change in Iran through crippling sanctions intended to wreck the country’s economy and, with Israel, threats of war. There is no proof Iran is constructing a nuclear weapon.
• Seeking regime change in Syria, Shia Iran’s (and Russia’s) principal Arab ally. Obama is giving political and material support to fractious rebel forces in the civil war who are also supported by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey. The U.S. interest is in controlling the replacement regime.
• Weakening and isolating Russia as it develops closer economic and political ties to China, and particularly when it expresses opposition to certain of Washington’s less savory schemes, such as continuing to expand NATO, seeking to crush Iran and Syria, and erecting anti-missile systems in Europe. In 20 years, NATO has been extended from Europe to Central Asia, adjacent to China and former Soviet republics.
• Continuing the over 50-year Cold War economic embargo, sanctions and various acts of subversion against Cuba in hopes of destroying socialism in that Caribbean Island nation.
• Recovering at least enough hegemony throughout Latin America — nearly all of which the U.S. dominated until perhaps 15 years ago — to undermine or remove left wing governments in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador.
• Significantly increasing U.S. military engagement in Africa.
Both the right/far right Republican Party and the center right Democratic Party agree on these goals, although their language to describe them is always decorated with inspiring rhetoric about the triumph of American political and economic values; about spreading democracy and good feeling; about protecting the American people from terrorism and danger.
Today’s foreign/military policy goals are contemporary adaptations of a consistent, bipartisan international perspective that began to take shape at the end of World War II in 1945. Since the implosion of the Soviet Union ended the 45-year Cold War two decades ago — leaving the U.S. and its imperialist ambitions as the single world superpower — Washington protects its role as "unipolar" hegemon like a hungry dog with a meaty bone.
The people of the United States have no influence over the fundamentals of Washington’s foreign/military objectives. Many Americans seem to have no idea about Washington’s actual goals. As far as a large number of voters are concerned the big foreign/military policy/national security issues in the election boil down to Iran’s dangerous nuclear weapon; the need to stand up for Israel; stopping China from "stealing" American jobs; and preventing a terrorist attack on America.
One reason is the ignorance of a large portion of voters about past and present history and foreign affairs. Another is that many people still entertain the deeply flawed myths about "American exceptionalism" and the "American Century." Lastly, there’s round-the-clock government and mass media misinformation. Bostrom, Gannon Award for the Continued Pursuit of Human Achievement, ’9 (Nick, "The Future of Humanity, New Waves in Philosophy of Technology" http://www.nickbostrom.com/papers/future.pdf-http://www.nickbostrom.com/papers/future.pdf)
Extinction risks constitute an especially severe subset of what could go badly wrong for humanity
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setback: a giant massacre for man, a small misstep for mankind. |
| 10/27/2012 | Tournament: Harvard | Round: 2 | Opponent: | Judge: ACC, American Chemistry Council, 05
(THE IMPACTS OF HIGH ENERGY COSTS TO THE AMERICAN CONSUMER, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-109hhrg21446/html/CHRG-109hhrg21446.htm)
The unbalanced and volatile U.S. natural gas market has had a severe
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ingredient, used to make thousands of products that consumers use every day. Baum, Editor-in-chief of the American Chemical Society’s Chemical and Engineering News, 99
(C%26E News, "Millennium Special Report," http://pubs.acs.org/hotartcl/cenear/991206/7749spintro2.html)
The pace of change in today’s world is truly incomprehensible. Science is advancing on
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up in real public fear of genetic manipulation and corporate control over food. |
| 10/27/2012 | Tournament: Harvard | Round: 2 | Opponent: | Judge: The United States federal government should diminish Nuclear Regulatory Commission staffing, manufacturing licensing, emergency planning zone, and safety regulations for Small Modular Reactors to be consistent with the unique attributes of Small Modular Reactors.WNN, 9-26
~World Nuclear News, "Nuclear growth slowing not stalling," September 26th 2012, http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Nuclear_growth_slowing_not_stalling-2609127.html-http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Nuclear_growth_slowing_not_stalling-2609127.html~~
Growth rates may have slowed but world nuclear energy capacity will nevertheless continue to increase
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capacity playing an important role in the energy mix in the longer term." Macalister, Guardian Energy Editor, ’09
~Terry Macalister, Energy Editor of The Guardian, Recipient of The Energy of Word Award, International Media Award organized by The Global Energy Prize, "New generation of nuclear power stations ’risk terrorist anarchy’," March 16th 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/16/nuclearpower-nuclear-waste-http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/16/nuclearpower-nuclear-waste~~
The new generation of atomic power stations planned for Britain, China and many other
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low-carbon energy and a stable nuclear weapons environment," he said. New proliferators will develop offensive postures that increase the risk of conventional and nuclear conflictHorowitz, Professor of PoliSci @ UPenn, ’09
~Michael Horowitz, "The Spread of Nuclear Weapons and International Conflict: Does Experience Matter?" Journal of Conflict Resolution, Volume 53 Number 2, April 2009 pg. 234-257~
This section focuses on how acquiring nuclear weapons influences both the new nuclear state and
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to be effective, increasing the probability that an adversary will not reciprocate. Below, Commander Royal Air Force, ’08
~Tim D.Q., Wing Commander, RAF; MA in Defence Studies, King’s College London; "Options for US nuclear disarmament: exemplary leadership or extraordinary lunacy?," June 2008, Thesis for School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Air University Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama~
Proliferation. Roger Molander, of RAND Corporation, asserts that "in the near
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which is subsequently escalated into nuclear warfare by its allies or their opponents. Williams, Utilities Management Consultant, 8-17
~Glenn Williams, Management Consultant for Regulated Utilities and Energy Service Organization, 30 years of expereinece in startup and operation of large-scale power projects including coal plants, natural gas facilities and half of the nation’s nuclear power facilities, Masters in Technology Management from the University of Maryland, "The Nuclear Renaissance Has Arrived," August 17th 2012, http://realmoney.thestreet.com/articles/08/17/2012/nuclear-renaissance-has-arrived~~
If you thought the U.S. would see a nuclear renaissance, you
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the nuclear renaissance arrived. Unfortunately, it’s over there and not here. Russell, National Security Prof @ NDU, August ’12
~Richard L. Russell, Professor of National Security Affairs at the National Defense University’s Near East and South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, Special Advisor to the U.S. Central Command, the U.S. Special Operations Command, and the Joint Special Operations University, Former Adjunct Professor of Security Studies at Georgetown, Former Political-Military Analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency, "CHAPTER 6: THE MIDDLE EAST’S NUCLEAR FUTURE," The Next Arms Race, August 2012~
The great danger is that the United States is "cutting off its nose to
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determined to keep pace—even though the Emirates got a late start. Edelman %26 Krepinevich, Former Undersecretary for Defense, ’11
~Eric Edelman, Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, Former Undersecretary for Defense, Andrew Krepinevich, President of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment, Evan Montgomery, Research Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, "The dangers of a nuclear Iran," http://www.csbaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010.12.27-The-Dangers-of-a-Nuclear-Iran.pdf~~
During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union only needed to
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a single intelligence compromise could leave their weapons vulnerable to attack or theft. Russell, National Security Professor Naval Postgraduate School, ’09
~James Russell, Associate Professor of National Security at the Naval Postgraduate School, "Strategic Stability Reconsidered: Prospects for Escalation and Nuclear War in the Middle East," Security Studies Center Proliferation Papers, http://www.analyst-network.com/articles/141/StrategicStabilityReconsideredProspectsforEscalationandNuclearWarintheMiddleEast.pdf~~
Strategic stability in the region is thus undermined by various factors: (1)
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the peoples of the region, with substantial risk for the entire world. Loudermilk, Senior Energy Associate @ NDU, ’11
~Micah J. Loudermilk, Senior Associate for the Energy %26 Environmental Security Policy program with The Institute for National Strategic Studies at National Defense University, "Small Nuclear Reactors and US Energy Security: Concepts, Capabilities, and Costs," Journal of Energy Security, May 2011, http://www.ensec.org/index.php?option=com_content%26view=article%26id=314:small-nuclear-reactors-and-us-energy-security-concepts-capabilities-and-costs%26catid=116:content0411%26Itemid=375-http://www.ensec.org/index.php?option=com_content%26view=article%26id=314:small-nuclear-reactors-and-us-energy-security-concepts-capabilities-and-costs%26catid=116:content0411%26Itemid=375~~
Combating proliferation with US leadership: Reactor safety itself notwithstanding, many argue that the
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reactors are mitigated and concerns over the widespread distribution of nuclear fuel allayed. Sanders, Associate Director Savannah National Lab, ’12
~Tom Sanders, Associate Laboratory Director for Clean Energy Initiatives at the Savannah River National Laboratory, Department of Energy, Former President of the American Nuclear Society, "Tom Sanders: Great expectations for small modular reactors," Nuclear News, July 2012, pg. 48-49~
That’s a good question. One of the things that concerned me most in the
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with a large plant doesn’t make any sense if you can’t afford it. Cheap and plentiful natural gas is creating an overdependence for electricity generation that will cause future price volatility and shortages – SMR development solvesPerry, Professor of Economics at UM – Flint, 9-26
~Mark J. Perry, "Natural gas and nuclear power need to share the lead in power generation for the future," September 26th 2012, www.aei.org/article/energy-and-the-environment/conventional-energy/natural-gas-and-nuclear-power-need-to-share-the-lead-in-power-generation-for-the-future/~
Recent advances in drilling technologies have unleashed a boom in domestic natural gas production.
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replaced, and fostering their use is in our national and economic interest. Spencer, Nuclear Research Fellow @ Thomas Roe Institute, 12
~Jack Spencer, Research Fellow in Nuclear Energy in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, "More to the Story on Nuclear Power and Cheap Natural Gas," March 16th 2012, http://blog.heritage.org/2012/03/16/more-to-the-story-on-nuclear-power-and-cheap-natural-gas/-http://blog.heritage.org/2012/03/16/more-to-the-story-on-nuclear-power-and-cheap-natural-gas/~~
Two major financial news publications, the Economist and The Wall Street Journal, published
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markets to more abundant, more affordable, and even safer nuclear energy. Rosner %26 Goldberg, Physics Prof @ U Chicago, ’11
~Robert Rosner, William E. Wrather, Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics at The University of Chicago, Director, Energy Policy Institute, Harris School of Public Policy, Stephen Goldberg, Professor of Law Emeritus at Northwestern Law, "Small Modular Reactors – Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," Energy Policy Institute at The University of Chicago, November 2011~
In both the 2004 Chicago Study and the current work, the future behavior of
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the investment requirements are comparable – SMRs could potentially "fit the bill." McNelis, Director at the Institute for the Environment at UNC-Chapel Hill, 11
(6/24, Safer power from smaller reactors, www.newsobserver.com/2011/06/24/1295895/safer-power-from-smaller-reactors.html)
Efforts to promote energy efficiency, encourage sustainable lifestyle changes and exploit renewable energy sources
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require back-up power in the event the weather is not cooperating. Dratler, Professor of Intellectual Property at The University of Akron School of Law, 10/8
(How Near-Term Energy Policy Could Make or Break Us, jaydiatribe.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-near-term-energy-policy-could-make.html)
The new horizontal drilling technology known as "fracking" has brought us a "
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a bigger supply of natural-gas for space heating at higher prices. Bezdek, Founder and President of Management Information Services, 04
(Public Utilities Fortnightly, The Case Against Gas Dependence, www.misi-net.com/publications/Case_Against_Gas_Dependence.pdf)
Over the past two decades, the United States has, by default, come
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sector, and not to accept demand destruction in the nation’s industrial sector. Lieberthal and O’Hanlon, Director of the China center and Director of research at Brookings, 12
(7/10, The Real National Security Threat: America’s Debt, www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2012/07/10-economy-foreign-policy-lieberthal-ohanlon)
Lastly, American economic weakness undercuts U.S. leadership abroad. Other countries
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really possible if that fundamental prerequisite to effective foreign policy is not reestablished. Affordable natural gas in the US is key to the global economy – makes up for shortfalls from Europe and ChinaPerry, Professor of Economics at UM – Flint, 12
~Mark J. Perry, "U.S. Emerges As A Main Engine of Global Growth," mjperry.blogspot.com/2012/04/us-emerging-as-main-engine-of-global.html~
"The U.S. once again may be emerging as a main engine
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current pickup in growth is clearly being led by the U.S." Global economic collapse ensures great power conflict and accesses every impact possibleGreen %26 Schrage, IR Prof @ Georgetown, ’09
~Michael Green, Senior Advisor %26 Japan Chair @ The Center for Strategic and International Studies %26 Associate Professor @ The Walsh School of Foreign Service, Steven Schrage, CSIS Scholl Chair in International Business, Former Senior official with the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, State Department and Ways %26 Means Committee, "It’s not just the economy," March 26th 2009, http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/KC26Dk01.html-http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/KC26Dk01.html~~
Facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, analysts at the World Bank
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demonstration effect of liberal norms we are urging China to embrace at home. Spencer %26 Loris, Nuclear Research Fellow @ Thomas Roe Institute, ’11
~Jack Spencer, Research Fellow in Nuclear Energy in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, Nicolas D. Loris is a Research Associate in the Roe Institute at The Heritage Foundation, "A Big Future for Small Nuclear Reactors?," February 2nd 2011, http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/02/a-big-future-for-small-nuclear-reactors~~
If SMRs Are So Great, Where Is the Construction? While some designs are
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for nuclear power and should implement the necessary reforms to make this happen. Staffing, Security, and Safety regulations are the primary obstaclesMarston, CTO Electric Power Research Institute, ’12
~Dr. Theodore U. Marston, Former Chief Technology Officer of the Electric Power Research Institute, PhD Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, "Status of Small Modular Light Water Reactors in the US," The Nuclear Decarbonization Option: Profiles of Selected Advanced Reactor Technologies, March 2012~
l Staffing – Current control room staffing requirements are based on large reactors with fully
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, used in the existing plants. Alternative staffing requirements are under discussion.
l Security – Security requirements for US LWRs have increased substantially since the terrorist events
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maintained with simplified security requirements. Proposed simplifications are under development for smLWRs.
l Emergency planning – size of emergency planning zones – The emergency planning and the
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in the assumption that they can be licensed, built and commissioned quickly. Wheeler, Power Engineering Editor, ’11
~Brian Wheeler, Associate Editor, Power Engineering, "Small Modular Reactors are ’Hot’," February 1st 2011, http://www.power-eng.com/articles/print/volume-115/issue-2/departments/nuclear-reactions/small-modular-reactors-are-hot.html~~
One of the "hottest" topics being discussed in the U.S.
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, which could in return lead to more clean energy on the grid. Cunningham, Policy Analyst for Energy and Climate at the American Security Project, October, ’12
~Small Modular Reactors: A Possible Path Forward for Nuclear Power. americansecurityproject.org/ASP%20Reports/Ref%200087%20-%20Small%20Modular%20Reactors.pdf~
Finally, the rapid increase in demand for electricity around the world over the next
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the time and cost for design licensing will accelerate the development of SMRs. |
| 10/28/2012 | Tournament: Harvard | Round: 6 | Opponent: | Judge: Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, ’11
~Jim Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, Member of the American Nuclear Society’s Public Information Committee, "Roadblock in Congress for SMR Development," -C:\Users\Abhik\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\Roadblock in Congress for SMR Development,October 25th 2011, http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2011/10/25/congress-smr/~~
As many have observed, the main barrier to the deployment of SMRs may not
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requiring the NRC to complete reviews within some fixed, reasonable time period. 4) No private spillover – expanding the government’s role beyond financial incentives eliminates demonstration value – means they can’t solve prolifDeutch and Ansolabehere, Professor of chemistry at MIT and Professor of Political Science at MIT, 03 (The Future of Nuclear Power, http://web.mit.edu/nuclearpower/-http://web.mit.edu/nuclearpower/)
The second type of "demonstration" project is a first nuclear project carried out
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program could be up to %242 billion paid out over several years. Snider, 12 (Annie, E%26E reporter, 2/23/2012, "DEFENSE: Military’s alt energy programs draw Republicans’ ire," http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/02/23/2-http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/02/23/2 )
Suspicion is growing among Republican lawmakers that the Defense Department’s efforts to move to renewable
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proposes cutting weapons programs and reducing forces in order to meet budget mandates. Bagnal %26 Kadak, MIT Nuclear Prof, ’10
~Andy Kadak, Former Professor of the Practice Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Charles Bagnal, General Electric, "RISK‐INFORMED AND PERFORMANCE‐BASED LICENSING FOR SMRs," INTERIM REPORT OF THE ANS PRESIDENT’S SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON SMR GENERIC LICENSING ISSUES, July 2010~
The DC process, typically lasting several years (and in many cases more than
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that SMRs can provide in the near term and delay their timely construction. Gale, Finance Department Chair at Latham %26 Watkins, 09
(FINANCING THE NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE: THE BENEFITS AND POTENTIAL PITFALLS OF FEDERAL %26 STATE GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES AND THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR POWER IN CALIFORNIA, ENERGY LAW JOURNAL, Vol. 30:497)
Tax credits have been used in combination with accelerated depreciation under the Modified Accelerated Cost
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certain issues associated with monetization of tax credits on nuclear power generating assets. Wallace and Williams, Senior Adviser on U.S. Nuclear Energy Project at CSIS and Nuclear Policy Analyst at Partnership for Global Security, 12
(Nuclear Energy in America:Preventing its Early Demise, csis.org/files/publication/120417_gf_wallace_williams.pdf)
Second, setting global norms and standards for safety, security, operations, and
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.S. nuclear industry and take action to prevent its early demise. |
| 11/10/2012 | Tournament: Wake | Round: 2 | Opponent: | Judge: CJS, Corpus Juris Secundum - legal encyclopedia, 52
(Vol. 76, p. 178)
It has been said that in its ordinary signification "reduce" does not mean
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to lower; to degrade or impair; to replace; to restore. PLD 12
(People’s Law Dictionary – site last updated 2012, http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1835-http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1835-http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1835-http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1835)
restriction n. any limitation on activity, by statute, regulation or contract provision. In multi-unit real estate developments, condominium and cooperative housing projects managed by homeowners’ associations or similar organizations, such organizations are usually required by state law to impose restrictions on use. Thus, the restrictions are part of the "covenants, conditions and restrictions" intended to enhance the use of common facilities and property which are recorded and incorporated into the title of each owner. We are a reduction in the main barrier to SMR commercializationHopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, ’11
~Jim Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, Member of the American Nuclear Society’s Public Information Committee, "Roadblock in Congress for SMR Development," -C:\Users\Abhik\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\Roadblock in Congress for SMR Development,October 25th 2011, http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2011/10/25/congress-smr/~~
As many have observed, the main barrier to the deployment of SMRs may not
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requiring the NRC to complete reviews within some fixed, reasonable time period. |
| 11/10/2012 | Tournament: | Round: | Opponent: | Judge: Rosner %26 Goldberg, Physics Prof @ U Chicago, ’11
~Robert Rosner, William E. Wrather, Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics at The University of Chicago, Director, Energy Policy Institute, Harris School of Public Policy, Stephen Goldberg, Professor of Law Emeritus at Northwestern Law, "Small Modular Reactors – Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," Energy Policy Institute at The University of Chicago, November 2011~
From the on-shore manufacturing perspective, a key point is that the manufacturing
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Japan, Korea, Russia, and, now rapidly emerging, China. |
| 11/10/2012 | Tournament: | Round: | Opponent: | Judge: Rosner %26 Goldberg, Physics Prof @ U Chicago, ’11
~Robert Rosner, William E. Wrather, Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics at The University of Chicago, Director, Energy Policy Institute, Harris School of Public Policy, Stephen Goldberg, Professor of Law Emeritus at Northwestern Law, "Small Modular Reactors – Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," Energy Policy Institute at The University of Chicago, November 2011~
From the on-shore manufacturing perspective, a key point is that the manufacturing
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Japan, Korea, Russia, and, now rapidly emerging, China. |
| 11/10/2012 | Tournament: | Round: | Opponent: | Judge: Third, infinitely regressive – legitimizes any permutation of non-USFG actors – kills clash and forces substance crowdoutHopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, ’11
~Jim Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, Member of the American Nuclear Society’s Public Information Committee, "Roadblock in Congress for SMR Development," -C:\Users\Abhik\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\Roadblock in Congress for SMR Development,October 25th 2011, http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2011/10/25/congress-smr/~~
As many have observed, the main barrier to the deployment of SMRs may not
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requiring the NRC to complete reviews within some fixed, reasonable time period. Spencer %26 Loris, Nuclear Research Fellow @ Thomas Roe Institute, ’11
~Jack Spencer, Research Fellow in Nuclear Energy in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, Nicolas D. Loris is a Research Associate in the Roe Institute at The Heritage Foundation, "A Big Future for Small Nuclear Reactors?," February 2nd 2011, http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/02/a-big-future-for-small-nuclear-reactors~~
Many politicians are attempting to mitigate these market challenges by offering subsidies, such as
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industry into success, the evidence demonstrates that such efforts invariably fail. T e nuclear industry’s success stories are rooted in the free market. Two examples include
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that expertise now would help bring new technologies into the marketplace more smoothly. Yurman 10
(Dan, consultant to firms in the global nuclear energy industry in the area of social media and marketing communications, "NEI seeks consensus on licensing small reactors," 8-18-10, http://djysrv.blogspot.com/2010/08/nei-seeks-consensus-on-licensing-small.html) What NEI hopes to do, according to Genoa, "is to create a
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signals that indicate the existence of a market for SMR technology . . ." Fentiman 1
(Audeen W., Associate Professor in Nuclear Engineering at The Ohio State University, "What Is an NRC Agreement State?" 2-6-01, http://ohioline.osu.edu/rer-fact/rer_71.html-http://ohioline.osu.edu/rer-fact/rer_71.html-http://ohioline.osu.edu/rer-fact/rer_71.html-http://ohioline.osu.edu/rer-fact/rer_71.html)
Under federal law, the commercial use of most types of radioactive materials in the
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Agreement State, it can request that the NRC resume its previous duties. The president dwarfs other actors, and will get the credit or the blameBruce Miroff, professor and chair of political science at the State University of New York at Albany, 2000, The Presidency and the Political System, Ed. Michael Nelson, p. 304.
Spectacle has also been fostered by the president’s rise to primacy in the American political
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Wayne and Thomas Cronin have shown, are both excessive and contradictory.7 Kagan nomination and election season make the Court a lightening rod- Obama will weigh inMARK SHERMAN- Associated Press- June 10, 2010, Liberal group: Pro-business tilt on Roberts court, lexisnexis
A study from a liberal interest group says the Supreme Court of Chief Justice John
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the span of 15 days beginning Monday, when the court next sits.
The remaining cases are generally not garden-variety disputes, but among the most important and contentious of the term. Presidential candidates won’t resist the opportunity to make a speech – they will take a standEric Hamilton - J.D. Candidate, Stanford Law School, 2013 - August 30, 2012, Politicizing the Supreme Court, 65 Stan. L. Rev. Online 35, http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/politicizing-supreme-court
To state the obvious, Americans do not trust the federal government, and that
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do on my first day if elected President," said Romney.~14~ Tularak %26 Totev, Argonne National Lab, ’11
~Thitidej, Office of Atoms for Peace, and Dr. Totju, Argonne National Laboratory, "IAEA Fellowship Work Report," AM~
Reduced spent fuels and waste management obligation: Nuclear waste and spent fuels are another critical part in nuclear industry. They are sensitive in posting threats to people and environment. With most designs offering longer fuel lifetime and smaller amount of nuclear waste and spent fuels, SMRs are able to limit obligation in waste management and spent fuels or even have no spent fuel pool. King et al., IR Prof @ GW, ’11
~Marcus D. King, Project Director and Research Analyst for the Environment and Energy Team at the Center for Naval Analyses, Associate Research Professor of International Affairs at the Elliot School for International Affairs at George Washington University, LaVar Huntzinger, Analyst at CNA, Thoi Nguyen, Analyst at CAN, "Feasibility of Nuclear Power on U.S. Military Installations," March 2011~
Spent fuel and used fuel management represents another potential liability. In 2009, President
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SMR site because a smaller amount of spent fuel would be stored there. |
| 11/10/2012 | Tournament: Wake | Round: 2 | Opponent: | Judge: Deal unlikely —- continued gridlock, brinkmanship and desire of some to go off the cliffBarno, et. al, 11/7 —- work at the Center for a New American Security Lieutenant General (Ret.) David W. Barno is a senior advisor and senior fellow, Dr. Nora Bensahel is the deputy director of studies and a senior fellow, and Joel Smith and Jacob Stokes are research assistants, "Brace Yourself; The U.S. may well go off the fiscal cliff. Is that so bad?" http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/07/brace_yourself-http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/07/brace_yourself) Scenario 3: Congress and the president fail to reach any agreement, and the nation goes off the fiscal cliff.
Continued gridlock during the lame duck session remains a high probability, and budget talks will likely involve a significant amount of brinksmanship among negotiators trying to maximize their own gains — brinksmanship that could well end in failure, preventing a deal and driving the nation off the fiscal cliff.
As noted above, the tight legislative calendar in the lame duck session and the
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the possibility of delay remove the time pressure needed to reach a bargain.
Although President Obama has strongly opposed sequestration as a way to reduce the deficit,
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the other hand, have demonstrated their equally strong opposition to new taxes.
Some legislators from both parties might see advantage in letting the nation go off the
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with Republicans — taxes would rise significantly and defense spending would be cut.
In a perverse twist of logic, both parties might benefit from the new baselines
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may be willing to vote to "increase" spending on defense programs. The Guardian, 11/10 (Ewen MacAskill, 11/10/2012, "Obama statement: Back to reality as fiscal cliff approaches," Factiva) But any bipartisan spirit might prove short-lived. Boehner also went on to say that, unlike Obama and the Democrats, he does not favour raising taxes on the wealthy and that removing some loopholes and cleaning up the tax code would be enough to do the trick. He also expressed opposition to raising taxes on the wealthy.
Part of Boehner’s problem is that so far he has not been able to control all his colleagues, particularly those elected with Tea Party support.
Ominously, in his first answer to a reporter, he was less than truthful, saying: "When the president and I have been able to come an agreement, there has been no problem in getting it passed in the House."
Boehner and Obama reached an agreement on a "grand bargain" to resolve the fiscal cliff crisis last year but when Boehner took it back to his colleagues in the House they, led by the House majority leader Eric Cantor, blocked it. Chokshi %26 Terris, 11/6 (Niraj Chokshi and Ben Terris, 11/6/2012, "National Journal Daily - AM Edition," Factiva) ENERGY
Wind Fight Reaches Homestretch
After simmering for the better part of this year, the battle over the wind
AND
against the wind policy say it’s likely to be included in that deal.
Supporters of the policy are planning rallies and floor speeches the week of Nov. 13—the first week Congress is back after the election—to encourage members to extend the tax credit. Key lawmakers supporting the PTC include Sens. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, as well as the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition chaired by Democratic Reps. Steve Israel and Paul Tonko of New York and Gerald Connolly of Virginia.
The policymakers leading the charge against the tax credit—Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan.—will be helped by lobbyists working with nuclear-power giant Exelon, who assert that the credit is distorting electricity markets, and tea party groups that are seeking to eliminate most government subsidies. Chokshi %26 Terris, 11/6 (Niraj Chokshi and Ben Terris, 11/6/2012, "National Journal Daily - AM Edition," Factiva) ENVIRONMENT
More EPA Action Likely Postelection
In the next two months, the Environmental Protection Agency will likely move forward with
AND
legal agreement with environmental groups to issue this standard by Dec. 14. Krugman, 11/10 (Paul, 11/10/2012, International Herald Tribune, "Hang tough, Mr. President," Factiva) Mr. Obama essentially surrendered in the face of similar tactics at the end of 2010, extending low taxes on the rich for two more years. He made significant concessions again in 2011, when Republicans threatened to create financial chaos by refusing to raise the debt ceiling. And the current potential crisis is the legacy of those past concessions.
Well, this has to stop — unless we want hostage-taking, the threat of making the nation ungovernable, to become a standard part of our political process.
So what should he do? Just say no, and go over the cliff if necessary.
It’s worth pointing out that the fiscal cliff isn’t really a cliff. It’s not like the debt-ceiling confrontation, where terrible things might well have happened right away if the deadline had been missed. This time, nothing very bad will happen to the economy if agreement isn’t reached until a few weeks or even a few months into 2013. So there’s time to bargain.
More important, however, is the point that a stalemate would hurt Republican backers, corporate donors in particular, every bit as much as it hurt the rest of the country. As the risk of severe economic damage grew, Republicans would face intense pressure to cut a deal after all.
Meanwhile, the president is in a far stronger position than in previous confrontations.
AND
a last-ditch attempt to defend the privileges of the 1 percent.
Most of all, standing up to hostage-taking is the right thing to do for the health of America’s political system.
So stand your ground, Mr. President, and don’t give in to threats. No deal is better than a bad deal. Barno, et. al, 11/7 —- work at the Center for a New American Security Lieutenant General (Ret.) David W. Barno is a senior advisor and senior fellow, Dr. Nora Bensahel is the deputy director of studies and a senior fellow, and Joel Smith and Jacob Stokes are research assistants, "Brace Yourself; The U.S. may well go off the fiscal cliff. Is that so bad?" http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/07/brace_yourself-http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/07/brace_yourself) Of course, this would be high-stakes game of chicken for both the
AND
reaching a broader consensus in 2013 about balancing the nation’s revenues and expenditures. Barno, et. al, 11/7 —- work at the Center for a New American Security Lieutenant General (Ret.) David W. Barno is a senior advisor and senior fellow, Dr. Nora Bensahel is the deputy director of studies and a senior fellow, and Joel Smith and Jacob Stokes are research assistants, "Brace Yourself; The U.S. may well go off the fiscal cliff. Is that so bad?" http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/07/brace_yourself-http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/07/brace_yourself) *
If we do go off the fiscal cliff, all is not lost for the Pentagon. The exact effects of allowing sequestration to take effect still remain unclear, but they are likely to occur more gradually than generally understood. Sequestration mandates a %2452.3 billion reduction of DOD spending in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, which amounts to a 9.4 percent cut of budget authority from nonexempt accounts during the nine remaining months of FY 2013.
Focusing on the %2452.3 billion cut to defense budget authority distorts how sequestration would affect defense spending for the rest of the fiscal year. Budget authority is often spread across multiple years and therefore is an improper metric for examining the immediate impacts of cuts in economic terms. Instead, outlays — money actually spent — provide a better measure.
Some of the key ways that sequestration could affect defense during the rest of FY 2013 include:
The DOD civilian workforce. As spending on civilian personnel is largely consumed in the first outlay year, the civilian workforce potentially faces significant layoffs or furloughs. Unlike uniformed personnel, civilian personnel are not exempt from sequestration. Expert analysts have estimated that if sequestration goes into effect, DOD would need to reduce its civilian workforce by as much as 13.7 percent during the remainder of the fiscal year.
Military health care. Military health care services are subject to sequestration since they are primarily funded through nonexempt operations and maintenance accounts. This could result in delayed payments to providers and possible denial of services.
Program cancellations. Despite widespread concern, most procurement programs will not be affected right away. Sequestration does not affect prior-year funding obligations, so already authorized and planned purchases will go ahead as scheduled. Sequestration allows already planned programs to continue, but over time it would reduce quantities bought, delay deliveries, and increase unit prices.
Military end strength. Since President Obama exercised his authority to shield military personnel accounts from sequestration, pay and benefits would remain intact and end strength would not be cut beyond already-planned levels for FY 2013.
The Pentagon would likely try to mitigate some of these effects by asking Congress for
AND
priorities, such as the Overseas Contingency Operations budget that supports deployed troops.
The Defense Department might also mitigate these effects by deferring any cuts until the fourth
AND
have some political benefits — but that doesn’t mean the risks aren’t significant. Dickinson, 09 – professor of political science at Middlebury College and taught previously at Harvard University where he worked under the supervision of presidential scholar Richard Neustadt (5/26/09, Matthew, Presidential Power: A NonPartisan Analysis of Presidential Politics, "Sotomayor, Obama and Presidential Power," http://blogs.middlebury.edu/presidentialpower/2009/05/26/sotamayor-obama-and-presidential-power/, JMP) As for Sotomayor, from here the path toward almost certain confirmation goes as follows
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(I talk briefly about the likely politics of the nomination process below).
What is of more interest to me, however, is what her selection reveals
AND
I am ignoring the importance of a president’s veto power for the moment.)
Despite the much publicized and celebrated instances of presidential arm-twisting during the legislative
AND
has already occurred, in the decision to present Sotomayor as his nominee.
If we want to measure Obama’s "power", then, we need to know
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an important aspect of presidential power that cannot be measured through legislative boxscores. Green 2011 - professor of political science at Hofstra University (June 11, David, " The Do-Nothing 44th President " http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Do-Nothing-44th-Presid-by-David-Michael-Gree-100611-648.html-http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Do-Nothing-44th-Presid-by-David-Michael-Gree-100611-648.html) The fundamental characteristic of the Obama presidency is that the president is a reactive object
AND
of the debate, but they determine which items are on the docket.
Moreover, there is a continuously evolving and reciprocal relationship between presidential boldness and achievement. In the same way that nothing breeds success like success, nothing sets the president up for achieving his or her next goal better than succeeding dramatically on the last go around.
This is absolutely a matter of perception, and you can see it best in
AND
of the now retired Helen Thomas, this is precisely what they did.
But the game of successfully governing is substantive as well as psychological. More often than not, timidity turns out not to yield the safe course anticipated by those with weak knees, but rather their subsequent undoing. The three cases mentioned at the top of this essay are paradigmatic. |
| 11/10/2012 | Tournament: Shirley | Round: 4 | Opponent: George Washington HS | Judge: Lincoln Garrett
AT: Blue Ribbon Commission CP 4) A BRC report has already made recommendations on nuke power
Blue Ribbon Commission Report January 2012
(Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear future, cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/brc/20120620220235/http://brc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/brc_finalreport_jan2012.pdf
The strategy we recommend in this report has eight key
elements:
…, non-proliferation, and
security concerns.
The recommendation on geologic disposal facilities was ignored
Werner, Section Research Manager, May 2012
(U.S. Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage, www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42513.pdf)
The Obama Administration … in the
Administration’s budget request for FY2013. The recommendation on spent fuel storage was ignored
National Journal June 2012
(Confronting America's Nuclear-Waste Dilemma, energy.nationaljournal.com/2012/06/confronting-americas-nuclearwa.php
Right now, all of the spent … production in the United States.
Blue ribbon commission fails to follow best practice criteria – its not transparent and excludes public stakeholders from decisionmaking – causes institutional failure in the specific case of nuclear facilities
Tula, Rosa, and Webster 12
(Seth, a researcher at the Social and Environmental Research Institute (SERI) since its founding in 1995, Eugene, Boeing Distinguished Professor of Environmental Sociology and the Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor of Natural Resource and Environmental Policy, and Professor of Sociology, at Washington State University, ounding member and researcher at the Social and Environmental Research Institute (SERI). He is also an associate faculty member in the Department of Environmental Studies at Antioch University New England, and an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Geography at Clark University, “America's nuclear future: Does the public have a fair say in it?”, January 31, 2012, http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/americas-nuclear-future-does-the-public-have-fair-say-it) *BRC = Blue Ribbon Commission* Among scholars and practitioners of public … spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste meet these criteria.
Uncertainty makes the plan take years longer at best
Bagnal and Kadak, MIT Nuclear Prof, ’10
Andy Kadak, Former Professor of the Practice Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Charles Bagnal, General Electric, “RISK‐INFORMED AND PERFORMANCE‐BASED LICENSING FOR SMRs,” INTERIM REPORT OF THE ANS PRESIDENT’S SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON SMR GENERIC LICENSING ISSUES, July 2010
The DC process, typically lasting several … term and delay their timely construction. |
| 11/10/2012 | Tournament: Shirley | Round: 4 | Opponent: GeoWash | Judge: Lincoln
1) No solvency – Only removal of NRC regulations can create a competitive SMR market – no private spillover because investors will not do anything with SMR’s until they think regulations are less costly – That’s Spencer and Loris – both advantages are based on widespread domestic SMR procurement – means they can’t solve
2) Failure to reduce NRC regulations pushes SMR’s back 7 years
Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, ’11
Jim Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, Member of the American Nuclear Society’s Public Information Committee, “Roadblock in Congress for SMR Development,” October 25th 2011, http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2011/10/25/congress-smr/
As many have observed, the main … some fixed, reasonable time period.
3) Perm - do both
4) No private spillover – expanding the government’s role beyond financial incentives eliminates demonstration value – means they can’t solve prolif
Deutch and Ansolabehere, Professor of chemistry at MIT and Professor of Political Science at MIT, 03 (The Future of Nuclear Power, http://web.mit.edu/nuclearpower/)
The second type of “demonstration” project … be up to $2 billion paid out over several years.
5) Perm - do the counterplan
6) Republicans criticize military energy investments
Snider, 12 (Annie, EandE reporter, 2/23/2012, “DEFENSE: Military's alt energy programs draw Republicans' ire,” http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/02/23/2 )
Suspicion is growing among Republican … reducing forces in order to meet budget mandates.
7) Expertise failure – the counterplan falls outside of DOD capabilities
King, Associate Director of Research and Associate Research Professor of International Affairs at George Washington, 11
(March, Feasibility of Nuclear Power on U.S. Military Installations, http://www.cna.org/research/2011/feasibility-nuclear-power-us-military)
A significant liability to DoD ownership … power plant built on a DoD installation.
8) The counterplan will be massively delayed and DOD staff won’t be able to operate and maintain SMR’s
GAO 2012
(April, RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT FINANCING
Improved Guidance and Information Sharing Needed for DOD Project-Level Officials, Report to Congressional Committees)
Up-front appropriations versus long-… can be a drawback of these two approaches. |
| 11/10/2012 | Tournament: Shirley | Round: 4 | Opponent: | Judge:
NNSA 2AC
Already overstretched – deterrence still holds
Global Security Newswire – 9/13/12, DOE, NNSA Management Faults Bolster Nuclear Risks, Auditors Warn, http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/nnsa-management-faults-bolster-risks-auditors-say/ Nuclear arms operations in the … activities, the GAO officials said.
We solve worker shortages
Kammen 7 (Daniel, Professor in Public Policy Specializing in Energy and Resources – University of California, Berkeley, and Gregory F. Nemet, Professor of Public Policy – University of California, Berkeley, “Energy Myth Eleven – Energy RandD Investment Takes Decades To Reach The Market”, Energy and American Society – Thirteen Myths, Ed. Sovacool and Brown, p. 304-305) We also examined the thesis that … of both private sector RandD and RandD in other federal programs.12 Non-unique – nuclear renaissance now means shortages are inevitable
Structural issues prevent NNSA hiring – plan is key to increase science grads
Walker 2012 (May 1, Molly Bernhart, “NNSA could soon face workforce gaps but struggles to monitor them” http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/nnsa-could-soon-face-workforce-gaps-struggles-monitor-them/2012-05-01) The National Nuclear Security Administration … security clearances, says GAO.
There is an excess of nuclear demand – THEIR link author
Lorentzen, 8 -- Human Sciences Research Council chief research specialist
(Jo, PhD from the European University Institute in Italy, worked at universities and research institutes in Europe and in the US for a decade during which he taught courses on international business and economic development, and Il-Haam Petersen "Human Capital Dynamics in Three Technology Platforms: Nuclear, Space and Biotechnology," March 2008, https://www.labour.gov.za/downloads/documents/research-documents/Technology%20Platforms.pdf) Since the ambition of the nuclear … expertise is in excess demand.
Technology checks a superbug
Easterbrook (Gregg, The New Republic Editor) 2003 Wired, "We're All Gonna Die!" 11/7, http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.07/doomsday.html
3. Germ warfare! Like chemical agents, … before, and it seems unlikely to happen in the future. No risk of huge pandemic – genetic diversity
Townsville Bulletin ‘3
(“Bio-terror talk Professor says body can cope with viruses,” Australia, August 30, Lexis)
Immunogenetics researcher … communities of the past." |
| 11/10/2012 | Tournament: Shirley | Round: 4 | Opponent: GeoWash | Judge: Lincoln
AT: SMRs Slow
Takes 24 months to build
Rosner and Goldberg, Physics Prof @ U Chicago, ’11
Robert Rosner, William E. Wrather, Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics at The University of Chicago, Director, Energy Policy Institute, Harris School of Public Policy, Stephen Goldberg, Professor of Law Emeritus at Northwestern Law, “Small Modular Reactors – Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.,” Energy Policy Institute at The University of Chicago, November 2011
SMRs could potentially mitigate such a risk …– SMRs could potentially “fit the bill.”
Streamlining NRC regs speeds up the timeline
Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, ’11
Jim Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, Member of the American Nuclear Society’s Public Information Committee, “Roadblock in Congress for SMR Development,” October 25th 2011, http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2011/10/25/congress-smr/
As many have observed, the main barrier to ….some fixed, reasonable time period.
Can build SMRs in a couple years
Adams, Former Nuclear Submarine Engineer Officer and Founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., ’11
Adams, “Smaller nuclear reactors allow decentralized power – some critics not pleased,” http://atomicinsights.com/2011/07/smaller-nuclear-reactors-allow-decentralized-power-some-critics-not-pleased.html
These days, the US is building small modular …more challenging to demonstrate that reality.
AT: Accidents
Domestic nuclear industry key to prevent global accidents
Wallace and Williams, Senior Adviser on U.S. Nuclear Energy Project at CSIS and Nuclear Policy Analyst at Partnership for Global Security, 12
(Nuclear Energy in America:Preventing its Early Demise, csis.org/files/publication/120417_gf_wallace_williams.pdf)
Second, setting global norms and standards for…action to prevent its early demise.
AT: Exports
Manufacturing licenses solves export restrictions – creates interagency export standards
Campagna, Hyperion Chief Nuclear Officer, ’10
Mark S. Campagna, Chief Operations Officer/Chief Nuclear Officer at Hyperion, “UTILIZATION OF NRC MANUFACTURING LICENSE FOR SMALL MODULAR REACTORS,” INTERIM REPORT OF THE ANS PRESIDENT’S SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON SMR GENERIC LICENSING ISSUES, July 2010
Outside the United States, the ML appears to …Commerce, Treasury, and State.
That resolves any export competition problems – this is the bottom of the report all of your evidence cites
Glasgow et al., Partner @ Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, October ’12
James A. Glasgow, Elina Teplinsky, Stephen L. Markus, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, “Nuclear Export Controls: A Comparative Analysis of National Regimes for the Control of Nuclear Materials, Components and Technology,” October 2012
Apart from needed changes to U.S. export law a…U.S. exporters in the near-term.
AT: Prolif Good (Short)
None of their evidence is specific to the Middle East – no survivability, historic tensions, and short flight times make war uniquely likely – that’s Edelman and Krepinevich and Russell
New nuclear states cause war – that’s Horowitz – inexperience, military control, and foreign perception mean transitions increase instability and conflict – prefer evidence that doesn’t look at proliferation in a vacuum
Each state with weapons increases the risk – that’s Below – prolif increases tension and creates pressures for arms racing
Prolif optimists rely on theorizing over data – models are insufficient for policymaking
Busch, Professor of Government at Christopher Newport University, ‘4 (Nathan, “No End in Sight: The Continuing Menace of Nuclear Proliferation” p 281-314) Until now, the proliferation debate has largely…making the world a safer place.
Prolif makes preemption likely – state uncertainty
Jeffrey W. Knopf, Professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, October 2002, “Recasting the proliferation optimism-pessimism debate,” Security Studies, Vol. 12, No. 1, p. 60-61 The second implication of pressures to seek ….forces that could survive and strike second.
Prolif increases tension that results in escalation – changed perceptions of motivation and posturing
Jeffrey W. Knopf, Professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, October 2002, “Recasting the proliferation optimism-pessimism debate,” Security Studies, Vol. 12, No. 1, p. 57-58 Nuclear weapons can exacerbate tensions in …with it some risk of escalation. AT: No Econ Impact
US and global economic decline causes war –
US decline emboldens US enemies and scares US allies we aren’t committed to them anymore – causes major power war in East Asia and The Persian Gulf – Lieberthal and O’Hanlon
Global decline causes protectionism and belligerence of autocratic regimes which incites global conflict – also leads to collapse of new democracies – creates failed states with risk of terrorism and disease – Green and Schrage Natural gas price volatility crushes the chemical industry
ACC, American Chemistry Council, 05
(THE IMPACTS OF HIGH ENERGY COSTS TO THE AMERICAN CONSUMER, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-109hhrg21446/html/CHRG-109hhrg21446.htm)
The unbalanced and volatile U.S. natural gas …that consumers use every day. The chemical industry is key to solve sustainability problems – prevents extinction
Baum, Editor-in-chief of the American Chemical Society's Chemical and Engineering News, 99
(CandE News, “Millennium Special Report,” http://pubs.acs.org/hotartcl/cenear/991206/7749spintro2.html)
The pace of change in today's world is truly incomprehensible. Science is advancing on all fr…genetic manipulation and corporate control over food. AT: Decoupling
US economic growth has been key to recent global growth because of cheap natural gas – subsumes euro crisis and Chinese decline – Perry
Decoupling empirically wrong – ignores exports and connected markets.
Charles Sizemore, founder and Chief Investment Officer of Dallas-based Sizemore Capital Management LLC, 2/9/2012, “Emerging markets decoupling? Not in this lifetime.” MarketWatch, http://www.marketwatch.com/story/emerging-markets-decoupling-not-in-this-lifetime-2012-02-09
Let's just say it didn't work out that way…to rise and fall together now. |
| 11/11/2012 | Tournament: Wake | Round: 5 | Opponent: Texas BK | Judge: Bricker
We meet – we reduce restrictions on the operating of SMRs – evacuation, security and staffing requirements are all operational license restrictions We meet – We eliminate NRC regulations to a level that makes SMR licensing cost effective C/I – Reduce means to lower to an inferior condition, not eliminate
CJS, Corpus Juris Secundum - legal encyclopedia, 52
(Vol. 76, p. 178)
It has been said that in its
or impair; to replace; to restore. Restriction means policy limitation – including regulation
PLD 12
(People’s Law Dictionary – site last updated 2012, http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1835-http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1835)
restriction n. any
title of each owner. Prefer our interpretation – their definitions conclude anything that limits production is topical which is what the plan changes NRC Licensing process is the main barrier to SMR energy production
Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, ’11
Jim Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, Member of the American Nuclear Society’s Public Information Committee, “Roadblock in Congress for SMR Development,” October 25th 2011, http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2011/10/25/congress-smr/
As many have observed,
reasonable time period. NRC approval is a pre-requisite to building and operating plants – their T violation doesn’t make sense in the context of nuclear restrictions
NRC 5
(Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "Backgrounder on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process," July 2005, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/licensing-process-bg.html-http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/licensing-process-bg.html)
The Nuclear Regulatory
security, and the environment. They overlimit – no NRC licensing affs means the restrictions side of nuclear power is eliminated – Nuclear is the biggest aff on the topic – cutting out half of our solvency kills aff innovation No ground loss – we defend an increase in nuclear power production from SMRs – they get all their DA’s and CP’s to doing that Default to Reasonability – competing interpretations causes a race to the bottom – over-incentivizes going for T to arbitrarily limit out the aff Nuclear energy production includes construction
Shoutblogger, ’11
Shoutblogger, “4 Myths About Nuclear Energy,” March 23rd 2011, http://shoutbloger.blogspot.com/2011/03/4-myths-about-nuclear-energy.html
Today, nuclear power is
percent higher than coal or gas. |
| 11/11/2012 | Tournament: Wake | Round: 5 | Opponent: Texas BK | Judge: Bricker
Nuclear power doesn’t compete with oil
Toth, IAEA Energy Economist, ’06
Ferenc Toth, Senior Energy Economist @ IAEA, and Hans-Holger Rogner, section head @ IAEA, 2006, “Oil and nuclear power: Past, present, and future”, Energy Economics 28, 2006, p. 22
While the past expansion of
increasing demand for electricity (WNA, 2004). |
| 11/11/2012 | Tournament: Wake | Round: 5 | Opponent: Texas BK | Judge: Bricker
The link is non-unique – nuclear renaissance proves it’s inevitable Inspections are useless
Lyman, Senior Scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, 10
(Resolving a Safeguards Paradox, www.iaea.org/OurWork/SV/Safeguards/Symposium/2010/Documents/PapersRepository/3244938985649764720068.pdf)
In practice, however, the
than in importing States. Doesn’t take out solvency – SMR tech itself is the internal link to prolif Non-unique – IAEA deals with resource constraints now
Lyman, Senior Scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, 10
(Resolving a Safeguards Paradox, www.iaea.org/OurWork/SV/Safeguards/Symposium/2010/Documents/PapersRepository/3244938985649764720068.pdf)
The discriminatory treatment
placed on the eligible list. Middle East prolif isn’t inevitable even with Iranian weapons – policy decisions that strengthen leadership can avoid the impact
Fitzpatrick 2009 (January/February, Mark, “Drawing a Bright Redline: Forestalling Nuclear Proliferation in the Middle East” http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2009_01-02/Fitzpatrick) If Iran goes nuclear, so too will
not spark proliferation concerns. |
| 11/11/2012 | Tournament: Wake | Round: 5 | Opponent: Texas BK | Judge: Bricker
Natural gas price volatility crushes the chemical industry
ACC, American Chemistry Council, 05
(THE IMPACTS OF HIGH ENERGY COSTS TO THE AMERICAN CONSUMER, www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-109hhrg21446/html/CHRG-109hhrg21446.htm)
The unbalanced and
use every day. The chemical industry is key to solve sustainability problems – prevents extinction
Baum, Editor-in-chief of the American Chemical Society's Chemical and Engineering News, 99
(CandE News, “Millennium Special Report,” http://pubs.acs.org/hotartcl/cenear/991206/7749spintro2.html)
The pace of change in today's world is
and corporate control over food. |
| 11/11/2012 | Tournament: Wake | Round: 5 | Opponent: Texas BK | Judge: Bricker
Perm – do both Perm – do the CP No solvency – all our evidence is in the context of safety and staffing regulations barring investment – that’s Marston, Spencer and Loris, Wheeler, and Cunningham Need to get rid of staffing
Grenci, Westinghouse Principal Engineer, ’10
Tony Grenci, Principal Engineer at Westinghouse Electric Company, “OPERATIONS STAFFING ISSUES RELATING TO SMRs,” INTERIM REPORT OF THE ANS PRESIDENT’S SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON SMR GENERIC LICENSING ISSUES, July 2010
NRC regulations and policies
operate the reactor facility. Reducing security and emergency planning requirements key to SMR deployment
Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, ’11
Jim Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, Member of the American Nuclear Society’s Public Information Committee, “ Small Modular Reactors and Current Policy Initiatives—Part 2,” June 21st 2011, http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2011/06/21/small-modular-reactors-and-current-policy-initiatives-part-2/
To really help SMRs, what
may have to be an option. Multiple conditional options bad – it’s a voter – rejecting the arg incentivizes abuse
First is skew – aff can’t read their best offense because the neg can just kick their argument and can cross-apply offense, kills fairness
Second is research – they can advocate contradictory positions, kills education and advocacy skills
One conditional advocacy solves their offense – we should get to advocate perms – only reciprocal option
SMRs are much safer then squo conventional plants
Loudermilk, Energy Research Associate @ NDU, ’11
Micah J. Loudermilk, Research Associate for the Energy and Environmental Security Policy program with the Institute for National Strategic Studies at National Defense University, “Small Nuclear Reactors and US Energy Security: Concepts, Capabilities, and Costs,” Journal of Energy Security, May 2011, http://www.ensec.org/index.php?option=com_contentandview=articleandid=314:small-nuclear-reactors-and-us-energy-security-concepts-capabilities-and-costsandcatid=116:content0411andItemid=375
Promoting safer nuclear power:
to that individual reactor. No impact – Fukushima proves
Domestic nuclear industry key to prevent global accidents
Wallace and Williams, Senior Adviser on U.S. Nuclear Energy Project at CSIS and Nuclear Policy Analyst at Partnership for Global Security, 12
(Nuclear Energy in America:Preventing its Early Demise, csis.org/files/publication/120417_gf_wallace_williams.pdf)
Second, setting global norms
prevent its early demise. |
| 11/11/2012 | Tournament: Wake | Round: 5 | Opponent: Texas BK | Judge: Bricker
1) No solvency – Only removal of NRC regulations can create a competitive SMR market – no private spillover because investors will not do anything with SMR’s until they think regulations are less costly – That’s Spencer and Loris – both advantages are based on widespread domestic SMR procurement – means they can’t solve 2) Failure to reduce NRC regulations pushes SMR’s back 7 years
Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, ’11
Jim Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, Member of the American Nuclear Society’s Public Information Committee, “Roadblock in Congress for SMR Development,” October 25th 2011, http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2011/10/25/congress-smr/
As many have observed,
some fixed, reasonable time period. 3) Perm - do both 4) No private spillover – expanding the government’s role beyond financial incentives eliminates demonstration value – means they can’t solve prolif
Deutch and Ansolabehere, Professor of chemistry at MIT and Professor of Political Science at MIT, 03 (The Future of Nuclear Power, http://web.mit.edu/nuclearpower/)
The second type of “demonstration”
out over several years. 5) Perm - do the counterplan 6) Republicans criticize military energy investments
Snider, 12 (Annie, EandE reporter, 2/23/2012, “DEFENSE: Military's alt energy programs draw Republicans' ire,” http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/02/23/2 )
Suspicion is growing among
in order to meet budget mandates. 7) Expertise failure – the counterplan falls outside of DOD capabilities
King, Associate Director of Research and Associate Research Professor of International Affairs at George Washington, 11
(March, Feasibility of Nuclear Power on U.S. Military Installations, http://www.cna.org/research/2011/feasibility-nuclear-power-us-military)
A significant liability to DoD
power plant built on a DoD installation. 8) The counterplan will be massively delayed and DOD staff won’t be able to operate and maintain SMR’s
GAO 2012
(April, RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT FINANCING
Improved Guidance and Information Sharing Needed for DOD Project-Level Officials, Report to Congressional Committees)
Up-front appropriations versus
drawback of these two approaches. |
| 11/11/2012 | Tournament: Wake | Round: 5 | Opponent: Texas BK | Judge: Bricker
Won’t pass ---
a. ideology will swamp any moves to compromise or leverage by Obama
Cook, 11/8 (Nancy, 11/8/2012, “To Avert a Fiscal-Cliff Catastrophe, Someone Has to Blink; Can either party be convinced that there is a difference between a lame-duck surrender and a lame-duck compromise? Probably not.” http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/to-avert-a-fiscal-cliff-catastrophe-someone-has-to-blink-20121108) Both parties pledge that they don’t want
that hopefully sometime produces a compromise. b. Tea Party will sink deal --- empirical
AFP, 11/9 (Michael Mathes, 11/9/2012, “Tea Party still a force, despite some losses,” http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ghHKvO-nUR1ZzCDsfpdTFVr4I2FQ?docId=CNG.f123008f7575a156fb9c945fe5b10c48.6f1) WASHINGTON — Despite a handful of high-profile
now it's a battle every single time." Gridlock will continue --- even bipartisan legislation doesn’t get passed
Grant, 11/8 (David, 11/8/2012, Christian Science Monitor, “Election 2012: why status quo result could mean more Washington gridlock,” Factiva) After the longest and most
cause to dig in their heels. Winners-win --- boosts Obama credibility with both sides
Baker, 11/7 (Peter, “Question for the Victor: How Far Do You Push?” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/07/us/politics/obama-second-term-has-immediate-challenges.html?pagewanted=2and_r=2andhpandandpagewanted=print) Mr. Obama is acutely aware
other side very quickly.” No congressional political capital doesn’t influence the passage of legislation – issue are compartmentalized and presidential influence is exaggerated by the media
Dickinson, 09 – professor of political science at Middlebury College and taught previously at Harvard University where he worked under the supervision of presidential scholar Richard Neustadt (5/26/09, Matthew, Presidential Power: A NonPartisan Analysis of Presidential Politics, “Sotomayor, Obama and Presidential Power,” http://blogs.middlebury.edu/presidentialpower/2009/05/26/sotamayor-obama-and-presidential-power/, JMP) As for Sotomayor, from here the path toward
through legislative boxscores. action – NRC is a distinct entity Obama isn’t key
Warren, 11/9 --- Chicago editor for the Daily Beast (James, 11/9/2012, “President Obama’s Hill Challenge in Avoiding Fiscal Cliff,” http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/09/president-obama-s-hill-challenge-in-avoiding-fiscal-cliff.html) Obama “has to change the way
political frictions in Clinton can broker the compromise
Jonsson, 11/7 (Patrik, 11/7/2012, Christian Science Monitor, “Would tea party accept a Bill Clinton-brokered deal with Obama?” Factiva)
*Brigitte Nacos is a political scientist at Columbia University who studies the GOP’s tea party splinter coalition Yet given the countrys vote
meet on spending side. Compromise inevitable – no one actually wants to go over the cliff
West, U.S. practice head and director at Eurasia Group, 11/11
(Perspective: Obama-Boehner fiscal cliff a self-denying prophecy, staugustine.com/opinions/2012-11-10/perspective-obama-boehner-fiscal-cliff-self-denying-prophecy#.UJ-a0W_XbMQ)
Thus, avoiding the fiscal cliff
both sides have little choice. Nuclear power is popular – bipartisan and public support is bolstered by lobbying
Tang, ’11
March 17, Scott, “Bipartisan calm around U.S. nuke plans” http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/bipartisan-calm-around-us-nuke-plans
Kai Ryssdal: There was more
consistently said yes. Battle coming over wind PTC in the lame duck
Chokshi and Terris, 11/6 (Niraj Chokshi and Ben Terris, 11/6/2012, “National Journal Daily - AM Edition,” Factiva) ENERGY
Wind Fight Reaches Homestretch
After simmering for the better part of
most government subsidies. Will burn Obama’s capital
Assis, 11/7 (Claudia, 11/7/2012, “Tighter energy regulations on the way? Energy one of the hardest hit sectors after Obama re-election,” http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tighter-energy-regulations-on-the-way-2012-11-07?link=MW_latest_news) Alternative energy may have better
political capital to extend it. No immediate catastrophic impact to the military
Barno, et. al, 11/7 - work at the Center for a New American Security Lieutenant General (Ret.) David W. Barno is a senior advisor and senior fellow, Dr. Nora Bensahel is the deputy director of studies and a senior fellow, and Joel Smith and Jacob Stokes are research assistants, “Brace Yourself; The U.S. may well go off the fiscal cliff. Is that so bad?” http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/07/brace_yourself) *
If we do go off the fiscal cliff,
the risks aren't significant. 1AR Russian economic collapse inevitable
Aron, AEI, ’11 (Leon, Winter, “The Status Quo Fatigue” AEI Russian Outlook)
In the words of Lev Gudkov, a top Russian pollster and
deficit even with oil over $100 a barrel.”
No immediate economic impact if we go over the cliff - will still be time to resolve it and economic harms will force GOP to cave
Krugman, 11/10 (Paul, 11/10/2012, International Herald Tribune, “Hang tough, Mr. President,” Factiva)
Mr. Obama essentially surrendered in the
No deal is better than a bad deal. Their impact is hype - won’t be lasting damage to the economy or national security
Barno, et. al, 11/7 - work at the Center for a New American Security Lieutenant General (Ret.) David W. Barno is a senior advisor and senior fellow, Dr. Nora Bensahel is the deputy director of studies and a senior fellow, and Joel Smith and Jacob Stokes are research assistants, “Brace Yourself; The U.S. may well go off the fiscal cliff. Is that so bad?” http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/07/brace_yourself)
Of course, this would be high-stakes
the nation's revenues and expenditures. Wind PTC is the top of the docket
DiMungo 11/8/12 (Laura, “Does The Wind Energy PTC Stand A Chance In Lame-Duck Congress?” http://www.nawindpower.com/naw/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.10660)
With President Barack Obama
back on track.” |
| 11/11/2012 | Tournament: Shirley | Round: 8 | Opponent: Gtown CV | Judge: Geoff Lundeen NRC Licensing process is the main barrier to SMR commercialization – not designHopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, ’11 Jim Hopf, Senior Nuclear Engineer, Member of the American Nuclear Society’s Public Information Committee, “Roadblock in Congress for SMR Development,” file:///C:/Users/Abhik/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft/Word/Roadblock%20in%20Congress%20for%20SMR%20Development,October 25th 2011, http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2011/10/25/congress-smr/ As many have observed, the main barrier to the deployment of … limiting the scope of review, or requiring the NRC to complete reviews within some fixed, reasonable time period. NRC approval is a pre-requisite to building and operating plants – their T violation doesn’t make sense in the context of nuclear restrictionsNRC 5
(Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "Backgrounder on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process," July 2005, http:~/~/www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/licensing-process-bg.html-http:~/~/www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/html) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (… and safety, the common defense and security, and the environment. No ground loss – we defend an increase in nuclear power production from SMRs – they get all their DA’s and CP’s to doing thatShoutblogger, ’11 Shoutblogger, “4 Myths About Nuclear Energy,” March 23rd 2011, http://shoutbloger.blogspot.com/2011/03/4-myths-about-nuclear-energy.html Today, nuclear power is far more expensive than … construction, maintenance and fuel) is about 30 percent higher than coal or gas. |
| 11/11/2012 | Tournament: Shirley | Round: 8 | Opponent: Gtown CV | Judge: Geoff Lundeen CJS, Corpus Juris Secundum - legal encyclopedia, 52 (Vol. 76, p. 178) It has been said that in its ordinary signification “…o lower; to degrade or impair; to replace; to restore. PLD 12
(People’s Law Dictionary – site last updated 2012, http:~/~/dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1835-http:~/~/dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1835url:http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1835-http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1835) restriction n. any limitation on activity, … and incorporated into the title of each owner. We’re a reduction in the main barrier –that was above |
| 11/11/2012 | Tournament: Shirley | Round: 8 | Opponent: Gtown CV | Judge: Geoff Lundeen Worst-case predictions are an ethical responsibility - failure of preventative action and predictions drives structural violence and inequality, only actions that act to preserve future generations can resolve power relationsKurasawa‘4, (Fuyuki, Assistant Prof. of Sociology @ York University, Cautionary Tales, Constellations Vol. 11, No. 4, Blackwell Synergy) In the previous section, I described how the …ntive and future-oriented ethos on the basis of which civic associations can enact the work of preventive foresight. Decisionmaking stuff is relevant – the thing we do in debate trains our ability to make decisions outside debate so we are considering out ide of debate so we consider impacts of death and sufferingJames ‘94, (Doctoral student in English Literature at the University of Iowa, Clair, “Book Reviews,” Configurations, 2.2, 367-371) What Schwenger finds, in the end, is hope. He … new, interminable process" (p. 149). – it’s not an imagination of the effect of nuclear power if we don’t discuss likely consequences At some point in a debate we have ot say something is bad and that thing will be trivializedKurasawa ‘4, (Fuyuki, Assistant Prof. of Sociology @ York University, Cautionary Tales, Constellations Vol. 11, No. 4, Blackwell Synergy) In addition, farsightedness has become a priority in … African and Asian AIDS pandemics, appear particularly glaring. |
| 11/11/2012 | Tournament: Shirley | Round: 8 | Opponent: Gtown CV | Judge: Geoff Lundeen Jack Spencer is Research Fellow in Nuclear Energy in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Pitts Bill Could Be Nuclear Energy Game Changer, Heritage Foundation. July 31, 2009 http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2009/07/pitts-bill-could-be-nuclear-energy-game-changer It Would Open the Marketplace to New Technologies. First, … diverse and competitive nuclear industry. Jack Spencer is Research Fellow in Nuclear Energy in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Pitts Bill Could Be Nuclear Energy Game Changer, Heritage Foundation. July 31, 2009 http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2009/07/pitts-bill-could-be-nuclear-energy-game-changer It Would Open the Marketplace to New Technologies. First, … more diverse and competitive nuclear industry. Bagnal and Kadak, MIT Nuclear Prof, ’10 Andy Kadak, Former Professor of the Practice Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Charles Bagnal, General Electric, “RISK‐INFORMED AND PERFORMANCE‐BASED LICENSING FOR SMRs,” INTERIM REPORT OF THE ANS PRESIDENT’S SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON SMR GENERIC LICENSING ISSUES, July 2010 The DC process, typically lasting several years … in the near term and delay their timely construction. The CP allows companies to pay a fine if they OPERATE in violation of restrictions like safety standards, but it does not fiat that the NRC issue construction or operation licenses that violate current restriction. Here’s ev:NRC.gov – July 2005, Backgrounder on Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/licensing-process-bg.html Combined License (10 CFR Part 52) A combined license authorizes construction of …determine that the acceptance criteria have been met. Licenses are key – investors want to know the plant is safe and reliableH. John Gilbertson Jr. – Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs and Co. - July 16, 2008, “Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Licensing and Relicensing Processes for Nuclear Plants”, United States Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works, Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.ViewandFileStore_id=2b0a5373-fe06-4f31-b76c-560b2a5f8d8c Investors and lenders see the NRC as a …, with safety as always being the highest priority. McNeill, history prof- Georgetown, 05 (J.R., Diamond in the Rough: Is There a Genuine Environmental Threat to Security?, Intl Security, 30.1) With all this in mind, it seems hard to dispute that … be some ecological vulnerabilities that resist technological solution. |
| 11/11/2012 | Tournament: Shirley | Round: 8 | Opponent: Gtown CV | Judge: Geoff Lundeen Absent these questions shifts in knowledge production are useless – governments’ obey institutional logics that exist independently of individuals and constrain decisionmakingWight – Professor of IR @ University of Sydney – 6 (Colin, Agents, Structures and International Relations: Politics as Ontology, pgs. 48-50 One important aspect of this relational ontology is that these … reality is society…It becomes necessary to reflect upon it, upon its specific characteristics, its constants and its variables’. Debating the aff is key to solve it – Answers the scenario planning component – imaginative familiarity with nuclear power creates trust and overcomes public misunderstanding – creates tipping point for new facilitiesButler, Parkhill, and Pidgeon 11 (Catherine, Research Fellow at Cardiff University, Karen, Research Fellow at Cardiff University, Nicholas, Professor of Environmental Psychology at Cardiff University, “Nuclear Power After Japan: The Social Dimensions”, November-December 2011, http://www.environmentmagazine.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/2011/November-December%202011/Nuclear-full.html) Nuclear power has, beyond its beginnings where “… (and trust in plant operators) rather than undermining it.29 Economic rationality is ethical and solves war – self-interest motivates individuals to sacrifice some autonomy to produce security and protect the rights of othersAasland ‘9 (Dag, Prof. of Economics @ U of Agder, Norway, Ethics and Economy: After Levinas, pgs. 65-66) Business ethics, in the sense of ethics for business, … the laws and regulations set up by society (Burggraeve, 2003: 77). No transition – institutional complexity and impersonal nature of systems cause cultural assimilation – only growth can solve social conflictBarnhizer, 6 David, Prof of Law, Cleveland State U, ‘Waking from Sustainability's "Impossible Dream”,’ Geo Int’l Envtl L Rev, pg. l/n Devotees of sustainability pin their hopes on an awakening ….l systems that govern our lives and culture. Norberg 3 – MA in History Johan Norberg, Fellow at Timbro, MA with a focus in economics and philosophy, In Defense of Global Capitalism, p. 225-237 All over the world, economic progress and growth are moving … resources on concentrated feed and the construction and heating of cattle pens for the purpose of native meat production. Dauvergne – Canada Chair in Environmental Politics – 8 (Peter, Professor of Political Science, Canada Research Chair in Global Environmental Politics, and Director of the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia, The Shadows of Consumption: Consequences for the Global Environment, pgs. 16-17) Of course, to some extent every consumer is … clear, are already too great not to take immediate action. Green consumption collapses the public sphere and depoliticizes environmental problems – only institutional approaches organized around production can solveManiates – Prof of Environmental Science – 2 (Michael Maniates, Professor of Political Science and Environmental Science at Allegheny College, 02, "Individualization: Plant a Tree, Buy a Bike, Save the World?" Confronting Consumption, p. 46-7) The Lorax is not why the individualization of responsibility … argues that environmental impact = population x affluence x technology. |
