Tournament: UMKC | Round: 1 | Opponent:  | Judge: 

1AC: Economic Leadership

Scenario One is the Renewable Race

XXX Economy low now, Jobs, Manufacturing, Industry XXX

We’re losing the renewable race

Mormann ’11 (Felix, prof at Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, Stanford Law School, "Requirements for a Renewables Revolution," 38 Ecology L.Q. 903)
The task of a timely transition to renewables is one of Herculean dimensions. The
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far-reaching that they may well be described as a renewables revolution.

Other nations are locking in their positions, a FIT solves

Toby D. Couture et al 2010, E3 Analytics, Karlynn Cory, Claire Kreycik, National Renewable Energy Laboratory,  Emily Williams, U.S. Department of State, July 2010 Technical Report, National Renewable Energy Laboratory,  work was funded by the DOE, "A Policymaker’s Guide to Feed-in Tariff Policy Design,"
With their increasing worldwide adoption, feed-in tariffs are poised to play an important role in advancing the deployment of renewable energy technologies. Many early adopters of FIT policies have had success propelling their renewable energy (RE) sectors (measured in manufacturing capacity, job creation, etc.) and in rapidly expanding the share of RE in their overall electricity mix. In particular, the policy framework created by FIT policies has enabled
certain countries such as Germany and Denmark to become incubators of RE technology and innovation, and create export opportunities in RE markets around the world. Combined with a long-term commitment to a renewable energy future, these countries have begun to lock in their strategic position in the energy economy of the 21st century. New sectors and technologies are
beginning to emerge, which provides other jurisdictions with the opportunity to develop similar competitive advantages as the global marketplace for renewable energy technologies expands and evolves. Through an overview of different policy practices found around the world, this report provides a comprehensive overview of FIT policy options, while highlighting a few key elements of policy
success. These include:
• long-term policy stability;
• payments based on the costs of RE generation; • differentiating the tariff prices
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through increased RE deployment, fewer environmental impacts, and increased job creation.
The benefits for project financing and RE investment are particularly worth noting: First, RE developers benefit from the long-term stability of the revenue streams generated from electricity sales, which helps foster a high level of investment security. Well-designed feed-in tariffs can help reduce risk, which can also help reduce the overall costs of RE development for society.
The stability of the framework makes it more likely for traditionally risk-averse investors
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both the location and the quantity of new RE manufacturing (Diekman 2008).
European Union (EU) experience suggests that the stability and longevity of the policy
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spur further innovation and technological cost reduction (Diekman 2008, Hvelplund 2005).

====Delay would lock the US out of the market====
NREL December 2008 Report Number: NREL/TP-6A0-44261
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, "Strengthening U.S. Leadership of International Clean Energy Cooperation Proceedings of Stakeholder Consultations" http://www.nrel.gov/international/pdfs/44261.pdf
The estimated range of net economic benefits to the United States in 2020 is %24
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decrease in global petroleum demand. Sources of Benefits Benefits from Clean Energy Markets
Both U.S. producers and consumers stand to benefit from significant global shifts toward clean energy technologies. The first impact comes through an increase in the export of CET products by U.S. producers.
However, U.S. CET producers will benefit from increased sales overseas only
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global market sector can develop significant and permanent cost advantages over later entrants.
Consumers can benefit from enhanced efforts in CET markets through lower CET prices. The
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the range of benefit estimates accounts for the possibility that prices might increase.

A domestic market is key

Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy, CQ Transcriptions, Sen. Jeff Bingaman Holds a Hearing on Energy Department Budget, February 16, 2012 LN
CHU: Sure. Yes.
Very quickly, I think things like production tax credits are a way to stimulate
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either going to be buying or selling, and I’d rather be selling.

Robust renewable industry will promote exports, boosting US job growth

NREL December 2008 Report Number: NREL/TP-6A0-44261
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, "Strengthening U.S. Leadership of International Clean Energy Cooperation Proceedings of Stakeholder Consultations" http://www.nrel.gov/international/pdfs/44261.pdf
Economic and Market Benefits
U.S. leadership in clean energy markets will result in three types of
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U.S. exports2 resulting from a global clean energy market transformation.

Global demand is high, US involvement boosts economic stability

NREL December 2008 Report Number: NREL/TP-6A0-44261
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, "Strengthening U.S. Leadership of International Clean Energy Cooperation Proceedings of Stakeholder Consultations" http://www.nrel.gov/international/pdfs/44261.pdf
Climate change, the growing demand for fossil fuel resources, energy security, and
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presented in quantitative terms in the opportunity and benefits assessment section that follows.

Economic boons are huge

Dennis Spisak 2008 , Green party Candidate for State Representative-60th District, Progress Ohio blog quoting the Sponsors of Inslee’s FIT bill’s press release, "Finally, US House Introduces Feed-In-Tariffs" July 1, 2008
http://www.progressohio.org/blog/2008/07/C29c.html
U.S. Representatives Jay Inslee (D-WA), Bill Delahunt (
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potential to create thousands of new ’green-collar’ jobs here at home. 

Green tech is unique and key to economic recovery

King, 12 ~[YaShekia King, January 2012, US Green Technology, "Green Technology Will Come to the Economy’s Rescue" (http://usgreentechnology.com/us-green-stories/green-technology-will-come-to-the-economys-rescue/)~~]
I wrote this article because when we look around at our economically devastated country,
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addition to saving space that otherwise would have to be dedicated to landfills. 

And, Economic decline causes nuclear war

Burrows and Harris ’09 (Mathew J. Burrows, counselor in the National Intelligence Council, PhD in European History from Cambridge University, and Jennifer Harris, a member of the NIC’s Long Range Analysis Unit, April 2009 "Revisiting the Future: Geopolitical Effects of the Financial Crisis" http://www.twq.com/09april/docs/09apr_Burrows.pdf)

Of course, the report encompasses more than economics and indeed believes the future is
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within and between states in a more dog-eat-dog world. 

Scenario Two Distributed Energy

Status quo policies maintain momentum for large power stations

John Farrell, ILSR senior researcher specializing in energy policy developments that best expand the benefits of local ownership and dispersed generation of renewable energy, Jun 23, 2011 "Democratizing the Electricity System – A Vision for the 21st Century Grid" http://www.ilsr.org/energy/publications/democratizing-electricity-system-vision-21st-century-grid/
While technology advances and costs drop, the major obstacle confronting distributed generation is a century of rules and institutional structures predicated on the outdated assumption that power plants will continually grow in size and electricity will continue to be transmitted over ever-longer distances.  From federal energy incentives to rules issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to state interconnection rules, there is a systemic bias toward centralized power and one-way grid systems.
Expanding and adopting new policies can level the playing field.

FIT is needed to for small wind and solar generators

Jessica Lillian, Editor, Solar Industry Magazine, Thursday 21 June 2012 , "What Is Holding Back Solar Feed-In-Tariff Programs In The U.S. Market?"
http://solarindustrymag.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.10574
Feed-in tariffs (FITs) have spurred the installation of more than three
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U.S. programs allow participation by owners of residential PV arrays.

FIT produces a market for decentralized electricity production

Behles ’12 (Deborah, law prof and clinical attorney at Golden Gate U, "An Integrated Green Urban Electrical Grid," 36 Wm. %26 Mary Envtl. L. %26 Pol’y Rev. 671)
Using the outputs from the integrated resource planning exercise, the community should then develop
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the cost barriers to introducing renewable energy and making it economically viable." 231

====FIT undermines accidents and target vulnerability====
Greenwire August 3, 2009, RENEWABLE ENERGY: House will get another shot at feed-in tariffs SECTION: Energy Vol. 10 No. 9, Phil Taylor, E%26E reporter, LN Note: James Woolsey is the former head of the CIA
There is a building in Munich, Woolsey said, that produces more solar energy
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off-the-shelf software programs that utilities use to monitor operations.

Distributed grids check failure

Kirsten Verclas , "The Decentralization of the Electricity Grid – Mitigating Risk in the Energy Sector"April 27, 2012  Issues: Climate and Energy, Risk Analysis   |   Tags: Electricity Grid, Nuclear Energy, Risk, http://www.aicgs.org/publication/the-decentralization-of-the-electricity-grid-mitigating-risk-in-the-energy-sector/
Introduction
Natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. in 2005 and the
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summer impair the electricity grid and routinely cause power outages in impacted regions.
In addition to natural disasters, September 11, 2001 has also increased the fear
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plants, was a recent example of a virus impacting the electricity grid.
Industrial countries like the U.S., Japan, and Germany depend on a
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and ensuring continuous electricity delivery even in times of natural disasters or terrorist attacks

Grid stability prevents economic costs and improves disaster recovery

Kirsten Verclas , "The Decentralization of the Electricity Grid – Mitigating Risk in the Energy Sector"April 27, 2012  Issues: Climate and Energy, Risk Analysis   |   Tags: Electricity Grid, Nuclear Energy, Risk, http://www.aicgs.org/publication/the-decentralization-of-the-electricity-grid-mitigating-risk-in-the-energy-sector/
Safety benefits from a decentralized grid are immense, as it has build-in
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and quality disturbances cost American businesses %24119 billion per year."~[11~]

Cyber attacks on centralized power generators are equivalent to a nuclear strike

Grant Gross, staff, 2009 "US cyber war policy needs new focus, experts say" http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=A2166C81-1A64-6A71-CE153CA5C2BDA32F
The U.S. government needs to recognize, however, that cyber attacks
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level of damage to the economy of a nuclear attack, Borg said.

The military is reliant on the grid, outages undermine power projection and homeland defense

Paul Stockton, Assistant Secretary of Defense, May 31, 2011 "Testimony of the Honorable Paul Stockton Assistant Secretary of Defense Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs Department of Defense Before the Subcommittee on Energy and Power The Committee on Energy and Commerce United States House of Representatives" http://republicans.energycommerce.house.gov/Media/file/Hearings/Energy/053111/Stockton.pdf
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee
Department of Defense Reliance and Vulnerabilities
The Department of Defense relies on commercial electric power for nearly
99% of its power needs at military installations. Worldwide force deployment,
support and sustainment, including that in Iraq and Afghanistan, are heavily dependent on
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need to be in really understanding how all of these components are interconnected.

Military bases in the US need decentralized power to maintain operability

Kirsten Verclas , "The Decentralization of the Electricity Grid – Mitigating Risk in the Energy Sector"April 27, 2012  Issues: Climate and Energy, Risk Analysis   |   Tags: Electricity Grid, Nuclear Energy, Risk, http://www.aicgs.org/publication/the-decentralization-of-the-electricity-grid-mitigating-risk-in-the-energy-sector/
The Benefits of Decentralized Energy Grid from a Risk Perspective
Regulations and financial support are needed by lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic to
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, a decentralized electricity grid is important for both countries’ environments and safety.

Hegemony prevents the escalation of global hotspots - retrenchment causes bickering internationally over leadership and prevents cooperation.

Zbigniew K. Brzezinski , February 2012, CSIS counselor and trustee and cochairs the CSIS Advisory Board. He is also the Robert E. Osgood Professor of American Foreign Policy at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, in Washington, D.C. He is cochair of the American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus and a member of the International Advisory Board of the Atlantic Council. He is a former chairman of the American-Ukrainian Advisory Committee. He was a member of the Policy Planning Council of the Department of State from 1966 to 1968; chairman of the Humphrey Foreign Policy Task Force in the 1968 presidential campaign; director of the Trilateral Commission from 1973 to 1976; and principal foreign policy adviser to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential campaign. From 1977 to 1981, Dr. Brzezinski was national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter. In 1981, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his role in the normalization of U.S.-China relations and for his contributions to the human rights and national security policies of the United States. He was also a member of the President’s Chemical Warfare Commission (1985), the National Security Council–Defense Department Commission on Integrated Long-Term Strategy (1987–1988), and the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (1987–1989). In 1988, he was cochairman of the Bush National Security Advisory Task Force, and in 2004, he was cochairman of a Council on Foreign Relations task force that issued the report Iran: Time for a New Approach. Dr. Brzezinski received a B.A. and M.A. from McGill University (1949, 1950) and Ph.D. from Harvard University (1953). He was a member of the faculties of Columbia University (1960–1989) and Harvard University (1953–1960). Dr. Brzezinski holds honorary degrees from Georgetown University, Williams College, Fordham University, College of the Holy Cross, Alliance College, the Catholic University of Lublin, Warsaw University, and Vilnius University. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, "After America" http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/01/03/after_america?page=0,0
For if America falters, the world is unlikely to be dominated by a single
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strategic complexities of the world in the 21st century make such supremacy unattainable. 

1AC: Warming

Scientific consensus on anthropogenic warming

Anderegg et al 10 ~[William, Professor of Biology at Stanford University; James W. Prall, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto; Jacob Harold, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; Stephen H. Schneider, Professor of Biology at Stanford University, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, "Expert credibility in climate change," 5-9, PNAS, vol 107, no 27, http://www.pnas.org/content/107/27/12107.full.pdf+html~~]
Preliminary reviews of scientific literature and surveys of climate scientists indicate striking agreement with the
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discussions in media, policy, and public forums regarding anthropogenic climate change.

Electricity sector and CO2 are key

Ferrey et al. ’10 (Steven, law prof at Suffolk, Chad Laurent JD at Suffolk, Cameron Ferrey president of Computers Across Borders, "Fire and Ice: World Renewable Energy and Carbon Control Mechanisms Confront Constitutional Barriers," 20 Duke Envtl. L. %26 Pol’y F. 125)
At the height of the last Ice Age, temperatures were only 5 ~[degrees
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successful GHG emission reduction plan will rely on reduction from the electricity sector.

Energy demand increasing

Mormann ’11 (Felix, prof at Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, Stanford Law School, "Requirements for a Renewables Revolution," 38 Ecology L.Q. 903)
With U.S. and global electricity generation expected to increase by 22 percent
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essential if current efforts in climate change mitigation are to be successful. n36
Fortunately, the case for rapid large-scale deployment of renewables in the electricity
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this Article focuses on the use of renewables for the generation of electricity.

New Renewables Can displace current emissions

Rossi ’10 (Jim, law prof at FSU, "The Future of Energy Policy: A National Renewable Portfolio Standard: The Limits of a National Renewable Portfolio Standard," 42 Conn. L. Rev. 1425)
The strongest case for renewables having a limited substitution effect may be in markets where
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although this requires a transmission system with sufficient capacity to accommodate renewables. n54

A Solution requires fast shift to renewables

Mormann ’11 (Felix, prof at Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, Stanford Law School, "Requirements for a Renewables Revolution," 38 Ecology L.Q. 903)
Climate change has turned the transition to renewable energy sources into one of the world’s
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despite the American public’s widespread awareness of and concern about climate change. n5
The transition to renewable sources of energy has long ceased to be of solely environmental
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growth in venture capital investment amidst the 2008/09 economic downturn. n9

Market forces are too slow – rate structure incentives are key to rapid transition

Mormann ’11 (Felix, prof at Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, Stanford Law School, "Requirements for a Renewables Revolution," 38 Ecology L.Q. 903)
The world’s decreasing oil reserves, ever stricter air pollution regulation, and struggles over
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. electricity mix at the speed necessary for successful climate change mitigation. n42
Today’s high-carbon economy must turn low-carbon by 2050 in order to
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who themselves tend to be electricity producers eager to eliminate additional competition. n94

====Plan rapidly cuts into fossil fuels ====
Alliance for Renewable Energy May 17, 2008, Why FITs?
http://www.allianceforrenewableenergy.org/2008/05/why-fits.html
Fits will speed up our shift from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy. IN
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, Germany alone saved 100 million tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. 

US environmental leadership is key to creating global action

Ivanova and Esty, 2008
Maria Ivanova, PhD,  Assistant Professor at McCormack Graduate School, Director of the Global Environmental Governance Project and Daniel C. Esty, Professor of Environmental Law and Policy at Yale Law School "Reclaiming U.S. Leadership in Global Environmental Governance", Summer-Fall 2008, SAIS Review vol. XXVII no. 2, accessed July 5, 2012 from http://www.umb.edu/editor_uploads/images/centers_institutes/center_governance_sustain/Ivanova-Esty-SAISReview-2008.pdf-http://www.umb.edu/editor_uploads/images/centers_institutes/center_governance_sustain/Ivanova-Esty-SAISReview-2008.pdf
We contend, moreover, that not only is U.S. participation critical
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impact is significant."4 Little progress is made without the United States. 

Worst-case warming results in extinction

Ahmed 2010 (Nafeez Ahmed, Executive Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Development, professor of International Relations and globalization at Brunel University and the University of Sussex, Spring/Summer 2010, "Globalizing Insecurity: The Convergence of Interdependent Ecological, Energy, and Economic Crises," Spotlight on Security, Volume 5, Issue 2, online)
Perhaps the most notorious indicator is anthropogenic global warmings warming. The landmark 2007 Fourth
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– a situation endangering the survival of all life on earth.~[xi~]

No adaption to worst case – the impact is extinction

Tickell 8 (Oliver, Environmental Researcher, The Guardian, August 11, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/11/climatechange-http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/11/climatechange, JMB, accessed 6-23-11)
We need to get prepared for four degrees of global warming, Bob Watson told
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the warming caused by human emissions could propel us towards a similar hothouse Earth 

Increased CO2 causes ocean acidification

Venkataramanan and smitha ’11(Department of Economics, D.G. Vaishnav College, Chennai, India Indian Journal of Science "Causes and effects of global warming p.226-229 March 2011 http://www.indjst.org/archive/vol.4.issue.3/mar11-pages159-265.pdf-http://www.indjst.org/archive/vol.4.issue.3/mar11-pages159-265.pdf)
Causes of global warming: The buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, mainly
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As carbon sinks fail, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere climbs%21

Ocean acidification will cause extinction

Romm 2012 (Joe Romm, Fellow at American Progress and is the editor of Climate Progress, March 2, 2012, "Science: Ocean Acidifying So Fast It Threatens Humanity’s Ability to Feed Itself," http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/03/02/436193/science-ocean-acidifying-so-fast-it-threatens-humanity-ability-to-feed-itself/)
The world’s oceans may be turning acidic faster today from human carbon emissions than they
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seafood" are poised to expand and "remain for thousands of years."

1AC: Solvency

Mismatched State policies undermines renewable deployment – now is key

Kopetsky ’8 (Brad A., J.D. U of Wisconsin Law School, "Deutschland Uber Alles: Why German Regulations Need to Conquer the Divided U.S. Renewable-Energy Framework to Save Clean Tech (And the World)," 8 Wis. L. Rev. 941)
Global warming, threats to energy security, and rising energy costs have become unavoidable
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been very successful and used as a model in many developing nations. n23