| 10/07/2012 | Tournament: | Round: | Opponent: | Judge: AC 10-6 – Augusta Chronicle, 10/6/12, "Obama Wins," http://chronicle.augusta.com/opinion/editorials/2012-10-06/obama-wins?v=1349566351
Much can change in the next month, particularly as close as the polling is in this race. And the debate Wednesday night seems to have done just that.
But up until the debate, most analyses pointed to an Obama victory in November.
National polls are nearly meaningless. What’s important is how the candidates stand in each state, particularly the swing states of Florida, Virginia, Ohio and several others. Voters elect our president state-by-state through the Electoral College. It takes 270 electoral votes to win.
As of last week, Moody’s Analytics had Obama winning 303.
Based on pre-debate polls in seven swing states from RealClearPolitics.com, political website Politico.com had Obama winning 332 electoral votes.
Counting the sure votes and those in the "leaning" category, The New York Times has Obama at 237 votes – needing only 33 more from any combination of nine toss-up states containing a total of 110 electoral votes.
Examiner.com argues that Obama starts with a base of 251 "safe" electoral votes, if you include Pennsylvania, which isn’t certain but seems likely. Romney starts with a base of 181 red-state votes. Gibson 7 Lauren Kate Gibson, George Washington University Center for International Science and Technology Policy, "Developing Fusion as an Energy Source", 2007 (date from latest citation), http://www.cspo.org/igscdocs/Lauren%20Kate%20Gibson.pdf
Of course, whether the United States is in a leadership position will be purely
AND
no means assured. Policy makers can improve this outlook through certain steps. Shear and Parker 10/1 Michael and Ashley are writers at the New York Times. "Romney Campaign Expands Focus Beyond the Economy," 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/02/us/politics/as-economic-argument-sputters-romney-broadens-focus.html?_r=0
From the start, Mitt Romney’s campaign was premised on the belief that the economy’s
AND
the campaign plans to frame the election as a critical choice for voters. Romney decks US-Russia Relations – threatens global insecurity, prolif, and extinctionFelton 12 Emmanuel Felton is a Toni Stable Fellow at the Columbia School of Journalism. "Mitt Romney Russia Quotes Signal Big Problems For Future US-Russian Relations," March, http://www.policymic.com/articles/6202/mitt-romney-russia-quotes-signal-big-problems-for-future-us-russian-relations
The importance of America’s alliance with Russia is highlighted by the very context of Obama
AND
, global security will continue to be undermined by an increasingly hostile Kremlin. Helfand and Pastore 9 ~Ira Helfand, M.D., and John O. Pastore, M.D., are past presidents of Physicians for Social Responsibility. March 31, 2009, "U.S.-Russia nuclear war still a threat", http://www.projo.com/opinion/contributors/content/CT_pastoreline_03-31-09_EODSCAO_v15.bbdf23.html~~
President Obama and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev are scheduled to Wednesday in London during the
AND
alert status of nuclear weapons that existed in 1995 remains in place today. Walt 11 Stephen M., Prof @ Harvard, "Foreign Policy: What Happens If Obama Is Toast?" 9/7 www.npr.org/2011/09/07/140244194/foreign-policy-what-happens-if-obama-is-toast
The prospect of a one-term Obama presidency is bound to have important effects
AND
more of the president’s time and attention over the next year or so. Russia Relations – XT Romney Kills Relations Romney destroys Russia relations – he’s labeled them our ~%231 geopolitical foe and embraces a Cold War ideology that refuses to make any concessions – that’s Felton. - at: any thumpers
Richter 7/2 Paul is a writer at the LA Times, citing Alexey Pushkov, chairman of the international affairs committee of the Russian Duma. "Russian official: Romney’s hard line could bring ’full-scale crisis’," 2012, http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/02/news/la-pn-russian-official-romneys-hard-line-could-bring-fullscale-crisis-20120702
MOSCOW — Mitt Romney’s comment that Russia is America’s "No. 1 geopolitical foe
AND
in Mexico that "they don’t want a personal conflict," he said. Romney ends the reset and tanks relationsFriedman 8/30 Uri is an associate editor at Foreign Policy. "Russian press rips Romney and his promise of ’Republican hell’" 2012, http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/08/30/russian_press_rips_romney_and_his_promise_of_republican_hell
Republicans may be rallying around Mitt Romney at the GOP convention in Tampa, but
AND
and not the largest country on the planet and a formidable nuclear power. Larison 6/27 (Daniel Larison, contributing editor at The American Conservative and writes a column for The Weekonline, Ph.D. graduate from the University of Chicago, "U.S.-Russian Relations Would Get Much Worse Under Romney", http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/u-s-russian-relations-would-get-much-worse-under-romney/-http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/u-s-russian-relations-would-get-much-worse-under-romney/)
Putin might share some of that same distrust of liberal partners and be more apt
AND
Russian relations will deteriorate much more than they have in the last year. Bandow 12 (Doug Bandow, senior fellow at the Cato Institute. A former special assistant to Ronald Reagan "NATO and Libya: It’s Time to Retire a Fading Alliance," 1/2/12, http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=13982%26utm_source=feedburner%26utm_medium=feed%26utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CatoRecentOpeds+(Cato+Recent+Op-eds)-http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=13982%26utm_source=feedburner%26utm_medium=feed%26utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CatoRecentOpeds+(Cato+Recent+Op-eds)
Potentially more dangerous is the situation in Eastern Europe and beyond, most notably Georgia
AND
forces has increased Moscow’s reliance on nuclear weapons as the great military equalizer. UQ—-Obama Win—-Jobs Numbers New jobs numbers give Obama momentum and diffuses Romney’s attacksFelsenthal 10/5 Mark is a writer for Reuters. "Obama touts jobs report as he seeks to lift campaign," 2012, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/05/us-usa-campaign-idUSBRE88N13D20121005?feedType=RSS%26feedName=topNews%26rpc=71
A decline in unemployment to 7.8 percent in September, announced just more
AND
evidence that his policies are working," said Julian Zelizer of Princeton University. AP 10/5 "Jobs Report Boosts Obama’s Re-election Campaign," 2012, http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2012/oct/05/jobs-report-boosts-obamas-re-election-campaign/
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama got much-needed good news Friday
AND
on Americans who are already casting ballots in states that allow early voting. UQ—-Obama Win Silver 10/4 Nate is head of NYT’s 538 blog. "Oct. 3: Romney’s Electoral Challenge, and More on Debate Instant Polls," 2012, http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/04/oct-3-romneys-electoral-challenge-and-more-on-debate-instant-polls/
The FiveThirtyEight forecast had Mr. Obama gaining slightly on Wednesday, estimating that he
AND
states (and the District of Columbia) — totaling 275 electoral votes: Talks about progressives being demoralized Mick 10 Jason is a writer for DailyTech. "Obama Fights For Nuclear, Environmentalists Label Him a Shill," 6/19, http://www.dailytech.com/Obama+Fights+For+Nuclear+Environmentalists+Label+Him+a+Shill/article18781.htm-http://www.dailytech.com/Obama+Fights+For+Nuclear+Environmentalists+Label+Him+a+Shill/article18781.htm
Despite these small victories, President Obama’s nuclear vision faces many impending obstacles. Despite
AND
is among the many factors that will already make President Obama’s presidency noteworthy. AT: Pounders—-Generic Garofoli 9/8 Joe is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, "Critical time in presidential campaign," 2012, http://www.sfgate.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/Critical-time-in-presidential-campaign-3850847.php
Americans will choose their next president in less than two months and the race is
AND
enhanced her foreign policy credentials because her state was so close to Russia. LeVine 12 Steve LeVine is the author of The Oil and the Glory and a longtime foreign correspondent for Foreign Policy. "How dirty is Romney prepared to get to win election?" June 13, http://oilandglory.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/06/12/how_dirty_is_romney_prepared_to_get_to_win_election
Yet if the election is as close as the polls suggest, the energy ads could prove a pivotal factor. "Advertising is generally not decisive. Advertising matters at the margins. ... But ask Al Gore if the margin matters," said Ken Goldstein, president of the Campaign Media Analysis Group at Kantar Media. "This is looking like an election where the margin may matter." Skorobogatov 12 Yana is a writer at StateImpact. "Poll: Consumers Favor Domestic Energy Production, Natural Gas," April 10, http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2012/04/10/poll-consumers-favor-domestic-energy-production-natural-gas/
Americans will likely take their views on energy issues to the voting booth this November, according to a new national poll by The University of Texas at Austin. The survey found that 65 percent of respondents considered energy to be an important presidential issue. Economy Not Key The Week 8/1 "What’s behind President Obama’s swing-state surge? 6 theories," 2012, http://theweek.com/article/index/231400/whats-behind-president-obamas-swing-state-surge-6-theories
6. The economy is no longer a major factor "Usually voter preferences of
AND
Obama’s "efforts to define him in a negative light cripple his candidacy." Plan Unpopular 2NC BN 8 Burnaby Now is your online source of local news on Burnaby, "Generating nuclear fusion", April 23, 2008, http://www.canada.com/burnabynow/news/business/story.html?id=f8fc8807-a2e1-4e4e-a700-fa76e87a0444
Public perception of nuclear fusion and the environmental lobby are two of the bigger hurdles. They are working with an environmental group to do studies on magnetized target fusion, seeing how it fits in with the group’s mandate. But convincing a public that equates the word ’nuclear’ with disasters, meltdowns and bombs that this is something different: that’s going to be trickier, Richardson admits. Economist 10 "Funding for nuclear fusion Expensive Iteration", Jul 22nd 2010, http://www.economist.com/node/16635938
VIABLE nuclear fusion has been only 30 years away since the idea was first mooted
AND
its vested political interests, at the expense of less prominent scientific endeavours. Plan Unpopular – Fission Links Apply BN 8 Burnaby Now is your online source of local news on Burnaby, "Generating nuclear fusion", April 23, 2008, http://www.canada.com/burnabynow/news/business/story.html?id=f8fc8807-a2e1-4e4e-a700-fa76e87a0444
The sparse office and concrete storage area are prosaic, an unlikely place to find
AND
fission and fusion)," said Doug Richardson, CEO of the Burnaby company. |
| 10/07/2012 | Tournament: | Round: | Opponent: | Judge: Energy production represents the peak of our manipulation of the environment—-rather than revealing the ontological beauty of nature, it exploits it for human utilization—-this is the pinnacle of standing reserve logic that obviates our relation to the power of the Earth and causes extinction—-only refusing action in favor of contemplating being solves, and it leads to more effective environmental policiesDr. Richard Grego 7, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities/ Culture, Daytona Beach College, 2007, "Global Warming, Environmental Philosophy and Public Policy: John Dewey vs Martin Heidegger," online: http://www.philosophos.com/philosophy_article_153.html
This essay compares and contrasts the views of Martin Heidegger and John Dewey with respect
AND
humanity, might be just what is needed for the earth’s sustainable future. |
| 10/07/2012 | Tournament: | Round: | Opponent: | Judge: Energy production refers to the extraction, conversion, and distribution of energy – excludes R%26DKoplow 4 Doug Koplow is the founder of Earth Track in Cambridge, MA. He has worked on natural resource subsidy issues for 20 years, primarily in the energy sector "Subsidies to Energy Industries" Encyclopedia of Energy Vol 5 2004www.earthtrack.net/files/Energy%20Encyclopedia,%20wv.pdf
3. SUBSIDIES THROUGH THE FUEL CYCLE
Because no two fuel cycles are exactly the same, examining subsidies through the context of a generic fuel cycle is instructive in providing an overall framework from which to understand how common subsidization policies work. Subsidies are grouped into preproduction (e.g., R%26D, resource location), production (e.g., extraction, conversion/generation, distribution, accident risks), consumption, postproduction (e.g., decommissioning, reclamation), and externalities (e.g., energy security, environmental, health and safety).
3.1 Preproduction
Preproduction activities include research into new technologies, improving existing technologies, and market assessments to identify the location and quality of energy resources.
3.1.1 Research and Development
R%26D subsidies to energy are common worldwide, generally through government-funded
AND
%26D of 50% versus private returns of only 20 to 30%.
However, the general concept masks several potential concerns regarding energy R%26D. First, ideas near commercialization have much lower spillover than does basic research, making subsidies harder to justify. Second, politics is often an important factor in R%26D choices, especially regarding how the research plans are structured and the support for follow-on funding for existing projects.
Allocation bias is also a concern. Historical data on energy R%26D (
AND
one-twentieth, albeit during the more limited 1995-1998 period.
3.1.2 Resource Location
Governments frequently conduct surveys to identify the location and composition of energy resources. Although
AND
, the costs of siting studies should be recovered from the beneficiary industries.
3.2 Production
Energy production includes all stages from the point of resource location through distribution to the final consumers. Specific items examined here include resource extraction, resource conversion (including electricity), the various distribution links to bring the energy resource to the point of final use, and accident risks.
3.2.1 Extraction of Energy Resources
General procedures for leasing access to energy minerals on public lands and more general subsidies for promoting energy extraction both are important areas to evaluate. Extraction-related subsidies are most common for oil and gas production, although they also support nuclear fission (due to uranium mining), geothermal, and coal.
3.2.1.1 Accessing Publicly Owned Energy Resources Terms of access
AND
response to litigation in the United States over oil and gas royalty underpayments.
3.2.1.2 Promoting Extraction Activities Policies to reduce the cost
AND
between %240.5 billion and %241.1 billion annually.
However, many subsidies to extraction are not restricted to particular market niches. Percentage
AND
quarter to one-half the prevailing nominal rates between 1977 and 1995.
3.2.2 Conversion
Raw energy materials normally go through some conversion prior to consumption. Crude oil is
AND
phases of the fuel cycle, it is addressed in a separate section.
3.2.2.1 Capital Subsidies Subsidies to capital formation, usually
AND
greatest detriment to energy resources that conserve capital (most prominently energy conservation).
3.2.2.2 Tax Credits/Purchase Mandates A second
AND
still being met, the supply is not necessarily renewable or particularly clean.
3.2.3 Transportation and Distribution
Fuel cycles may involve multiple transportation steps, including movement of raw fuels to point of refining, refined fuels to the point of consumption, and movement of wastes to disposal sites. Relevant modes of transport include road, rail, water, pipelines, and transmission lines.
Although specific energy resources vary widely in their transport intensity and in the modes of
AND
understates the direct costs of the infrastructure and the rights to use it.
Cross-subsidies between user groups may further distort relative prices. Large trucks pay
AND
retail level. This can dampen retail investments in demand-side management.
Power sources such as wind and solar require no shipment of input fuels or waste
AND
generating these subsidies have continued during the ensuing quarter-century or so.
3.2.4 Accident Risks
A handful of energy activities have the potential to cause catastrophic harm, including large oil spills, dam failures, and nuclear accidents. Many governments cap, shift, or ignore the potential liabilities from these activities. Functioning insurance markets and litigation would normally help to drive up prices for the more dangerous energy sources or particularly negligent operators. Government policies that mask these signals impede substitution to safer alternatives.
3.2.4.1 Large Oil Spills Within the United States
AND
liability shortfalls persist. The subsidy value of these caps is not known.
3.2.4.2 Dam Failures Many activities that would pose
AND
not in place or is too low, subsidies to hydroelectricity would result.
3.2.4.3 Nuclear Accidents Nuclear accidents can expose large
AND
%2436 million. In Ukraine, it is roughly %2470 million.
International efforts to standardize liability under the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage would establish minimum liability coverage worldwide, although for many countries this would also constitute the maximum. Under the convention, operators would directly face a first tier of liability. A country fund would provide secondary coverage. Because country payments rely on a sovereign guaranty rather than a prefunded instrument such as a trust fund, they may be at some risk.
Aggregate coverage under the U.S. system is estimated at roughly %249
AND
the Price-Anderson cap even before adjusting retroactive premiums to present values.
Subsidies arise when government caps fall below expected damages from an incident and caps under
AND
and weaker inspection regimes, they likely have higher liability subsidies as well.
3.3. CONSUMPTION
Government support for energy consumption falls into three main categories: poverty alleviation, economy-wide below-market pricing, and targeted subsidies for certain classes of consumers.
3.3.1 Poverty Alleviation
Subsidies to heat and power for poorer citizens are common, frequently in the form
AND
subsistence agriculture) or live outside the reach of the subsidized electrical grid.
3.3.2 General Subsidies
Nations with large domestic energy industries sometimes institute policies that keep local prices well below
AND
production base that is increasingly noncompetitive with that deployed elsewhere in the world.
3.3.3 Targeted Exemptions
Most OECD countries exempt coal and heavy fuel oils used in industry, as well
AND
,’’ generating weaker incentives to adopt even low-cost abatement options.
3.4 Postproduction Activities
Energy production and conversion require large facilities, often located in remote or pristine environments
AND
public subsidy likely given that revenues often drop to zero on plant closure.
3.4.1 Decommissioning
Decommissioning subsidies arise when infrastructure removal costs are ignored or underestimated or when accrued funds
AND
g., nuclear plants and some mines) can drive costs up further.
Pipelines and hydroelectric dams provide examples of costs being ignored entirely. Koplow and Martin
AND
, they will have plenty of money available for such an eventuality.’’
Underestimating decommissioning requirements is of great concern with nuclear plants. IEA data indicate that
AND
of which approximately 75% represented insufficient bonding at wells still in operation.
Public bailouts can also be required if accrued funds for postclosure activities are lost through
AND
and are subject to conservative investment requirements to reduce the likelihood of loss.
3.4.2 Reclamation and Remediation
Small subsidies to site reclamation and remediation may arise through government-sponsored research into
AND
500 million per year, much of which is paid by general taxpayers.
3.5 Energy Externalities
External costs of energy production and consumption can include pollution, land degradation, health
AND
second group is often difficult to quantify and is segregated as an externality.
3.5.1 Energy Security Energy plays a central role in industrialized economies
AND
replace, and dangerous materials that can elevate the severity of any breach.
Energy security strategies include protection of energy-related assets and supply routes, stockpiling
AND
protecting energy installations and stockpiling are explored in detail in the following subsections.
3.5.1.1 Protection of Assets and Supply Links
The larger the energy installation, the greater the target and the bigger the dislocation
AND
assets are likely large, data to quantify the subsidies are generally unavailable.
The costs of defending oil shipments through the Persian Gulf is an exception. As
AND
the common costs of the vessels and personnel are what are most expensive.
They argued instead for treating the military presence through the lens of joint costs and
AND
via an excise fee on shipments would help to encourage increased supply diversification.
3.5.1.2 Stockpiling Petroleum has been the main focus of
AND
stockpiling (two-thirds of IEA-mandated stocks are held commercially).
Buffer stocks for oil within the United States are held within the publicly owned Strategic
AND
. These include Japan, France, Germany, Korea, and Taiwan.
Subsidies to stockpiles slow transition to less vulnerable, more diversified supplies. Formal tracking of stockpile finance by the IEA, as well as the formalization of accounting rules for calculating costs, would leverage market forces for improved supply security.
3.5.2 Environmental, Health, and Safety Externalities
Externalities involve damages associated with energy production or use that are imposed on surrounding populations
AND
especially when the costs of maintaining those workers falls on the general taxpayers.
Governments are routinely involved with efforts to make certain energy-related activities safer for
AND
fatalities continue at extremely high levels in many of these countries as well. |
| 10/07/2012 | Tournament: | Round: | Opponent: | Judge: Murphy 12 Tom Murphy is an Associate Professor in the Physics department at UCSD, and a member of the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, "Crunching the Numbers for Nuclear Fusion", February 3, 2012, http://gigaom.com/cleantech/crunching-the-numbers-for-nuclear-fusion/
A few days after watching a television show on fusion, I had an epiphany
AND
disappoint when we have other options whose viability may be closer at hand. Examiner 12 "Americans overwhelmingly believe solar energy is important", March 31, 2012, http://www.examiner.com/article/americans-overwhelmingly-believe-solar-energy-is-important
Most Americans, whatever their political stance, believe it is important for the United
AND
-cent), nuclear (9 percent) and coal (3 percent). AT: Links to Politics Revkin and Wald 7 ANDREW C. REVKIN and MATTHEW L. WALD are writers for the New York Times, "Solar Power Wins Enthusiasts but Not Money", July 16, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/16/business/16solar.html?pagewanted=all
The trade association for the nuclear power industry recently asked 1,000 Americans what
AND
" initiative is promoted as building a homegrown industry and fighting global warming. AT: Perm do Both Revkin and Wald 7 ANDREW C. REVKIN and MATTHEW L. WALD are writers for the New York Times, "Solar Power Wins Enthusiasts but Not Money", July 16, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/16/business/16solar.html?pagewanted=all
In the battle for money from Washington, solar lobbyists say they are outgunned by
AND
to Los Alamos National Laboratory and a branch of the Sandia National Laboratories. Solves – Heg Klarevas 9 Louis Klarevas is Professor at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University, "Securing American Primacy While Tackling Climate Change: Toward a National Strategy of Greengemony", December 15, 2009, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/louis-klarevas/securing-american-primacy_b_393223.html?
By promoting a new national project, the U.S. could develop new
AND
means of leverage that can be employed to keep potential foes in check. No Ice Age Hansen, 2007 ~[James E. Hansen. Head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City and adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at Columbia University. Al Gore’s science advisor. Briefing http://arxiv.org/pdf/0706.3720, "How Can We Avert Dangerous Climate Change?" delivered as a private citizen to the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, United States House of Representatives, revised 25 June 2007~]
Thus the natural tendency today, absent humans, would be toward the next ice
AND
even a ’thimbleful’ of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), which are easily produced.
AT: Ice Age = Extinction Robert Felix, Ice Age Expert and Researcher, 2000, Robert, Not By Fire But By Ice, p. 214
Number one: It’s not all doom and gloom. As I said in the
AND
levels were lower). Again, people can handle those sorts of changes. Hybrid Reactors / Fusion Doesn’t Solve Current nuclear tech solves and fusion hybrids aren’t sufficient – storage facilities will still be neededFreidberg and Kadak 9 Jeffrey P. Freidberg is Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering (Emeritus) at MIT and Andrew C. Kadak is Former Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT, "Fusion–fission hybrids revisited", June 2009, http://web.mit.edu/fusion-fission/HybridsPubli/nphys1288.pdf
One possible solution is transmutation, which converts long-lived nuclear waste (the
AND
by an order of magnitude compared with the once-through fuel cycle. Short-Term %21’s Outweigh Short-term existential risks outweigh and turn the aff – they destroy our ability to colonize spaceBaum 10 – visiting scholar at Columbia University’s Center for Research on Environmental Decisions, PhD candidate in Geography, and focuses on risk analysis (2/12/2010, Seth, "Is Humanity Doomed? Insights from Astrobiology", Sustainability Journal, http://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v2y2010i2p591-603d7141.html) The fact that the universe will remain habitable for much longer than Earth will means
AND
out opportunities to reduce existential risk with an eye towards eventual space colonization. |
| 10/07/2012 | Tournament: | Round: | Opponent: | Judge: Klarevas 9 Louis Klarevas is Professor at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University, "Securing American Primacy While Tackling Climate Change: Toward a National Strategy of Greengemony", December 15, 2009, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/louis-klarevas/securing-american-primacy_b_393223.html?
By promoting a new national project, the U.S. could develop new
AND
means of leverage that can be employed to keep potential foes in check. Even with unlimited funding and a perfect investment climate the plan will have no effect for decades – THEIR 1AC EVIDENCECN 12 The Challenge Network is an International Partnership of Expert Individuals, Most of Whom Have Occupied Senior Planning or Management Roles in Commerce and the Public Sector, "Nuclear Fusion: Penurious Promise", 2012, http://www.chforum.org/scenario2012/paper-1-4.shtml
Suppose that we had access to unlimited funds and that it was clear today how
AND
and hydrocarbons could become "poor man’s energy" in such an environment. Murphy 12 Tom Murphy is an Associate Professor in the Physics department at UCSD, and a member of the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, "Crunching the Numbers for Nuclear Fusion", February 3, 2012, http://gigaom.com/cleantech/crunching-the-numbers-for-nuclear-fusion/
The ITER experiment, if it adheres to its schedule and projected budget, will
AND
if things are not maintained in tip-top condition through the years. CN 12 The Challenge Network is an International Partnership of Expert Individuals, Most of Whom Have Occupied Senior Planning or Management Roles in Commerce and the Public Sector, "Nuclear Fusion: Penurious Promise", 2012, http://www.chforum.org/scenario2012/paper-1-4.shtml
Suppose that we had access to unlimited funds and that it was clear today how
AND
and hydrocarbons could become "poor man’s energy" in such an environment. Zero chance of the impact and aff isn’t necessaryCrowley 11 Brian Lee Crowley is the Managing Director of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a public policy think tank, "The world is not running out of natural resources", May 22, 2011, http://www.troymedia.com/2011/05/22/the-world-is-not-running-out-of-natural-resources/
Let me begin by saying that I believe the premise of this question is mistaken
AND
but because of China’s fondness for old-fashioned and highly inefficient mercantilism. Perez et al 11 ~Richard Perez, Research Professor, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, SUNY; Ken Zweibel, director of the GW Solar Institute at George Washington University; Thomas Hoff, Founder of Clean Power Research and President of its Research and Consulting Group; "Solar power generation in the US: Too expensive, or a bargain?" Energy Policy Volume 39, Issue 11, November 2011, Pages 7290–7297~
First and foremost, the solar energy resource is very large (Perez and Perez
AND
large enough and acceptable enough to carry the planet for the long haul. Long timeframe and no impactKenny 12 Charles Kenny is a fellow at the Center for Global Development and the New America Foundation, "Everything You Know About Peak Oil Is Wrong", January 26, 2012, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/everything-you-know-about-peak-oil-is-wrong-01262012.html
We’ve been warned before. Four decades ago this year, five scientists from the
AND
today’s global financial crisis, we are nowhere near such a doomsday scenario. Timeframe – 2NC 25 year timeframe – even with full funding and political supportLemonick 12 Michael D. Lemonick has taught science and environmental journalism at Princeton, Columbia, Johns Hopkins and New York Universities and is the senior writer at Climate Central, a nonpartisan organization whose mission is to communicate climate science to the public, "Fusion Energy: Climate-Friendly and Infinite . . . Someday", May 31st, 2012, http://www.climatecentral.org/news/fusion-energy-climate-friendly-inexhaustible-power——someday/
But most of the world has voted for the kind of fusion the Princeton lab
AND
ways to cut back on fossil-fuel burning drastically in the meantime.
Fusion Fails – 2NC LaMonica 11 Martin LaMonica is a senior writer covering green tech and cutting-edge technologies for CNET, "A reality check on nuclear fusion at MIT", June 29, 2011, http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20075206-54/a-reality-check-on-nuclear-fusion-at-mit/
But the punchline for nuclear fusion is that it has one big down side:
AND
it’s hard to say exactly but at least a factor of 10 larger." |
| 10/07/2012 | Tournament: | Round: | Opponent: | Judge: Their internal link card is a joke – doesn’t say the word "fusion" anywhere in the articleJaffe 11 (Amy Myers Jaffe is director of the Baker Institute Energy Forum at Rice University and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, "The Americas, Not the Middle East, Will Be the World Capital of Energy", October 2011, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/08/15/the_americas_not_the_middle_east_will_be_the_world_capital_of_energy?page=0,0-http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/08/15/the_americas_not_the_middle_east_will_be_the_world_capital_of_energy?page=0,0)
This hydrocarbon-driven reordering of geopolitics is already taking place. The petropower of
AND
this space: America may be back in the energy leadership saddle again. Steyer and Podesta 12 TOM STEYER And JOHN PODESTA, writers for the Wall Street Journal, "We Don’t Need More Foreign Oil and Gas ", January 24, 2012, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203718504577178872638705902.html
Under President Obama’s leadership, we appear to be at the beginning of a domestic
AND
% from 2008 to 2009, even during the depths of the recession. Their article concludes other tech solves and outweigh fusionLugar 7 Dick Lugar, United States Senator, "U.S. Energy Security and the 2008 Presidential Election", December 18, 2007, http://lugar.senate.gov/energy/press/speech/brookings2.cfm
The development and deployment of new technologies is likely to be the difference between success and failure of our efforts at energy transformation. The next President must demand that research projects related to battery technology, cellulosic ethanol, carbon capture and storage, solar and wind power, and dozens of other technologies receive the highest priority within the Administration. Powers will work together to stabilize the region—security and economic incentivesGresh 12 (Dr. Geoffrey F., Assistant Professor of International Security Studies at National Defense University, "Russia, China, and stabilizing South Asia", 3/12, http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/12/russia_china_and_stabilizing_south_asia)
As the U.S. begins to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, Russia and
AND
United States should embrace the transformation of a new era in Eurasia’s heartland. Fedoroff 8 Nina V. Fedoroff, Ph.D., Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State and the Administrator of USAID, "Testimony Before the House Science Subcommittee on Research and Science Education", April 2, 2008, http://2001-2009.state.gov/g/stas/2008/105286.htm
Finally, some types of science – particularly those that address the grand challenges in
AND
, and United States – representing 70% of the world’s current population. Dickson 9 - David Dickson, Founding Director of the Science-Development Network, June 4, 2009, "The limits of science diplomacy," online: http://www.scidev.net/en/editorials/the-limits-of-science-diplomacy.html
Using science for diplomatic purposes has obvious attractions and several benefits. But there are limits to what it can achieve.
The scientific community has a deserved reputation for its international perspective — scientists often ignore national boundaries and interests when it comes to exchanging ideas or collaborating on global problems.
So it is not surprising that science attracts the interest of politicians keen to open channels of communication with other states. Signing agreements on scientific and technological cooperation is often the first step for countries wanting to forge closer working relationships.
More significantly, scientists have formed key links behind-the-scenes when more overt dialogue has been impossible. At the height of the Cold War, for example, scientific organisations provided a conduit for discussing nuclear weapons control.
Only so much science can do
Recently, the Obama administration has given this field a new push, in its desire to pursue "soft diplomacy" in regions such as the Middle East. Scientific agreements have been at the forefront of the administration’s activities in countries such as Iraq and Pakistan.
But — as emerged from a meeting entitled New Frontiers in Science Diplomacy, held in London this week (1–2 June) — using science for diplomatic purposes is not as straightforward as it seems.
Some scientific collaboration clearly demonstrates what countries can achieve by working together. For example, a new synchrotron under construction in Jordan is rapidly becoming a symbol of the potential for teamwork in the Middle East.
But whether scientific cooperation can become a precursor for political collaboration is less evident. For example, despite hopes that the Middle East synchrotron would help bring peace to the region, several countries have been reluctant to support it until the Palestine problem is resolved.
Indeed, one speaker at the London meeting (organised by the UK’s Royal Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science) even suggested that the changes scientific innovations bring inevitably lead to turbulence and upheaval. In such a context, viewing science as a driver for peace may be wishful thinking. Disease inevitable—multiple global hotspots and always a risk of mutations—the aff doesn’t solve world widePosner 5—Senior Lecturer, U Chicago Law. Judge on the US Court of Appeals 7th Circuit. AB from Yale and LLB from Harvard. (Richard, Catastrophe, http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-4150331/Catastrophe-the-dozen-most-significant.html)
Yet the fact that Homo sapiens has managed to survive every disease to assail it
AND
wider human contacts that make it more difficult to localize an infectious disease. Mueller 8/2—IR prof at Ohio State. PhD in pol sci from UCLA (2 August 2011, John, The Truth about Al Qaeda, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/68012/john-mueller/the-truth-about-al-qaeda?page=show) As a misguided Turkish proverb holds, "If your enemy be an ant, imagine him to be an elephant." The new information unearthed in Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, suggests that the United States has been doing so for a full decade. Whatever al Qaeda’s threatening rhetoric and occasional nuclear fantasies, its potential as a menace, particularly as an atomic one, has been much inflated.
The public has now endured a decade of dire warnings about the imminence of a
AND
work) was some %242,000 to %244,000.
In the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden, officials now have more
AND
Some reports suggest they’ve also been looking at quite a bit of pornography.
The full story is not out yet, but it seems breathtakingly unlikely that the
AND
by a skilled crew, all the while attracting no attention from outsiders.
The documents also reveal that after fleeing Afghanistan, bin Laden maintained what one member
AND
and that "the next wave of attacks may come at any moment."
The obsessive desire notwithstanding, such fulminations have clearly lacked substance. Although hundreds of millions of people enter the United States legally every year, and countless others illegally, no true al Qaeda cell has been found in the country since 9/11 and exceedingly few people have been uncovered who even have any sort of "link" to the organization.
The closest effort at an al Qaeda operation within the country was a decidedly nonnuclear
AND
United States, to the civilized world, to the modern state system.
Indeed, no Muslim extremist has succeeded in detonating even a simple bomb in the United States in the last ten years, and except for the attacks on the London Underground in 2005, neither has any in the United Kingdom. It seems wildly unlikely that al Qaeda is remotely ready to go nuclear.
Outside of war zones, the amount of killing carried out by al Qaeda and
AND
3.5 million per year, even with 9/11 included. Plan doesn’t solve fusion weapons – NIF and LMJ existence make the impact inevitable – their evidenceMakhijani 98 Arjun Makhijani holds a Ph.D. in engineering (specialization: nuclear fusion) from the University of California at Berkeley and is President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, "Statement of Arjun Makhijani", IEER Press Conference, July 15, 1998, http://ieer.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/1998/07/dtq-statement-arjun.pdf-http://ieer.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/1998/07/dtq-statement-arjun.pdf
The current period is comparable to the late 1940s and early 1950s, when decisions regarding fission-triggered thermonuclear weapons were being made. Once the feasibility of such weapons was established by a 1952 US test, which was not of a deliverable weapon, the pressure to develop huge arsenals of thermonuclear weapons in the United States and the Soviet Union became inexorable.
*MSU Card Starts Here*
We must prevent these new highly dangerous and destructive nuclear weapons from being developed.
AND
because of their smaller individual size and relative lack of fall-out.
*MSU Card Ends Here*
It is provocative and counterproductive for the United States and France to be building NIF
AND
public debate on this crucial issue is needed, given its grave implications. Baird and Synakowski 9 Questions submitted by Chairman Brian Baird, Responses by Dr. Edmund J. Synakowski, Associate Director for Fusion Energy Sciences, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy, "The Next Generation of Fusion Energy Research", Hearing before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, October 29, 2009, http://fire.pppl.gov/house_fusion_hearing_2010.pdf
Q2. Do you see a point of diminishing returns for any of these current
AND
to assess their suitability for continuing to contribute significantly to fusion energy research. 2NC—-International Cooperation Badger 9 - Emily Badger, journalist for Miller-McCune, February 9, 2009, "Science Diplomacy: Trading Frock Coats for Lab Coats," Miller-McCune, online: http://www.miller-mccune.com/politics/science-diplomacy-trading-frock-coats-for-lab-coats-3953/
Glenn Schweitzer, director of the National Academies’ Office for Central Europe and Eurasia, had been coordinating nongovernmental exchanges with Iran for more than a decade. On this latest visit, scientists from both countries identified a laundry list of areas for continued cooperation: cancer trends, biomedical ethics, cell replacement therapy, personalized medicine and highway accidents.
Shortly before he was scheduled to leave the country, Schweitzer was detained by three announced "security officials." English-language newspapers in Iran at the time had been full of reports of American and Israeli counterintelligence activities in the country. The U.S., Iranian officials would later accuse, was trying to foment a "velvet revolution."
Schweitzer was questioned for nine hours across two days about his involvement in such a revolution. He was eventually released, but he said the security officials left him with a message that "science exchanges are not a good thing."
"This was quite a surprise," Schweitzer told the audience at the AAAS event, which had been rescheduled around his detainment to January, two days after Barack Obama’s inauguration. "Just two days earlier, we had had one of the top political leaders of the country who said, ’Charge on, these are great things to do. We’d like to have this cooperation. In fact, I want to be involved in the cooperation.’
"So there’s a disconnect between the scientific community, the political leadership, and the security services."
Schweitzer was speaking specifically about Iran, but a similar schism may exist anywhere in the world where public opinion of American foreign policy differs so dramatically from opinion of U.S. science and technology.
As a result of Schweiter’s detention, the National Academies have suspended exchanges with Iran until its government can provide safety assurances to visiting scholars and scientists.
The incident was equally surprising to Robert Berdahl, president of the Association of American Universities, who visited Iran in November with a delegation of university presidents (all scientists by background). The group had been invited by counterparts in Iran to discuss student and faculty exchanges. Berdahl stressed to his hosts that security was his main concern, and so Schweitzer’s detention just a few weeks after those conversations has now stalled that program, too.
Iran, with its mix of enthusiasm for American exchanges but security obstacles to hosting them, underscores the challenges "science diplomacy" would face even around noncontroversial areas of research cooperation such as water irrigation. |
